Rewrite the Stars

DIY wedding projects, lifestyle and travel blog

Categories: Weddings

Hidden Wedding Costs UK

 

Hidden Wedding Costs

Hidden Wedding Costs in the UK are a real pet peeve for me, you find the venue of your dreams and think its well within your budget, and then you find by reading through the small print that there are all these little extras. £2 a head here for choosing their recommended caterers, £300 there for not using their recommend caterers. This is a real example of what I have found, so beware!

First and Foremost

Check those terms and conditions THOROUGHLY! If you don’t understand something, then absolutely go back and CLARIFY. Do not sign things if you do not understand it.

Discretionary

If something is discretionary, then it is NOT compulsory, some venues will add on a service charge which I personally believe should be up to me if I see fit to tip, and I think I am paying quite enough to not warrant a tip!

VAT

Do check if your quote has had the VAT applied, 20% is a big difference!

What’s Included

This is a big one, get absolute clarification on what is included in your venue hire. Are the tables and chairs? Is the linen, cutlery, glassware? To not take for granted what you THINK is or should be included, every venue is different.

Also consider that they may charge Corkage and Cake Cutting fees.

Registrar/Celebrant Fees

Do not forget this is your responsibility to book and pay! There is a ‘Giving Notice Fee’ which is around £35pp and then the fee for the registrars to come out to your venue – around £600. If you are having a register office ceremony that fee is about half. Another alternative is to have the statutory ceremony which is around £70 and then have a celebrant ceremony which is a beautiful alternative as the ceremony will be written especially for you and is completely bespoke for around the same price* [*Depending on county and individual celebrant fees]

NB: These prices are approximate, and you should absolutely check with your own local authority and independent celebrant where appropriate.

Décor

Some venues [Cheekily in my opinion] will tell you that they can provide the chairs, but these chairs will NEED some sort of cover [you know the ones I mean, bright red ugly chairs] so they will either charge you for the covers [now c’mon sister, we do not love a chair cover!!!] or you will need to hire your own.

Also consider delivery charges for any hire items.

Postage

I feel the need to add this one in as it can be so expensive to send out your save the dates and then the invites themselves and do not forget; if you have a wax seal on the back, this may not be a standard stamp! Take to the post office to double check and be sure.

 

Alterations

Most dress shops will not include alterations, depending on what needs altering this can range from a £100 to several hundreds.

 

Clean Up

Most venues will include this in the price but if you are doing it all yourself then do not forget this as a cost and also as a logistic.

 

Ultimately, check and check again to be sure that there are no surprises. I mean, we all love a surprise, right? Just never this kind!!!!

For more tips, come on over to my Pinterest for more.

Or go to HERE for some Budget Hacks.

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Categories: Tips, Weddings

The Best Wedding Budget Hacks

My best wedding budget hacks – I don’t know about you but finding the money for a wedding is not easy! A DIY wedding is NOT cheap and not many people have extra income to put aside or indeed ‘want’ to spend a small fortune on the one day.

Read on for my tip tips to keep that wedding budget intact.

Wedding Budget Hacks

1: The venue and catering

This will be around half of your budget, so choose wisely!! If you are looking to seriously save, consider some different options such as a pub or hotel. They can do some fabulous packages but do remember to read the small print and consider the offer as a whole – some venue hire can seem super good and then the food is quite expensive, so make sure to do your research.

Remember here that whilst DIY sounds like a cheaper alternative, in reality this is not always the case and you have to think about EVERYTHING yourself, logistics, décor, the lot. It is also incredibly time intensive, so you have been warned!

2: Family and Friends

Do you know anyone who is a whizz at baking or pulling together some flowers? Perhaps someone who is crafty and would love to help make your stationery? This is a wonderful way of including family and friend. However, do double check with the venue, especially if its food related, as some do not allow it!

3: Pick a different day of the week

This is a sure-fire way to get the venue of your dreams at a good price! A lot of Brides worry that people won’t come, but if done in plenty of time, there is no reason that your loved ones couldn’t make plans to take some time off work.

4: Go Wild with Foliage

Greenery in a bouquet is a lot cheaper than roses! Consider going wild with foliage in your bouquet and have a few flowers in just the bridal bouquet. You could also mix this up with faux foliage for the table centres as well to keep the cost down.

5: Keep it Seasonal

Keep the flowers seasonal for a better price as flowers that are not In season will cost your florist a lot more to source.

6: DIY Decorations

I am planning to DIY my decorations and use my creativity to make my wedding really different! Great idea but do ensure that you have the time – a lot of the projects are very time consuming.

