uk wedding for under 1000 quid?

Is it possible to have a wedding for about 20 guests for under 1000?
any suggestions on how to keep it cheap?
I was hoping to have some sort of reception at a hotel maybe?
I'm thinking it's quite expensive to get married in UK. have no clue. please help

is that 1000 quid just for the reception? I'd say it's do-able, although you may find a hotel a bit out of budget, they tend to hcarge a lot just for the hire - maybe look at local church halls or clubrooms and have outside caterers - may be cheaper; also a buffet will be cheaper than a 3 course meal with waiter service; you might also want to consider a nice restaurant or a nice country pub that has a function room.  What part of the country are you getting married in?

We almost did - we had a blessing here, and would've had it really cheap (£500 for 75), but PIL stepped in...

I'm assuming you're talking about just the reception? We were going to rent a hall (you can actually get nice spaces, try your council for old buildings, etc), and get nice food from Waitrose. It'd have been more work, but I was excited, and thought it'd be really elegant. IF you're only having 20, you could prob find restaurants willing to hire out a room. We actually did much of our US wedding really cheaply - and did DIY flowers (went to the supermarkets the day before and bought what was pretty and fit with our colours - everyone loved the potted tulips, and they made great favours!), and had the wedding party pitch in a bit, so we weren't paying as much for service.

Are you thinking of photography and clothes as well? Monsoon is great for dresses, and if you're worried about money, just ask for the guests to all take pictures, and send you doubles? (Some of our favourite pictures were actually non-professional.)

I'll be getting married near Manchester in Cheshire. Love the idea of getting married in the countryside in an old building. don't know where to start looking.

I don't know the area but I'll bet you can find some lovely old country pubs that do weddings or have function rooms.

I was going to say that about pubs - also, if you're willing to do the DIY route, you could try contacting the council for buildings they rent out?

Where are you getting married? Maybe they have a list of suggested locations?

I don't think you can get married in a pub. Such weird rules!

I'll be getting married near Manchester in Cheshire. Love the idea of getting married in the countryside in an old building. don't know where to start looking.

You can only get married in an approved venue.  Contact the concil for a list of ones in the area you're getting married. 

Cheshire County Council actually have a list on their website.

http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/weddings/

I think it can be done.  I photographed a wedding yesterday where the ceremony took place at a historic building in Hampstead.  I think the hire of the room was something like £100 ( I am not sure whether they have to pay for the registar).  Then they had lunch at a pub where they had reserved a room.  She wore a very simple dress and arrived in a regular car.  Nothing fancy but heartfelt, which is what really matters.  They were so happy you'd think they spent a million.

June

I don't think you can get married in a pub. Such weird rules!

I mean for the reception! But some pubs do have wedding licenses.  I'm talking about extra super nice pubs, not your average High St pub.

I've heard of a few people having pub receptions.

Supermarket cake you decorate yourself,  nice pub or restaurant function room, buffet rather than sit down, student musicians...

We weren't quite that low of a budget, but we spent less than £6000 on everything but the rings and honeymoon, with I think it was 85 guests.

Hey Texas gal, I'm a Texas gal too (from Corpus Christi, also lived in Aggieland, Houston and Dallas).

My H2B and I are getting married in London on the cheap.  I have bought loads of stuff from eBay and charity shops rather than paying full retail.  We are only having 4 guests, but I think we still could have kept it cheap as we're having a meal at a local restaurant after the registry office ceremony.

I agree with the posters who recommended pubs for the receptions.  My office is over the road from an upscale pub and we went for an after work drink on Friday and there was a reception still going on - it was such a nice setting and they all had such a great time (I chatted to the sister of the bride as I was too curious not to).  The pub is well known in the area for its great food, and if I lived in the local area, I certainly would have considered having my reception there too.

I have also learned heaps on confetti's website, not sure if you've gone there, but you can post about venues and I'd bet you'll find people near to you who can recommend places worth investigating.

We are buying a Marks and Spencer cake and bringing that to the restaurant where we are having the reception, they are also letting us bring our own sparkling wine and not charging us corkage.

Good luck!

I don't think you could do it at a hotel for 20 guests under £1000.  I think there are some great alternatives suggested here though.

Cheapest for the ceremony is probably the registry office, but some of them are really nice!  And the pub reception is a great idea too.

We had ours at a local hotel for 20 people exactly.  It was more than £1000, though not extravagantly so.  When I was looking for a venue, most of the approved-premises hotels had a certain basic minimum-spend 'wedding package' in order to have the wedding there -- they were all more than £1000.  Fortunately, the in-laws paid for the reception as their wedding gift to us.