Wedding Venues - North West UK - SMALL budget BIG numbers!! HELP!

Hi

I'm looking for a wedding venue in the North West, I live in South Manchester so somewhere local to that would be good - Manchester/Cheshire/Lancashire - trouble is we have a small budget of around £5000 (for the actual wedding event) all in but a large family so would be looking at around 150 people at the reception and around 100 for the wedding - tho we could cut this down! I have done some research but all seems super expensive - we are happy to have a winter wedding and finger buffet for reception guests to keep costs lower. 

Also as we live together now and have everything we need whats the ettiquete on putting wedding stuff on the wedding list such as photographer and wedding cake?! And how does this work??

PS - if anyone can also recommend a good book - idiots guide to organise a wedding - first steps, planner, etiquette, sample text for invites, etc etc that would be great

THANKS! 

Sarah

Hi I am in Eccles so not far from you, can help with some stuff. I would try venues own by the council first they are generally cheaper than some hotels. In Salford we have Buile Hill banqueting suite which is big and in the middle of a park have done a few wedding there its a lovely spacious place and the food is good, also I think you can have stuff like a curry or hot pot or bacon barms for the evening which is usually cheaper ,Also Worsley Court house is lovely if you want an old building and I would imaging the prices for food are the same .

http://www.salford.gov.uk/leisure/venue-hire/worsleycourthouse.htm

http://www.salford.gov.uk/leisure/venue-hire/builehillhall.htm

If you are a rugby fan , or even if you are not! Salford rugby club do a really good package at the Willows which can include the cake and table decs etc too

http://www.thewillowsonline.co.uk/

you will get loads of help on here and lots of budget experts !

this site is my daughters (with my cakes) and she is happy to try and work to any budget if you need any of the services on there its always worth a chat

www.asixpenceforhershoe.co.uk

Hi Sarah

Have a look the Cheshire County Council website - it has a great list of all the places that can do civil ceremonies etc.  Also why not look at town halls in the area - I have decorated several weddings at Congleton Town Hall - it is a big room which would cater for your numbers.  I did do a wedding at Stockport Masonic Hall in the large room at the back - they have chefs within the hall so everything could be organised for your reception there.  The bride and groom got married at Tatton Hall, had cake and drinks there before moving onto Stockport.

Just a few ideas for you - if I think of anymore I'll yell!

Heather

As  has  already  been said,  have  a  good  shop  around  for  your  venue,  and  see  what  they  offer  for  your  money  in  compararison  do  any  of  them  have  special  rates??  i.e  we got 10%  off  for  marrying  on  a  friday  and  an  aditional  10%  off  for  booking  before  the  end  of  feb,  also  under  4's  eat  free  and  under  10's  are  half  price  so we  have  booked  the venue's  deluxe  package  and  have  managed  to  arrange everything  for  the  wedding  for  around  £6500  thats less than  one  venue quoted us  for its  budget  package  alone!!!! 

and  we  get  the bridal  suite  complementary  (this  was  a  must  for us  we  wanted  a  room  for  the night)  BARGAIN!

It  is  a  venue  in  the  best  western ( the Limpley  Stoke Hotel)  chain  so  i  would  imagine  they  all have  very  similar  packages  do  you  have  any  best  western  hotels  in your  area?

Happy  venue  hunting!  x

I had the same problem, I have a massive family but not a massive budget, Im having my reception in my local working mans club, its not for some people, HOWEVER! Its a MASSIVE big hall which has just been refurbished, the drinks are really cheap and they are doing everything in there powers to make my day special, and I am being charged £400 for the whole evening, and thats including bar staff! If this is something you would consider have a look around at local halls, church halls, working man clubs, it could save you a packet!

Thanks for this - it seems not to be the venue but the food that is killing us - like £400 room hire and then SO much for the food like £15 per head and with 150 people thats £2,250 just on evening food, let alone the wedding breakfast for the guest! Maybe I could look into hiring a venue then doing outside catering as that would be cheaper and probably nicer quality as well.

No idea weddings were this expensive- how do people do it?!! x

if you are not bothered about getting married and having your reception in the same place then hiring a room would be a good option. however have you thought about other options like a late wedding then just having a buffet for all guests in the evening ?

Hi Sarah,

I'm in South Manchester too (Levenshulme), would re-iterate what others have said. Are you having  church or civil ceremony?

I would say the best idea is to go for a late ceremony, then you only need to feed the guests once. You could go for a buffet, or depending on the time of year you could have a bbq or a hog roast or something similar.

HI Snurton,

i'm in Bolton (not too far away). I'm getting married at the Last Drop Village in Bolton. We're hoping to keep our budget under £5000. So if you any help or tips, give us a shout. I'm off to Berketex in Manchester today looking for my dress - theyre having a sample sale. Best thing i would recommend is to shop around.

Theres lots of venues in and around Manchester that will suit your budget. It all depends what kind of venue you are looking. We looked at The Willows in Salford and loved it. The only downside to it was that it didnt have a disabled access and was on the top floor. We have a couple of guests that are a little unstable on their feet. That was the only reason we didnt go for it. They offer some good packages. But shop around and best of all, have fun looking.

xxx

When we got married a few years ago we had a late wedding 3pm, then buffet only in the evening for all the guests - we put this on the invite so that people didn't expect a sit down meal - is this an option?

If not, how about a hog roast for the wedding breakfast?

Don't know where in south manchester you are but have a look at:

Quarry Bank Mill

Belfry House Hotel

Both were very reasonable when we booked our wedding for 2006. We went to the Belfry and the whole reception - drinks, dinner, evening buffet, DJ, room hire etc for just under 100 people came in at just under £5K.