7: Favours

Think very carefully about what you will give for favours, please do not waste money on things that people will just leave behind! Do not have candle votives with your own names on – no one will want them! (apart from you!) Sweets can be a good call, as are often eaten at the table, but things that require saving and taking home are often left on the table.

8: And Finally…..

Do not do things ‘because you should’ Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you HAVE to have something, its your wedding so you do you. Don’t want a cake? Then don’t have one! Want to wear a high street jumpsuit? You go for it!!

 

I would love to know any wedding budget hacks that you have found that could help others…let me know in the comments!

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Categories: Tips, Weddings

How to set a Wedding Budget

Wedding Budget

How to set your wedding budget.

Love it or loathe it, setting your wedding budget is a MUST at the start of your wedding planning journey.

There is no ‘set’ guide to this as we all have different tastes, my *FREE BUDGET TRACKER* is based on my own preference and items that I deem to be important; you may of course change these. But hopefully, it is a guide to get you started on your budget.

BEFORE YOU START

As you have just got engaged and are just starting to think about the planning side, before you get to the nitty gritty of money, take some time to both sit down and discuss what your dream day looks like, how many people are there? What sort of venue to you imagine? In what season? Get all this down onto paper.

GUESTS

A large part of your budget will be the catering, so determine a rough estimate of who you want to invite so that when you are looking at venues and food, you will be able to make a good, educated guess on how much the food will cost. Do remember that around 15% of those invited may not be able to attend.

*BUDGET BUSTER*

Have a look at alternative venues, pubs, country inns or hotels for example. Some of these do fabulous inclusive packages and may cut that budget in half

 

PRIORITISE

As we have discussed, the venue and food will make about half of your budget, so the detail is down to you to prioritise what comes next. Have a chat about the things that are important to you, as individuals and as a couple.

 

WHO CAN HELP?

Do you have any friends or family that could help with things? Cakes, flowers, invitations, cars – have a brainstorm to see if you know anyone that would love to help.

Note: If you are getting help with food items, do check that your venue will allow this as some don’t.

 

*BUDGET BUSTER*

Make sure that VAT is included in your quotes, and if it isn’t, work it out and add it.

BE REALISTIC

I have to mention this, I know, I know, but you have to be realistic, Pinterest makes for fantastic inspiration but its just that (Unless you have unlimited funds) I hate to be the ‘boring’ one but there is no sense in spending over what you can afford, if you are sensible, cut down in one area and spend more in another but please don’t forget to check your bottom line often.

 

*BUDGET BUSTER*

Check the small print in your contracts for any hidden costs – Read those T’s & C’s!!!!

 

INSURANCE

Post covid, I know a lot of you are finding it hard to find insurance, but if you can, absolutely take some out. It will protect you against suppliers going bust, or an accident with your dress. As with anything legal, check the contract thoroughly! Obviously it wont cover a change of mind, or cold feet – but for out of your hands stuff, definitely worth it. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend any for you as I am not legally allowed to.

Another key point, is to put large purchases on your credit card as you are protected by section 75 [Ensure you pay the balance so as not to accrue interest] Section 75 is a UK protection regulation that comes under the Consumer Credit Act of 1974, go HERE to read more about what it may help you with.

 

Grab my FREE BUDGET PLANNER when THE VAULT goes live in March!

Rewrite the Stars Blog

 

Categories: Tips, Weddings

Confetti Ideas for my Wedding – Top Tips!

Confetti ideas wedding

As you get to the final bits of your planning and are considering your day, you may be thinking ‘What confetti ideas for my wedding are there out there?!’ There is more than one way to skin a cat, so the saying goes and here are my tops tips for considering confetti ideas for your wedding:

 

5 Top Tips!

Check with your venue the Confetti rules!! Most allow it nowadays, but lots do have rules – such as it being biodegradable – and quite frankly we should all buying biodegradable where we can anyway!

 

Consider the freeze-dried petals as they stay in the same shape making the petals larger which makes for a better confetti shot! The natural colours available also mean that you won’t need to worry about the colour running. Alternatively, try large paper confetti, super light and large shapes for a wonderful slow float! See below for some suggestions of where to shop.

Confetti Cones

Choose a company that you can choose your colours such as the Real Flower Petal Company they also sell per handful which makes it super easy to work out amounts! (Also check out my shopping recommendations down below)

Consult with your photographer to organise the perfect confetti shot!! It could be that you wait and have an organised confetti shot which I do think can work well and involve everyone and not just the people at the end of the pews. Check out my blog on How to Create the Perfect Confetti Shot HERE.

Confetti Bubbles

Why not consider an alternative? Such as bubbles or pompoms! I have also seen paper aeroplanes….do make sure that nothing you are throwing could be harmful to anyone.

