It's an approach Sally Arthur can relate to. “We wanted all our friends and family, pals past and present, to witness our promises in as cheap and cheerful a way as possible,” she says. “It seems odd to spend thousands of pounds on one day, or borrow beyond your means to get married. It's better to have a great day with folks you love and then save the money for the stuff that really matters.”
Arthur and her husband, Sam, who live in Bristol, in the west of England, rented a youth hostel. “Mum and dad and our sisters and friends — everyone helped.”
They had a bouncy castle, giant Snakes and Ladders and Arthur's sister made cakes and set them out like a village fete stall. Arthur, 34, felt too old for “a white frou-frou meringue dream” dress.
Instead, her dress was made by Mindell Bowen — “an amazing seamstress in Bristol” — based on the brief “Pacers” (the green and white striped sweets she loved as a child) and her husband bought a vintage chocolate-brown suit and wore a purple shirt.
Arthur's advice for keeping the cost low, and the fun quotient high, is simple. “When pricing stuff like food and drink, don't say it's for a wedding — you can hear the people on the other end of the phone adding on 20 percent. Then imagine the most desirable weekend you can think of and work out how to make it happen. It's worth taking the time to spend the money on things you want and not what some wedding planner tells you you should want.”
It didn't take digital artist Mischa Giancovich, 28, long to come up with the theme for her wedding. “I am a total festival head and so is my husband, Jem,” she says, “and we knew our mates would appreciate a mad fancy-dress camping weekend in the middle of nowhere.”
The dress code was “charity shop;” invitations were designed as festival flyers. They persuaded a farmer to rent them a field on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, where they live: the cows had to be moved out the day before, ”and a team of very loyal mates spent the day scraping up cowpats.”
For Ruth Culver, an events and party organizer, keeping things as green as possible was as important as the spectacle. “We encouraged guests to car-share or take the train. I researched local food suppliers through the Soil Association, the coffee and tea were Fairtrade and our venue had its own spring so there was no need for bottles of water.”
So if you are planning your wedding day, take heart — there's no need for nuptials-by-numbers. The alternabrides' message is clear: ditch the embossed wedding stationery and skyscraper cakes.
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