We banned family from our £400 wedding but I loved my £12 dress & cut the £9 cake on our kitchen worktop
ALL expense was spared when thrifty Liz Clifton married her partner Matt – they did their special day on the super cheap.
While some couples rack up thousands of pounds in debt to tie the knot, that didn’t happen to Liz, 43, who was blissfully happy cutting into her homemade wedding cake on her kitchen worktop.
She bought her dress from Amazon and despite the entire day costing under £400, she says it was ‘perfect’ from start to finish.
Liz, a self care coach who lives in Neath, South Wales with Matt, 31, a book keeper, says: “We both decided we’d both spent large parts of our lives not making our own choices but just going along with what other people wanted, especially in past relationships.
”After Matt proposed to me just hours after I had given birth to our daughter in 2017, after three years together, we decided we were having our day the way we wanted it – and that meant keeping it ultra simple, small and private.”
So much so, the couple married at Caerphilly register office with just their neighbours as witnesses along with their daughter Avril, seven, and Liz’s daughter Christina, 21, from a previous relationship.
We decided we were having our day the way we wanted it… ultra simple, small and private.
Liz Clifton
Rather than splashing out huge amounts on a dress – UK brides spend £1300 on average and a typical wedding costs £18,000 upwards – Liz paid just £12.17 on an off-white chiffon gown from Amazon.
To go with it, she spent £12 on sandals and £18.98 on four chiffon scarves to wear as a shawl.
“The promise to each other, for us, was the biggest part,” explains Liz.
“We didn’t want the huge, traditional wedding that I think a lot of people feel trapped into doing.
“I wanted my wedding dress to be comfortable, light and something I could wear again and wear if I changed size. I wanted something I could continue to use if I wanted to as I am into sustainability and minimalism.
“I still have the dress and I use the scarves for dressing up with the kids.”
Liz met Matt in the supermarket where they both worked and their friendship later turned to romance.
Their daughter Avril was six months old when they tied the knot.
Liz and Matt's wedding
Notice of marriage and ceremony – £100
One-night honeymoon – £72
Wedding dress – £12.17
Four chiffon scarves – £18.98
Sandals for wedding day – £12
Two wedding bands – £150
Homemade cake with handmade fondant toppers – £9
Homemade giant burger cake for wedding rehearsal at home the day before – £10
Total cost – £384.15
Liz says: “Matt loves burgers so we made a homemade giant burger cake for the rehearsal the day before, costing £10.
“Then we spent £9 on a homemade cake [for the wedding day] with tons of cream and two little fondant figures of a seal and a koala. The cake was made by one of my other three daughters, who I have from a previous marriage.
“It was sentimental as my nickname for Matt is Koala due to him being a great hugger and his for me is Seal due to the sound I make when I can’t hear him and ask Huh? – he says I sound like a seal.”
The couple also chose basic wedding bands because Liz says she ‘didn’t need gemstones or diamonds’, which cost £150 for the pair.
Their ceremony cost £100 and they spent £72 on the evening celebration at a local hotel – the bill for the entire day cost just £384.15.
“After the wedding we went home and had cake and hot chocolate. Our neighbours had put balloons and a banner up, which was really sweet,” says Liz.
“Our honeymoon was one night in a hotel and we watched the same movies we had watched together when we first dated. It was perfect.”
While the couple were more than content with their special day, some had gripes.
“Not everybody was happy with us having a tiny, private wedding and wished they could be there and buy a hat,” Liz explains.
People think you have to have a huge fairytale wedding, you have to spend thousands on your dress – but actually, no – it’s about choices. If you want it to be different – do what is right for you.
Liz Clifton
“They came round in the end though and I think we laid some foundations so other members of our family could start making choices and say ‘actually that doesn’t work for us, we love you, but we are going to do things differently.’
“After the ceremony we sent pictures to everybody in the family and we wrote letters to everybody about our day.”
And Liz has a clear message to other couples who are about to tie the knot:
“People think you have to have a huge fairytale wedding, you have to spend thousands on your dress – but actually, no – it’s about choices. If you want it to be different – do what is right for you,” she says.
“We went really deep into what we wanted. This year we will have been together for ten years and we have been married for seven.
“If I was to do it again now, perhaps I would do a few things differently but at the time it was right for us. It was so special.
“We could have had a bigger wedding but every element of the day we chose was absolutely perfect and it led us to where we are now.”