I remember feeling incredibly nervous, waiting for Michael outside the registry office. I really wanted him to think I looked beautiful. When I saw him come around the corner, his face lit up and I couldn't believe how handsome he looked in his suit. Thankfully, Michael thought I looked wonderful so it was a job well done and we made our way to the waiting room whilst the anxiety built up. When it was just us outside the room, everyone waiting for us, it hit me that we were about to become husband and wife.
I'd been waiting for this moment for so many years and I wanted to slow time down. I wanted that moment, where everyone watched us declare our love to eachother, to last forever. Hearing that we were officially married and Michael's arms scooping me into a giant bear hug was a moment of pure and utter happiness. It was his way of saying, we are in this together, whatever life throws at us. As I read a poem I had selected (and it took me a long time to find the perfect one) to Michael, I tried to force myself not to cry but I couldn't help it. The poem said everything I had always wanted to say to the man who had saved me, made me a better person and I wanted to thank him in front of everybody. We exchanged rings and we kissed and we did the traditional walking out to confetti being thrown at us. It was simple and unfancy but a fairytale to me.
The reception was just what we wanted, not too over the top, amazing food and people we cared about under one roof. We kept things as simple and as cheap as we could but making sure everyone was happy, had someone to talk to and lots of cake to eat. I honestly had one of the best days of my life and I'm sure Michael would say the same. I just love being Mrs Dommett and to have our darling Matilda there, as part of the memories....the photos, everything....well it just confirmed the reason why we always wanted a child first before we got married. Michael and I are not one for tradition anyway!
And all of this was done so incredibly cheaply. I'm sure Michael won't mind me saying that pretty much most of the organisation was down to me. It took a lot of research, knowing kind people, simplifying everything to make it work. We have little money but yet we still had the perfect day. I had many people ask me how we did it on such a low budget....well would you like to know?
Over the next few blog posts I'm going to talk about how we managed to have a lovely wedding day for under 1k hopefully encouraging those who want to get married but think they can't afford it! Don't get me wrong though, we wouldn't have been able to do this without a lot of genoristy from family and friends so having a network of people around you is always massively helpful.
The Dress
I always knew I wouldn't be able to get an expensive dress. I ummed and ahhhed at so many dresses, returning, buying, returning again. I had a maximum budget of £150 so I took to websites such as Ebay, Amazon and high street stores. Personally, for me, I didn't want to use a company in China because no matter how cheap, I couldn't guarantee the size and style would be what I wanted and I wasn't willing to take the risk. However it can be an amazingly cheap way of getting a dress but shop around in High Street stores first because there can be some great bargains.
In the end I went for the Sofia Dress from BHS which cost £100 and it really is exactly what I wanted....classy, simply, vintage lace style. I found BHS and Debenhams to be of the most value and you can get dresses for as little as £80. If you can afford a little more, say £300+ then shops such as Coast, Monsoon and Phase Eight are fantastic. Also a few times a year, stores have sales-sign up to mailing lists so you know straight away. I got so many compliments on my dress and it made me feel special but also comfortable, that is what you need to look for.
The flowers
To save money I went for artifical flowers rather than fresh. Also the venue we booked had fresh flowers on the day. We also used artifical flowers for the wedding reception too (from good old poundland) and they cost around £8. This beautiful bouquet I bought from a company on Ebay, they were £15 and I think they are stunning plus the benefit is I can keep them forever as a momento.
The ring
This was probably one of the least important things to do us, because at the end of the day I believe as long as the ring feels and looks right, it doesn't matter how many diamonds or how expensive it is. I decided to go against the norm and not get a traditional band. I wanted something a little different and for excellent cheap prices, both Michael and I went for Amazon. My ring, which is 9 carat gold was the grand total of £40 but to me, it means a lot because of the three hearts representing me Michael and Matilda. To save money I'd also suggest websites such as Etsy or Ebay although it does help to obviously try on a ring first. That's why I chose Amazon as they have such an easy return service. Also there are second hand jewellery shops everywhere so you can see them for yourself.
The cake
Again, to save money, me and Michael decided to not go for a traditional wedding cake. We decided to get gorgeous big gateaux cakes instead and two large ones cost us £70 and they went down well. They were absolutely delicious and there was lots left over (urmmm may have helped finish that off). We bought them from a chain of shops from Patesserie Valerie, who also do reasonably priced wedding cakes too. We decided to also have a plain sponge to put our cake topper in (which was £10 from Ebay) so that anyone who didn't like the gateaux could have something plainer!
Stay tuned for more wedding saving tips and mummy posts :) xoxo
How lovely cheryl. Keep the posts coming: )
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