My wedding cost less than £400. I wore a £12 dress and our honeymoon lasted one night

ALL costs were spared when frugal Liz Clifton married her partner Matt – they made their special day super cheap.

While some couples rack up thousands of pounds in debt to tie the knot, that didn't happen to 43-year-old Liz, who was thrilled to be cutting her homemade wedding cake on her kitchen countertop.

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She bought her dress from Amazon and despite the whole day costing less than £400, she says it was 'perfect' from start to finish.

Liz, a self-care coach who lives in Neath, South Wales, with Matt, 31, an accountant, says: “We both decided that for a large part of our lives we had both not made our own choices and just gone along with what others thought. people would do. people wanted, especially in past relationships.

“After Matt proposed to me just hours after I gave birth to our daughter in 2017, after three years together, we decided we would live our day the way we wanted to – and that meant keeping it extremely simple, small and private. had to keep.”

So much so, the couple married at the Caerphilly registry office with only their neighbors as witnesses, along with their daughter Avril, seven, and Liz's daughter Christina, 21, from a previous relationship.

We decided we would live our day the way we wanted: ultra simple, small and private.

Liz Clifton

Instead of splashing huge amounts on a dress – British brides spend an average of £1,300 and a typical wedding costs £18,000 and up – Liz paid just £12.17 for an off-white chiffon dress from Amazon.

In addition, she spent £12 on sandals and £18.98 on four chiffon scarves to wear as a wrap.

“The promise to each other was the biggest part for us,” Liz explains.

“We didn't want the huge, traditional wedding that I think a lot of people feel trapped in.

“I wanted my wedding dress to be comfortable, light and something I could wear again if I changed size. I wanted something that I could continue to use if I wanted to, because I love sustainability and minimalism.

“I still have the dress and I use the scarves to dress up with the kids.”

Liz met Matt at the supermarket where they both worked, and their friendship later turned into romance.

Their daughter Avril was six months old when they tied the knot.

Liz says: “Matt loves burgers so we made a homemade giant burger cake the day before for rehearsal, which cost £10.

“Then we spent £9 on a home-baked cake [for the wedding day] with tons of cream and two 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 because my nickname for Matt is Koala because he is a great cuddler, and for me he is Seal because of the sound I make when I can't hear him and ask Huh? – he says I sound like a seal.'

The couple also opted for simple wedding rings as Liz says she 'didn't need any gemstones or diamonds', which cost £150 for the couple.

Their ceremony cost £100 and they spent £72 on the evening celebration at a local hotel – the bill for the whole day was just £384.15.

“After the wedding we went home and had cake and hot chocolate. Our neighbors had put up balloons and a banner, which was really sweet,” says Liz.

“Our honeymoon was one night at a hotel and we watched the same movies we had seen together when we first started dating. It was perfect.”

Although the couple was more than happy with their special day, some had complaints.

“Not everyone was happy that we were having a small private wedding and wished they could be there to buy a hat,” Liz explains.

People think you have to have a huge fairytale wedding, that you have to spend thousands of euros on your dress – but actually, no – it's about choices. If you want it to be different, do what's right for you.

Liz Clifton

“Eventually, though, they worked it out and I think we laid some foundations so that other members of our family could start to make choices and say, 'Actually, that's not working for us, we love you, but we're going to do things differently. '

“After the ceremony we sent pictures to everyone in the family and wrote letters to everyone about our day.”

And Liz has a clear message to other couples about to tie the knot:

“People think you have to have a huge fairytale wedding, that you have to spend thousands of euros on your dress – but actually, no – it's about choices. If you want it to be different, do what's right for you,” she says.

“We went very deep into what we wanted. This year we have been together for ten years and married for seven years.

“If I were to do it again now, I might do a few things differently, but at the time it was good 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 today.”

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