Mission possible - hints & tips to managing your wedding budget
Author: Amie Haynes, Venue Director
Wedding planning can at times be a rollercoaster. The initial excitement of an engagement, friends and family pleased to share your news. A few days of ‘congratulations!’ and bottle popping, soon to be followed up with the question you will hear on repeat… ‘When are you getting married?’
And so, you go headfirst into research and planning, and fall down the Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok rabbit hole. Your creative ideas will be endless, but ultimately, the one thing that leads this once in a lifetime event will most likely be your budget. Discussions around your budget may feel like a taboo, but actively setting and understanding your financial constraints will help to navigate your wedding journey from the very beginning.
With everyone feeling the financial pinch somewhere, the wedding itself might feel daunting. But with careful planning, nothing is impossible. By planning your wedding at Silchester Farm, we offer a beautiful setting, delicious food and drink, the cosiest accommodation to rest your head, and a team with an abundance of experience. We are here to guide you through the planning stages and are fully transparent with costs, so that you can enjoy every step, from booking your wedding date to breakfast the morning after your celebrations!
Choosing the date
Traditionally, weddings took place in church on Saturdays. But now, you can marry on any day, anywhere. Flexibility is key and with three simple timing dependencies, you can budget for the wedding of your dreams.
While summer season pricing is relevant through the peak months, other seasons offer a beautiful and attractive alternative.
Weekday bookings can also make a huge difference. This simple tweak can make significant saving and allow you the entertainment you want to book instead of entertainment you assume you can only afford.
Sending a ‘save the date’ will notify your nearest and dearest the time they need to book holiday and allocate babysitters, securing their attendance and your guest list numbers.
At Silchester Farm, booking November to April, your minimum catering requirement is only 50 adults. Through May to October this only increases to 60 or 80 dependant on the day of the week. With the average day guest list ranging from 70 to 90, you can keep the day more intimate with fewer guests if you wish, which in turn lowers your spend.
Hidden costs can also soon ramp up. That’s why here at Silchester Farm, included in your wedding, you have exclusive use of the venue, with our Hampshire Threshing Barn dedicated to your ceremony and our Cowshed for your wedding breakfast and evening reception. Alongside, the Woodshed is your preparation space for hair and make-up from 9.30am.
Accommodation (whilst compulsory) is priced separately to your venue spaces, which ensures you have the information you need to offset this cost to your guests. Offering your guests the opportunity to arrive, spend the night, and enjoy a delicious breakfast comes at great convenience, and one they are happy to pay for when they realise they can really make themselves at home.
Deciding on your VIPs
Your first draft guest list is often an excited attempt to get the obvious family and friends names together. As time progresses this can change for multiple reasons. Guests coming from afar can be less predictable and whatever the timeline you have ahead of you, new people you want to add in can increase. With Silchester Farm, you don’t need to confirm your final guest count until 3 months ahead of the wedding, ensuring plenty of time to chase up those RSVPs and work out if you want everyone to be there all day, or evening only. For this reason, we have created a simple staged payment plan to assist with the process.
Helpful payment arrangements
At Silchester Farm, with three simple payments from point of booking to final sign off, you can set the date and work towards your final balance, assured that when you sign off your plan, you are not paying for anyone who is not confirmed to attend.
Transparent pricing is fundamental, which is why our simple payment structure includes a venue hire rate, accommodation cost and then food and drink collections to ensure guests are amply spoiled from start to finish. Our easy inclusive menus, ensure you can have everything you want, however, there are upgrades available with the option to sprinkle in a cocktail hour or delicious surprise course at dinner!
Steady payments working towards your final bill, ensuring that you’re making contributions to your final balance and are not faced with the entire sum at one time when you’re likely needing to pay other suppliers. There is always a flurry of final details to complete, and having signed off your planning with us and completed those payments, this leaves you time to wrap up those lose ends elsewhere and relax ahead of time.
Smart planning and co-ordination
Controversial but true… you don’t need a wedding planner. Our events team are on hand through your planning and will be here on the day to oversee everything you have worked so hard to arrange. Save the expense and let us guide you through this once in a lifetime experience. You can book your initial planning meeting shortly after securing your date, so that we can spend some time together outlining your initial ideas and timeline. This will ensure that when you look for external suppliers you have everything you need from the beginning.
Not only will our team support you through the planning, but we will also be here on the day, on the ground, getting everyone and everything where it needs to be. If you are looking for decorations to suit your aesthetic and styling, then our advice is to be savvy with your ceremony set up. Focus on your aisle and ceremony area, and plan decor that can be reused in the dining room. Floral arrangements can be relocated after the ceremony, bouquets can be allocated to vases and used as centrepieces or positioned next to your cake. Your bridal party will look stunning in the photos and have the best intentions on the day but very often, the posies you spend time selecting, will be found on a bench in the garden if they are not utilised elsewhere. Let our team reuse these items, and your decorations can be enjoyed all day, reducing the cost and eradicating waste.
Alternatively, dried flowers are extremely popular, and will last longer than the day itself. You might think you can’t beat the fresh scent of new blooms, but if you are looking for a finishing touch that you can later enjoy at home, then dried decorations are versatile and more readily available than ever before.
Hire don’t buy!
It is important that through everything we do, we work as sustainably as possibly, so our final tip is ‘hire don’t buy’. It sounds simple, but it’s easy to get wrapped up in a shopping frenzy thinking that it is saving you in the long run. ‘Buy two lanterns, get one free’… where will you put these 20 lanterns after the wedding? Will they go in the garage with the intention to sell them, or will they end up there forever?
Utilise your suppliers! Each has their own range of products and services that they will be happy to provide. Evening entertainment suppliers won’t just bring the tunes, if you are looking for a dancefloor, photobooth or additional lighting, they can help. Your florist can do more than a bunch of flowers, they will also stock table decor, candles, table plans, the list is endless…
And on the subject of hire, don’t forget that preloved dresses and suits are as good as new and with a sustainability story of their own. Dress in something elegant and feel smug about your consideration to the planet.
Look after the pennies…
…and the pounds will look after themselves. There are hundreds of ways stay on budget, but the key to your wedding planning journey is to establish what is achievable. Don’t put yourself under the financial pressure to host a day that you will worry about, and possibly resent. Be realistic and understand that there is often a way to get what you want, without breaking the bank.
Experience Silchester Farm
We’re here to ensure your day goes without a hitch from the first look to the first dance. To explore Silchester Farm for yourself, please get in touch to arrange a viewing. We have a selection of great offers available on a limited number of 2024 dates, so if you are ready to jump into the planning, then your dream wedding is only a phone call away.