weddings can be cheap, but very few are...
what i would recommend is talking to your fiance about what kind of wedding you both want. what your priorities are. you have the food and the number of guests fixed now - but you've still loads of flexibility. all kinds of things are completely optional, and so should only make it into your wedding if they are essential to the wedding that the pair of you really want.
I want to say, there's nothing wrong with any of these things if you want to spend the money on them and they'll make you happy. I had some of them and loved them. But they are things that add up to a lot of expense and really don't make much difference to the experience of the day.
Favours - completely optional. Can you imagine even noticing you didn't get a favour at a wedding?
Hire cars - i bet among your guest list there will be an auntie or cousin with a flash motor, who would be honoured to play chauffeur for the day.
Table centres - not that I want to do down my future job, but tables don't need centres. Or if you feel the need, what about some plain white pillar candles? And if tables don't need centres they certainly don't need confetti or scatter crystals or personalised lovehearts or printed napkins...
Chair covers - really, all those people who got married before chair-cover companies existed... d'you think any of them gave a toss about how pretty their chairs were.
Hire suits for the groom and best man (see also matching cravats and brocade waistcoats) - if it makes him happy, then absolutely... but most grooms wouldn't dream of getting their bride trussed up in a wedding outfit just cos it was what they wanted... most blokes would prefer a simple suit or similar... so why not?
a makeup artist - when you do your makeup, you look like you. when someone else does it, you'll look different. if you're not used to wearing makeup, then it might be essential but otherwise? You could even teach yourself (or a bridesmaid) how to do your preferred hairdo.
Vodka luge / photobooth / sweetie bar / conjurer / balloon animals artist... It's a party. There will be food and booze and music. People can entertain themselves.
A DJ / band - in this day of ipods, what's needed is a sound system and a rota of musically interested mates to do a 90 min slot each. family-friendly stuff in the early evening, gradually moving to more full-on tunes after midnight.
A hen weekend - a day will do. it'll still be lovely, i absolutely promise. just a zillion times cheaper with no hotel to pay for.
A tailored, traditional wedding dress from a wedding boutique - loads of ways to save on the frock. Order a traditional dress from china (it's where most wedding dresses come from anyway - just you get the saving that would be the wedding shop's profit), or go for something retro and funky (fifties-style frocks suit your body shape, as you know) and Vivien of Holloway sell them for under £100. Choose a colour other than white, or a 'bridesmaid' dress, and save a huge chunk. Or employ a local seamstress and buy a pattern and the fabric yourself. You could get a made to measure silk dress for a few hundred pounds.
'proper' bridesmaid dresses. start looking now, and if you don't see anything you like yet, wait til xmas when the party frocks are in the shops. wait til you know your colours and the style of your dress first, though.
A big gift for your fiance on the day - agree to postpone this til the first anniversary, and write each other a letter instead.
a big cake - how about a tower of cupcakes (get the bridesmaids to make them the day before). Or howabout a mountain of doughnuts from sainsburys? Bought on the morning, they'll still be tasty by the evening.
don't lose your excitement, honey. just have a clearer idea of what kind of wedding you're wanting to create. You don't have to have the stuff other people do. A wedding is a promise and a party... everything else is your free choice.
