Midweek/Off season weddings

Hello!! First thread/post so bit of background..

Me and my fiance have been together 5 and a half years and for the last year and a half have been talking seriously about marriage. We finally moved in together by ourselves August last year and I had been waiting for him to pop the question. After what seems like an age, he asked me on Easter Sunday, put the ring box in an Easter Egg box, gave it to me to eat and as I got the egg out the box fell out

I had been unofficially sorting my wedding out beforehand anyway so I already had a list of venues that I liked. After enquiries it turned out only 1 was suitable, I found another 2 through a friend so I now have a shortlist of 3 which I will be viewing shortly.

Originally we were planning for a September 2014 wedding as we were hoping to go to Singapore for a few days for the Grand Prix and then onto Thailand to keep me happy. However, I now wonder if its actually cheaper to get married off season since September seems to be peak season.

I am currently thinking of October 2013 as we both have birthdays in that month, mine at the beginning, his at the end so it would be nice to do it midway. We have pretty much decided we want a weekday because it seems prices are cheaper. We know having a weekday is a bit of a risk because some people may not be able to attend but I am 100% certain that those most important will be there come rain or shine. If others arent then fair enough, understandable and it saves us money..

I have looked into other Honeymoons for what I foreacasted the original one to be and you can get a 2 week caribbean holiday for less that what we were going to pay. We could ask for excursions for our wedding presents so that my fiance doesnt get bored with me laying around doing nothing. I am thinking of 6 excursions in total so 3 a week, roughly costing around £50 each, give or take. I am confident we can achieve that between our wedding guests and family since it only takes 6 couples @ £50 between them to pay for these. I dont know how much people generally spend on wedding presents but £50 between a couple seems sensible. It also gives manouvre for those wanting to give a tangible present. Our current guest lists sits at 59 including 6 children..2 will definately attend since they are under 2 so not in school and my little sister will definately be there. The 3 other kids are my fiances nephews, his sister might not want to take them out of school so they will either make babysitter arrangements for the whole day or just the evening. We are anticipating to have around 20 extra evening guests but this may go up if we lack in day guests. We cant really do anything until we have a final guest list like 2 months before the wedding.

Anyway...

What I want to know is, am I likely to get a great deal doing a midweek October wedding? It seems to me that if the wedding and the honeymoon is cheaper it makes more sense to do it next year and go to Singapore the following year to mark our anniversary. Im not one for scrimping too much but compromises need to be made, whilst we maybe can afford to spend 16K on everything, it seems silly to do that if we could spend less and still do what we want to do, just a year later.

Has anybody bagged themselves a great midweek deal at a venue?

With our venue, they either did off season or midweek, you didn't get discount for both. I've never wanted a summer wedding, so this worked out nicely to still get the weekend

Hello,

Firstly congrates on your engagement!

Secondly, I think there is a lot to be said for off peak weddings!

Yes i have noticed they are cheaper and some of the grander venues seem to reduce there minimum numbers over quieter times.

Any way good luck all the best with you planning 

xxx

I got a third off doing it on a week day.  I got a third off that time of year (peak), so I would expect to get a third off the October price if i had done a mid-week then.  Good luck!! x

Hi Oggers, yes you can definitely negotiate good deals if you have a weekday wedding.  Having a wedding on a Monday, Tuesday or a Wednesday in particular will put you in an even stronger position as they are the quietest days for venues so you can haggle the prices down a lot more successfully.  Thursdays are also cheaper days but more and more people are booking them because they are cheap but still fall nicely into the weekend so I have noticed a number of venues have wised up to this and are now not so cheap.  As for the kids, half term usually falls in October so perhaps you could see if you can have your wedding then so that all kids can turn up?

If you give people plenty of notice for the date it will allow them to plan their holiday from work so they can attend. We are looking to get married on a Friday too and so far all of our family and friends are more than happy to take the time off work.  We are also planning to do it in the six weeks holidays too so that our various nieces and nephews can attend.

