Chintz 'n' China: Vintage wedding special. GET WED LOCAL & SAVE £s

A hopeless romantic? me too, I can't help it, so planning a wedding got me thinking on not what looks pretty (although I obviously thought that too) but what matters to us.
My hubby proposed to me in a garden in Lake Como under a little gazebo looking out to the lake, (I know... I'm one lucky lady.. its all about the romance). So our first thoughts on planning a day with sentiment was to have a very small wedding in that very same garden in Lake Como. Swoon...
It's very easy to get carried away when you first get engaged but just stop & breath a little before making any rash decisions. I would of adored a wedding in Italy... however that meant leaving behind our grandparents & that was not going to happen, I couldn't get married without all my nearest & dearest around me & that brings me to my first tip... Draw up your guest list, now look at it.... properly! Do All these people on your list really mean something to you? chances are your inviting some as its the done thing, this is your first cut! "HARSH" you say...
"TRUE" I say! After going through your list again with this rule you will be surprised at how many people you haven't seen for years & probably haven't spoken to for the same amount of time.
Once you have your number you can start considering all your options.
Realising we had to stay local was no bad thing and I'd strongly advise it to all you engaged happy couples!

We picked the church from the village where I grew up. To get married in a church you need to either be living in the parish, or have lived in the parish for a minimum of 6 months, or have a family connection (your mum & dad) living in the village. After booking the church we knew we didn't want to spend obscene amounts, we didn't have a budget as such, but just a figure in our heads that we were comfortable to go up too & we knew how much was too much when booking suppliers. In our aim to keep costs down and do our bit for the environment we decided to look local. We managed to find everything & everyone we needed within a 10 mile radius (and that's good going considering we live in a village). Keeping all our suppliers local not only meant keeping costs down, it was also huge piece of mind knowing they were on our doorstep, Our caterer lived in the next village and we were soon on first name terms.
The hog roast came from Ollie, the local butcher, most butchers can do hog roasts, or they will be able to recommend someone, it's worth checking out first before hiring a big company with an impressive looking website as these can be really expensive.
We went to our local music shop to see if they knew any good cheap bands, as it happens the owner of the music shop was in a great band, another one ticked off the list.
Keeping local meant that we could pop in on these people, and gave us all a chance to get to know each other, there is nothing worse than booking suppliers whom you've never met let alone paying them!! Then there's the stress of "are they actually going to turn up"
Along with keeping it local, seek out help from friends and family, and not forgetting bridesmaids, maid of Honor and best men. I managed to rope all my bridesmaids (& the groom) into a bunting making party, ok so they did groan a little when I started pulling out yards & yards of fabric, but when I pulled out the food they were fine lol.

I am very lucky that my Mother in law is an artist & she did all our invites.
I have a friend who's a florist who did our bouquets & button holes as this was something I felt should be left to a professional! Friends & family picked flowers from gardens to decorate the venue.

Hiring a village hall is a great way to style your own day and they are often very reasonable, have a look around as there are some beautiful ones. Some village halls come with a bar and staff, some just have a bar area which is great, it means you could buy all your drinks for the wedding at cost price. Village halls can easily be transformed & lend themselves nicely to the vintage theme. Decorate them with lots of bunting and fresh flowers.
To finish the look why not hire some vintage props from www.chintznchinavintagehire.co.uk .
Catering companies can be very flexible when working in a village hall too, and what's really great is you get to choose your own caterer! Why not try a traditional afternoon tea. Ours went down a storm and the vintage china worked so well.
Working with local people was great, we ended up coming in well under the amount in our heads, so we treated our guests to a pimm's & canape reception on the village green.

Of course you don't have to get married where you live to keep it local, but finding suppliers local to your church/venue will keep costs down. Suppliers will charge for delivery/travel and this can soon mount up, most however do not charge this within a 10-20 mile radius. The saving could be hundreds!