A savvy couple spent just £12k on their wedding by saving with a half-price dress, artificial flowers and a Colin the Caterpillar cake.

Sian Headland, 29, and her husband Michael Headland, 31, wanted to tie the knot but didn't want to spend thousands for the "sake of one day." "

The couple focused on organising a "great party" to celebrate with friends and family."

Their biggest expense was the venue - Hunters Hall in Norfolk - which cost £10k.

For the rest, the couple were able to make huge savings including Sian's dress, which she found half price for £900.

The couple also chose to use artificial flowers for both the centrepieces and the bouquets, which cost a total

of £150.

And for their cake, the pair ordered one Colin and one Connie the Caterpillar cake for just £50 each and adorned them with a homemade top hat and veil.

Sian, a charity team leader from Norwich, Norfolk, said: "It went over like a dream."

Sian and Michael met just over 10 years ago while both studying at the University of Lincoln and got engaged eight years later in January 2023.

They spent a year and a half planning their big day and had decided from the beginning that they would be doing it on a budget.

Sian said: "We didn't want to be spending thousands and having to pay it of for a few years for the sake of one day. "

"Our main focus was having a chilled day and a great party to celebrate with friends and family."

Sian or Michael booked Hunters Hall in Norfolk to have the wedding, which represented more than 80% of the wedding budget.

"We picked a venue that we loved as that felt like a very important aspect to us."

"But, because it was so beautiful, we felt we didn't have to spend a bunch of money decorating it."

For her dress, Sian was lucky to find it on sale and was able to bargain with the shop to buy it half price.

She said: "My dress cost me £900 but had a retail price of £1800 so pretty much half price. "

"It should have been a tiny bit more but the shop were great as I was honest about my budget going in so they were able to be flexible."

Neither Sian or Michael were ever fans of traditional cakes so they began searching for alternatives.

Sian said: "We went to an Easter party we saw that someone had this large Colin the Caterpillar cakes and it felt so perfect."

"You can order them directly from M&S for £50 and they provide a slate of chocolate for you to write a personalised message on as well."

"I made a little top hat for the Colin and the veil for the Connie one, so it felt a bit more in theme."

Sian also enlisted the help of her family to make signage and while Sian herself designed the stationary on Canva.

Sian said: "We definitely made use of family and friends who were crafty, so we ended up making our own signage too with some cheap frames and using my mum's vinyl cutter."

"I'm lucky that I am also crafty so I made our own wedding stationary using Canva."

The cakes in particular were a big hit at the wedding with guests even asking if they could borrow the idea for their own weddings.

Sian said: "We had been to many weddings were so much cake was left over and we'd hear our friends complaining about what to do with all the remaining cake."

"At our wedding, absolutely everything was eaten aside from the big Colin and Connie faces, so we didn't have to deal with any leftovers."