A budget-busting bride has bagged herself a £21,000 wedding of her dreams - but only had to spend £2,000 for it.

Savvy saver Katie Slaney, 32, from Bromley, Kent, was determined to have a lavish wedding but without the extortionate price tag - and set about saving, making and borrowing for her dream day.

Katie shunned a traditional horse and carriage - which can cost upwards of £1,000 - for a £10 taxi to the church, and the entire wedding party then walked from the church to the reception.

Mother-of-two Katie, an analyst, is always keen to save money - especially after having her two young daughters, Ella, 3, and Lotta, 15 months, and regularly uses discount codes and coupons for her weekly shop.

The importance of marriage

Katie was delighted when long-term partner Phil, 31, proposed, but she was adamant that she wouldn't be spending the £21,427 average price tag on her dream wedding.

Katie said: "Phil and I have been together for 10 years and have two young children and we hadn't previously managed to find the time or money to get married.

"For us the marriage was the important, part not spending thousands on a wedding, and we didn't want to be in debt for four or five years, trying to pay off one day.”

The bride managed to have her whole wedding for a fraction of the cost of an average wedding by calling in favours, shopping around and saving vouchers and coupons.

Katie spent hours in the run-up to her wedding making handmade confetti from dried rose petals and wild flowers which she picked with her children as well as making her own wedding cake the night before the big day.

Her beautiful cream lace dress was made to measure and cost Katie £100 from an online retailer in China, as did her £20 shoes. She cut costs by doing all her hair and make-up herself.

Coupon queen

She said: "I know what I like and I didn't want to splash out for someone else to do it.

"Money saving sites like VouchercodesPro became my saviour for finding all the best money-off deals. I would browse the site each night to see what new offers were on. I managed to get all of our booze for just £100 by using discount codes and coupons.”

Katie also managed to feed her 100 guests a beautiful afternoon tea for just £10 a head, after finding vintage catering company Greenwich Tea Party online.

The blushing bride shunned luxury cars and a horse and carriage for her wedding transport in favour of a £10 taxi.

And instead of the traditional champagne and canapes after the ceremony, Katie and Phil took their guests for a pint and a packet of pork scratchings, with the 100-strong wedding party walking five minutes down the road for a crawl of three local pubs.

The couple called on favours from friends to get a DJ for the wedding reception and Katie made a homemade photo booth with wigs and accessories bought from the pound shop.

"I used Pinterest a lot for inspiration, as I still wanted it to be a classy event,” Katie said.

"All of the decorations were handmade or recycled, including empty jam jars for the flowers on the tables.

"I went for a rustic vintage theme, which I just loved.”

Sweet savings

After the wedding Katie and Phil enjoyed a honeymoon to the Isle of Wight for four days, paid for by donations from family and friends.

Katie said: "I had imagined my wedding for a while but I can't believe we actually managed to pull it off without breaking the bank.

"The wedding was wonderful and absolutely the best day of my life and it was so much sweeter knowing we hadn't spent money we didn't have."

Nick Swan from VouchercodesPro said: "Weddings don't have to come at a big cost and far too many people across the UK are getting themselves into trouble financially, and are not taking advantage of the fantastic offers available.

"From decorations and food, to dresses and suits, there really are discounts available for a whole range of items. Why break the bank when you can have a memorable day on a budget?"

Image credit: Caters News