£1 wedding

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The lavish wedding - for just a pound

A thrifty bride and groom have proved a wedding day to remember does not need to cost a fortune after celebrating their nuptials -- for just one pound.

Georgina Porteous and Sid Innes organised their perfect day for family and friends, complete with rings, flowers, a cake and a photographer to capture the occasion.

They also hosted a reception with a picnic, drinks, jazz music and dancing at a romantic setting in the Scottish Highlands.

But incredibly, apart from the £70 they had to pay by law for their marriage fees, their only expenditure was a pound on Georgina's vintage wedding gown.

The newlyweds have now been toasting their big day after spending only a tiny fraction of the average £20,000 cost of a wedding in the UK.

Georgina, 36, said: "I don't see the point in these massive weddings. It takes away from what marriage is truly about.

"There is nothing to gain from spending a huge amount of money. The day is supposed to be about marrying the person you love and for us all that mattered was that we were becoming husband and wife. We didn't want or need a big, fancy affair."

Georgina, an artist, met singer-songwriter Sid, 39, at an art fair in Glasgow in 2009 and immediately said 'yes' when he proposed in Berlin last year.

The couple, who live near Inverness, started planning their big day but as they are both dedicated to recycling and self-sufficiency, they vowed to keep their nuptials as simple as possible.

The only expense they could not avoid was the statutory £70 for the fees required to marry, but everything else was donated or sourced for free.

Georgina said: "From day one of the engagement we knew we wanted a small and cheap wedding, it was a natural thing for us because we are so invested in recycling and self-sustainability. We were really excited to plan it all.

"We have always been a bit alternative and arty so I enjoyed doing something a little different from everyone else's weddings." 

The wedding took place last month in a barn behind the couple's idyllic cottage, which was decorated with solar lanterns, locally grown flowers and hay bales donated from farmers.

Georgina looked stunning in a 1960s hand-made floor-length ivory wedding gown with embroidered sleeves.

She found the dress the website freecycle, an online community where people can swap unwanted items, and it cost her a pound - their only expenditure on the day itself.

Sid opted for a stylish tweed suit he had bought years ago from Marks and Spencer.

Georgina's mum Susanne, a church reader, conducted the ceremony in front of 70 guests.

The couple exchanged wedding rings hand-crafted by Georgina using antlers she found in their garden.

They were officially pronounced man and wife by local reverend Peter Donald, who had offered his services for free so the guests had a whip-round to make donations to the church.

An official wedding photographer was on hand to capture the occasion after Georgina, also a freelance film editor, offered to work for him in return.

Each guest had been asked to bring food and drink, so they tucked into home-made quiches, sausage rolls, boiled potatoes, fresh bread and salad.

Georgina's Aunt had baked a three-tier chocolate orange wedding cake infused with Lady Grey tea, with the couple's initials intertwined on top for decoration.

After the wedding picnic, everyone partied the night away, as Georgina's talented father, Harry, played some 1940s jazz on his saxophone.

Georgina added: "We had so much fun and it was exciting to see what dish everyone had brought.

"We all sat around after the ceremony and had a little picnic, it was great and all the food was gone by the end so we didn't waste any of it.

"There was quite a relaxed atmosphere and everyone was chatting to one another, and then when it got later everyone was enjoying the music and joining in with all the dances.

"We had a ball. The day went beautifully. It was really family-focused and emotional. Lots of people said it was the best wedding they have ever been to." 

But despite spending so little on their wedding, the couple intend to be more extravagant on their honeymoon as they will be spending a month in Berlin.

Georgina said: "Although we spent a small amount, we do plan to spend a little more on our honeymoon.

"We are going back to Berlin, where we got engaged. We love it and we have friends living there, so we will still be able to save some money."

Source: Scottish Express   

 

Vocabulary:

lavish (adj) = showing that a lot of money has been spent - lujoso, desmesurado

thrifty (adj) = showing a careful use of money especially by avoiding waste - ahorrativo

the bride and groom - la novia y el novio (los novios)

nuptials (n) - nupcias

to host = to provide the space for a special event - albergar

a fee = an amount of money you pay to do/use sth or to get a service - honorarios  precio

expenditure = the total amount that a person or government spends (formal) - gastos

a gown = a woman's dress that is usually worn on formal occasions - vestido largo

newlyweds (n) = a couple who have just got married - recién casados

to toast = to hold up your glass as an expression of good wishes - brindar

average (adj) - media, promedio

to see the point in sth = to understand the reason for doing stg - ver el sentido

to take away from = to lessen the value of sth 
 

marriage (n) - matrimonio

huge (adj) - enorme ≠ tiny

an amount - cantidad, suma

fancy (adj) - elaborado, sofisticado ≠ ordinary

an affair = an event - una ocasión, un acontecimiento

a fair - una feria

to vow to do sth = to make a serious promise or decision - jurar

to avoid - evitar

to source = to get sth from a particular place 

 
an engagement - un compromiso

to get engaged = to officially decide to get married - prometerse

to take place = to happen - tener lugar

a barn - un granero

hay bales - balas de heno

stunning (adj) = incredibly beautiful - impresionante

ivory (adj) - marfil

embroidered (adj) - bordada

a sleeve - una manga

to swap = to give sth and be given sth else instead - cambiar

a suit - un traje

a guest - un huesped

antlers = the horns of a deer (ciervo) - cornamenta

a whip-round = money collected from a group of people to buy a present for sb - una colecta

to be on hand - estar disponible

to tuck into (informal) - lanzarse (sobre la comida)

sausage rolls = pastry filled with sausage meet - aguja de hojaldre rellena de salchicha

a tier = one of several levels e.g. on a cake - un piso?

to intertwine = to twist two things together so as to be difficult to separate - interlazar

to waste - to use sth badly when there is a limited amount

to have a ball = to have a great time - pasarlo bomba

despite (+ verb + ing / + noun) - a pesar de

although - aunque, a pesar de que

to save money - ahorrar dinero


When did you last go to a wedding? What was it like? Did you enjoy it?

Do you think people spend too much money on their wedding day? What is your opinion on the £1 wedding?