As the average cost for a wedding reaches the £25,000 mark, many couples are looking for cheaper alternatives. Spending lots of money is no guarantee of a good day, and some of the most personal weddings I have seen are when couples have taken a different route. You can make certain savings by doing some things yourselves, like Invitations and Orders of Service. For weddings in both of our Churches we will gladly do a basic Order of Service at no additional cost. Please click the highlighted link for a sample.
The big five expenses are usually
- the Reception
- the engagement ring
- the honeymoon
- photography and video
- the wedding dress
The actual service does not appear in the list, and will be one of the cheaper items on your list. Often a Church wedding can work out even cheaper than having a civil ceremony in a hotel where you may be charged extra for the use of the room and will have to pay for the Registrar to come out to perform the ceremony. But what about the big five? Well, we make no claim to know about cheap honeymoons, rings or dresses, but we have encountered alternatives to the first.
The Reception Talk to the older generation, and many Wedding Receptions took place in Church Halls or similar, with outside caterers brought in. Halls can be transformed with small cost and a little 
imagination. Our hall has been used several times for such events,(two of which are pictured here) and there are other good halls in the area. In Bib N'Tucker, we also have an excellent caterer in our village and there are others in the area. Recently we had a wedding in Great Ayton who had their reception in their own back garden with the Scout marquee and various gazebos. It was a risk with the weather, but it turned out to be a good day and an amazing occasion. Any queries, please get in touch. For contact details for our hall, see Parochial Hall
I have taken several very simple weddings with less than 20 people present - and once, just 4 - where the couple simply booked into a local restaurant afterwards for a meal.
Legally weddings have to be finished by 6pm, so you could start at 5pm and go straight into an evening buffet style party in a local hall with local caterers, get your wine from the local supermarket, and hire a group to play for later in the evening - all at a fraction of the cost of a local hotel.
Whatever you decide to do for the rest of the day, we will work hard to make sure that your wedding service with us is remembered most for the most positive reasons.
Good luck!
Weddings in Church Making your service special