Phil and Bradley's Wedding in Notts, Nottinghamshire
Countryside Spring Purple
11/05/2024 7 0
P&B
11 May, 2024
Our Real Wedding
Phil and I have been together for 8 yrs now and have always loved the idea of getting married but were always worried about the cost of doing so. We wanted our wedding to be our special day but were adamant that we were getting married out of the love for each other and not because we wanted it to be "instagramable".
We decided upon a Registry Office wedding with a small intimate party at a local village hall near to our house. We looked at local hotels but the prices were extortionate and that was before you accounted for any of the necessary extras. In doing so, we had to make sacrifices in terms of guest numbers but in hindsight....honestly, it was the best decision we ever made! We were able to fully enjoy our day with our nearest and dearest and most importantly save money which could be utilised in other aspects of the wedding.
The Registry Office staff looked after us so well and the room was beautiful. People form a terrible stereotype of registry offices - being officelike and corporate. This one was the completely the opposite. It came with its own intimate courtyard for small group photos and was positioned next to a local park for family shots.
Continue reading »Enroute to our reception venue, we called into Creswell Crags, a local place of natural beauty, for our couples photos and the views were to die for! As we called in unexpected we ran into the visitors centre to ask for permission (we later gave a donation to their charity trust as a thank you). The backdrop to our photos were breathtaking and i am so glad we had the courage to ask! In the words of my wise grandmother- if you don't ask, you don't get!
In choosing the village hall we were in total control of the space we had booked out and we utilised this to our advantage. The weather that day was glorious (and one of the only sunny weekends we've had since) so we were able to set up a small gazebo outside ready for a buffet to be delivered later on in the evening; alongside a pop up bar for drinks. When you hire a local village hall, you have to be prepared to put in some leg work with regards to setting up and packing away the event, which when you are 20 gin and lemonades deep can be a struggle but it was a risk we were willing to take. With the freedom to utilise the space and the weather being on our side we were able to free up so much space inside the venue.
Our reception had a really loose structure and we just gave our guests the freedom to go around as they pleased (we rounded everyone back inside for speeches of course) but this worked really well. Everybody naturally wanted to be outside in the sunshine so why force them to be in a room in 20 + degree weather when they are wearing suits?
I wouldn't change a single part of our special day and I wish I was able to relive it all over again! I just wanted to add my experience to show people that sometimes cheaper can be better (trust me.... in the end we still invested a lot of money into it.. but just far less that we would have otherwise) and all that really matters are the people that you spend your day with.
My tip to planning your big day... enjoy every second of the planning stage. It will make you want to cry at times, make you want to rip your hair out... but it is all worth it in the end! Also let your creativity soar! If you have a fantasy in your mind... it's probably doable with a lot of determination and PVA glue!!!!
Enjoy the best day of your Life!
B x
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