Good luck! x x x

I forgot about half term..is it usually the last week in October? Having had a quick look at the calender we either have it beginning Monday 21st or Monday 28th..I think they will probably be going to the same school, if not the same area as they are all brothers so I can ask to see if they have any idea when half term usually falls for that area.

I wouldnt mind having any day, Sunday-Friday but I will go with the cheapest because we arent exactly millionaires and I dont want to end up sacrificing on other stuff like hair and makeup.

We did see an offer when we went to a wedding fayre at one of our possible venues for a 3K wedding but as it was 2013 we didnt really take much notice. However, my fiance did say he thought it was peak season so if they can offer something like that in peak season I see no reason why we cant neogiate a whole day and evening for 4K instead of the 6K I originally looked at....

The venue will definately be getting revenue off a few rooms which probably helps as well.

Half term differs per county so it's probably best to check with the parents to see when half term is.  As for that £3k wedding offer, approach the venue and ask them if they would do that price on a Monday to Thursday and see what they say. It's worth a go.  (btw - this £3k wedding deal you saw wouldn't happen to have been at Bowden Hall would it?)

The 3K deal was at Breadsall Priory, Derby. Ive got 2 more venues to look at, once I have picked my favourite I will start discussing prices!!

We went for a November wedding so we could bring our forward by a year and half, has cost us about 5 grand less. I see it as it can rain any time of the year so getting married in the peck times doesnt promise you good weather. Good luck and congratulations x

rachel2012:

We went for a November wedding so we could bring our forward by a year and half, has cost us about 5 grand less. I see it as it can rain any time of the year so getting married in the peck times doesnt promise you good weather. Good luck and congratulations x

Thats my thought...

I have had a quick look at package deals to Singapore to see how much a weeks holiday would cost us in 2014 and its at least £1000 less than the original honeymoon plan. We need to shop around for the best deals and find out how to get out and about as staying further away from the circuit would be cheaper. I had a quick look at all inclusive holidays to the caribbean in October and currently they are priced at around 2K per person. thats again £1000 cheaper than the original plan so by doing things my way we are actually saving money.

Im having a bit of resistance towards my plan though...

Just remind him that if you guys get married next year thats a year less that he has to put up with you talking about the wedding ;-) Not to mention all the fun things you can spend the extra money on!!

Hmm so I contacted 2 out of the 3 venues to enquire about their various offers. None of the cheaper ones are suitable, one of the offers is £1000 for a reception for 25 people..we have more than that in family. Plus they charge for the evening buffet, coffee and the ceremony. By the time I have added on extra people its back upto about 5K..The other offer is free drinks reception for Friday and Sunday weddings..all very well but we will only be saving just under £400 so again we are looking at around the 6K mark..

They dont seem interested in offering me discounted rates for midweek or off season so I feel like I am wasting my time.

Everybody I know who got married claimed to have done it all for under 10K...HOW????

All the extras are coming to about 8K without the venue so I am well and truly stumped :(

Its just making me feel like this whole thing is just a pointless waste of time and money...

Oh dear I remember feeling like this,still do when everyone is talking about what holiday they are going on a we are going no where as we are saving for the wedding. the only wedding I know that has been under 10 grand was when they got married at 4pm and then just had a evening reception. If your brave enough places seem to do last min deals where are you based?

hi hun ive emailed you some helpful advice :D

oggers86:

Everybody I know who got married claimed to have done it all for under 10K...HOW????  Its just making me feel like this whole thing is just a pointless waste of time and money...

 

That's how I've been feeling! It doesn't matter how I try and cost it - it seems to work out at about 15K every time - and I honestly am trying to budget!! If I choose a venue that looks cheaper, the add on costs like catering and cake stands and what not seem to add up to the price of a more expensive venue!  Usually, I then realise I haven't added VAT!

It's all very stressful! And that's before I tell people that we're not having children at the wedding (I know this isn't always popular, but out of 98 guests, we'd have 34 children, of which 26 would be under 10!)