 

Some suggestions for shopping:

Adam Applehttps://www.adamapple.co.uk/biodegradable-confetti
Dollz Confettihttps://dollzconfetti.co.uk/
Proper Confettihttps://properconfetti.com/
The Confetti Cone Companyhttps://www.biodegradable-confetti.co.uk/

 

 

Rewrite the Stars Blog

Categories: Tips, Weddings

DIY Wedding Planning

When I first got into the wedding industry, my dream was to help brides that didn’t necessarily have the budget for a wedding planner. DIY wedding planning is where my heart is and I wanted to be creative and show that you can create a beautiful day with the imagination and know-how. I wanted to champion the DIY Wedding!! If you are here with me, (a very big welcome!) I would imagine that you too are interested in learning how to plan a DIY wedding!

Fast forward and I trained as a wedding planner, but that was going further away from the people that I wanted to help! I mean, it’s given me a fantastic knowledge and after years of coordinating weddings, I am finally living my dream of helping the DIY bride!

DIY wedding planning
Photo Credit : www.beckyrui.com

BUT what do I mean by DIY wedding? Ultimately, I see it as a fully planned wedding, with handmade elements that may (or may not!) assist with budget. My job, as I see it, is to educate so that you can make informed decisions for your own wedding. I will tell it like it is and give you advice from my 12 years’ experience. I can guide you to where to pitfalls are and how to plan, in a relaxed, stress free way. Essentially, I am talking about planning your own wedding without the expense of a planner.

DIY wedding planning

Budget

A quick word on budget, just because you are having a DIY wedding, this does not mean that it will be cheap! This is a common misconception, but I am afraid that weddings cost, and that’s a fact.

Hiring a wedding planner may well save you some money as they will do the negotiating on your behalf and they know who and where to go for the best deals.

But if you are wanting to go ahead and do it yourself, just be mindful that you still need a good budget to create your dream wedding.

 

Mind

Another thing a planner will do for you, is take that stress away, so I hope that you find some of my articles on mindfulness helpful. What you don’t want to do is get so stressed out that it spoils the planning which believe it or not, should be fun!!!

Mindful wedding planning

 

Timelines

If you are new here, you need to know that I LOVE a list. I am going to be bringing you lists for just about everything!!! Planning a DIY wedding will become a lot easier if you have planned a timeline around the fact that you will be doing it yourself, especially if you are crafting and creating stationery and table centres etc. It’s a fact that often gets forgotten about in planning lists, but DIY makes take time and you want this to be fun, not a complete rush!!

It’s also worth thinking about the timelines from all points of view, so a separate one for suppliers and vendors, and even from the guest’s point of view. You want to create an experience, a seamless, immersive day where it smoothly glides from moment to moment.

So keep a look out for my FREE lists and guides COMING SOON!!

Categories: Agony Aunt, Tips, Weddings

Would Be Wedding Day

Ideas for ‘Would Be’ Wedding Day

 

I know that for a lot of brides this has been/or will be, a bittersweet day, and I think its important to commemorate it in some way. A get together of friends, or a romantic ‘date’ with your hubby/wife to be! Let’s look at ways to mark your ‘would be’ wedding date.

Would be wedding

 

Top 8 Ideas Would Be Wedding Day

 

Here are my top eight ideas of things to do on your ‘would be’ wedding:

1: Arrange a blessing. Why not have a celebrant led ceremony? A lovely little blessing with a handful of special people would be so lovely. You could pick a new outfit, I am loving these cute short dresses at the moment!

For those that don’t know, I am a wedding celebrant in my spare time……shameless plug, hop on over to www.thestorytellercelebrant.com and I will help you 😊

 

Wedding Celebrant
Photo: Louise Griffin Photography

2: Spend the day in bed. Take this in whatever way you want! A romantic duvet day, films, ice cream, chocolate could be just the thing to reconnect and make the day memorable.

 

3: Have a cake cutting ceremony. Gather your friends’ round, pop the prosecco and have a lovely cake to cut! I mean, Cake…..no brainer.

 

4: Get dolled up and go for a special meal, as a couple or with a group of lovely friends.

 

5: Have a little get together and host a Mr and Mrs Quiz! Check out John Lewis’s pocket version HERE

 

6: Have some fun and try out the latest Tik Tok crazes! Capture the hilarity on video and share amongst for friends – challenge them as well!

 

7: Create a first dance, play the songs that you have selected for your wedding and have a romantic dance at home.

 

 

 

Couple danicing

8: Go for a romantic picnic. Pick a gorgeous, secluded spot and pack some local deli foods and whisk your sweetheart away for a surprise picnic.

Have you got any plans of your own? Do let me know in the comments!

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