Rebecca Maxwell, 26, and Glen Maxwell, 30, wore jeans, personalised ‘bride’ and ‘groom’ T-shirts and trainers for both their ceremony and reception.
The newlyweds bought similar personalised tops for the bridal party, best man and mother and father of the bride and asked their 40 guests to wear jeans and t-shirts too.
Rebecca and Glen got engaged back in August 2016, and quickly started planning a massive white wedding.
The more they planned, the more they realised a posh wedding just wasn’t right for them.
Totting up the costs of the occasion only caused the couple stress and they were fed up of agonising over a budget instead of being excited about the romance.
One evening Glen told Rebecca: ‘We could get married in jeans and T-shirts and I’d still love you.’
Cute, right? They chose to take that idea to its natural conclusion and have a casual wedding that was all about their relationship, not spending loads of money.
They’re sharing their story to encourage other people to ditch the pressures of a big wedding and focus on having a day that’s special to them.
Rebecca, of Blyth, Northumberland, said: ‘When we were planning our wedding, we started doing everything to please other people. ‘Our guest list was getting out of hand.
You feel like you have to invite people because you don’t want to upset them rather than because you want them there.
‘We had spent hours looking through Pinterest at all the dresses, cakes and decorations and you do get sucked in.
‘But at the end of the day me and Glen just really weren’t bothered about all of that. ‘I had even bought a wedding dress but after having [my daughter] Eleanor I went to try it on again and I ended up crying. It just was not what I wanted at all.’
The couple’s original wedding was planned to take place at a farm at Christmas time, set to cost them £14,000. Instead they said their vows at the town hall in Darlington on 26 April with 40 of their closest friends and family.
The ceremony cost just £250. After doing the official wedding bit, Rebecca and Glen took their guests to Center Parcs Whinfell Forest in the Lake District for a carvery dinner costing £400.
Instead of a pricey wedding cake, they spent £35 on a selection of Morrisons cupcakes and a sheet cake with a photo of the couple printed on top.
With T-shirts and jeans for the wedding party coming in at £150, £200 spent on flowers and £70 for Rebecca’s hair and makeup, the couple’s big day cost just £1,105 in total.
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Saving so much on their wedding meant Rebecca and Glen were left with £6,000 savings, which they used to treat their wedding party to a weekend at Center Parcs.
Rebecca and Glen say the lowkey day was perfect for them, as they ‘just like simple things’, preferring a night in to a posh holiday away.
‘We just love each other’s company,’ said Rebecca.
‘What was special was that we were going to join together and I was going to have the same surname as my little girl. ‘A big dress or fancy day, that all paled into insignificance.