My Mum and Dad are getting married (kind of). Can we afford it?

Ok, even I know this is a bit of a weird one. My parents are married. They threw a brilliant party (to which I was not invited *stamps foot*), got too drunk, and put awful clichés into their speeches. There were things they adored about their wedding, and things they wish they’d done differently. So they’re having another party for their next wedding anniversary. They will have been married 13 years…

Things they liked about their wedding:

• Fireworks – it was bonfire night, and they’d managed to convince someone that theirs was the go-to gig for his fireworks display business.
• Abba (tribute band, obviously!) – could have gone either way, but in the event, the dance floor was packed.
• It started really early. In retrospect this may have been a negative (see below).
• My Mum wore this over her dress. She loved it. She still has it. She still loves it, so watch this space…

Things they wish they’d done differently:

• Used a more unique location – they had the standard hotel chain, who tried to save money on the meal by using “cheap french duck” instead of Gressingham Duck. They know this because the owner of Gressingham Duck is the Bug’s Godfather, and was at the reception, and challenged the chef…
• Started later – Mummy was on the champagne from breakfast. Daddy had the local pub open at 10am for his pre-ceremony stiffener. They were both tipsy on arrival at the church. You can imagine how it deteriorated by the end of the night.
• Not banned children. This is a biggie. M&D had been to weddings where their young adult enjoyment was “marred” by hordes of young children expressing their boredom throughout the speeches. They decided they didn’t want children there. This, as you can imagine, caused aggro. They stand by their decision – no-one has a right to judge a couple on their wedding day. But 13 years later they have me and the Bug, and they wish we could have been there.
• Mummy wishes she’d had the dress experience she was hoping for and didn’t get. She shopped at Virgin Bride, and ended up in an averagely pretty dress that didn’t flatter her, disappointed that she was not made to feel special while trying on princess gowns. There will be more on this…
• Married in their home town, in the beautiful church they now belong to, in which my brother and I were baptised.

So. A party is being planned. There will be some of the same things, and there will be some changes. There will be a renewal of vows. There has already been some really fun trying on of dresses. It’s not a wedding, it’s just a party, held locally, at a cool venue. There probably won’t be a wedding dress. There will definitely be a bridesmaid’s dress. There won’t be any worrying about what people think. They want a party and they’re having one. And there will be children…

It won’t cost as much as the average wedding, but it won’t be cheap. Some extravagance will have to be offset by savings elsewhere. So this infographic is a useful tool  as they plan the party of their forties!

Disclosure: we were paid for posting this infographic. The party is happening, and everything I wrote is true! 😉