Are you stuck for small wedding idea’s
Not everyone wants a big wedding as they perhaps do not have the budget for one, might not have a big family or circle of friends and there are many places that have a minimum package.
Just because a wedding is on a smaller scale does not mean that it is less expensive and sometimes what seems the simplest of things can take you well over budget.
My top five small wedding idea’s
Ruins of Melrose Abbey
HISTORIC SITES
Marrying is some of our lovely historic sites that do not have full structures anymore such as the beautiful Melrose Abbey in the Scottish borders is a lovely option, Melrose Abbey is one of the bigger sites that can hold up to 100 guests
There many other smaller sites that take 40 guests max.
Melrose Abbey can only be used for your ceremony and photographs it does make a stunning back drop for any wedding.
The National Trust own many beautiful places such as Harmony House that you can use for a reception, whilst the places for the ceremony are very reasonable holding the reception there might prove to be more expensive that you budgeted for.
If you like the idea of a Castle there are no shortages of them around the U.K trying looking at National Trust or National Trust for Scotland. Also consider looking at Historic Scotland they have some great venue’s such as Edinburgh Castle, no matter where you are in the UK there are many venue’s that are of historical interest that you can consider for your wedding.
HIRE A BARN ON A FARM
Dalduff Barn taken by Jenny Turner Photography
There are some lovely Barns that you can use to have your wedding reception or get married in, they can be made to look stunning, one thing to consider, if it is a working farm the smell may not be pleasant so be sure to check, how accessible it is and what facilities are available to you and your party.
Dalduff farm offers their barn for hire it is a lovely stone building and has seating for up to 100 guests something like this is certainly worth considering. looks very warm and welcoming. If you want to see more on this lovely stone barn you can visit their website or follow them on facebook
If you like the idea of Dalduff farm it is located in Maybole, Ayrshire.
Country Manor House
Paxton House is a beautiful country manor type home in the borders of Scotland if offers a few options depending on the size of your wedding and the budget you have, what caught my eye was the use of the boat house for a small party it looked amazing.
This photo came from their lovely website with other options available however as with all stately type homes you need to check out the area and see what facilities there are for you guests it is near to Berwick on Tweed .
stunning set up for small wedding
They also have a small video to show how they created the setting at the boat house it is quite a unique idea, check out their boat option to there are many beautiful locations around the grounds for photo opportunities to.
Berwick on Tweed is a lovely town to visit and well situated if you have guests coming from both sides of the border.
Good old fashion pub wedding
Loch lomond Arms Hotel
There are still many lovely old pubs around settled is some beautiful surroundings that cater for weddings and they are worth looking at for smaller numbers and lower budgets, I have been to some lovely weddings in old coaching inns in England.
Check around the area where you intend to get married many have specific function rooms and they are not full of old drab rooms these days.
Loch Lomond Arms Hotel is situated in Luss one of my favorite places to visit this is a beautiful village on the shores of the Loch and road links are good.
Informal wedding check out your community halls
Town Hall at Renfrew
This is ideal for those who want to arrange their own wedding reception or some of them have available function rooms, how about this for a town hall Renfrew, not everywhere has such stunning buildings such as this.
Many places just have simple traditional styles of halls and the floors are marked out like your old school halls, but so long as you do not mind this it can be transformed into a lovely space.
Depending where you live have a look at your local halls, registry offices some have beautiful buildings with gardens for photo opportunities.
These are just some wedding idea,s to choose from however I would suggest once you decide on numbers and venue you stick to the plan, secure the venue as quickly as possible takes a lot of pressure of you and it can become very stressful when you reach overload on choices available.
On average people plan for at least a year in advance and often you think there is lots of time whilst it may seem like a lot of time it soon comes round and you find so much to do
Break your wedding down into elements and have a plan to work even if its ticking one thing of your list each month, give priority to the most important tasks, get someone to help and touch base regular to see how its coming together and do not forget the groom even if he is happy to leave it all to you, give him an overview.
MOST IMPORTANTLY DO NOT LET IT BECOME ALL CONSUMING YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO ENJOY THE JOURNEY NOT JUST THE DESTINATION
good planning saves time
I had my wedding for pretty cheap and it was really nice. It was just at the juscite of the peaces office but outside was really nice and we had a ceremony.
In the states its a little different but there really are all kinds of ways to get married on the cheap without compromising the experience.
I would say a country manor like you named would be the best. but that is just for my taste I think.
How would you go about finding out places in your local area that would be free or really cheap to host a wedding/ reception?
Getting married in Country Manor is not as expensive as you think often you can just hire a room use the beautiful grounds for additional photo’s,my daughters had very different weddings did not cost the earth and a good time was had by all, you could also look at what we call pubs. social clubs if a friend has a great house there are no end to possibilities it all comes down to what you want and your budget, converted barns are very popular just now just need to keep in mind the number of guests you are having one of my favorites is an old boat house it can look amazing and is very affordable