What was/is your wedding budget

[sophyie 0]

We had a little wedding ceremony with four people, and it was about 700$.

Including: my dress and shoes, the rings, the rental car for the trip up to Denmark, hotel rooms for all for one night (before the wedding),food and champagne after the ceremony, our "mini- honeymoon" (2 nights, a wonderful dinner) in Hamburg- and our train tickets back to where we lived.

It was great! We had all we needed and more.

Next September, we'll have the big family- party (reception), since none of them was with us at our actual wedding, and boy, that's going to be WAY over what we spent in Denmark!

Even though we're going to keep it simple, no new dress or anything like that, it's going to cost a LOT because his family is HUGE (his mum has 9, his dad 7 siblings, they are all married and have children...).

So we're expecting about 200 people and honestly, I don't want to think about a budget yet... we're saving though.

[Lou Lou 1]

Wow, people have money to throw around! We spent around $700 and that included flights to the ceremony and the short honeymoon. Wedding bands were extra. I didn't want an engagement ring. If I had $7,000 going spare I certainly wouldn't blow it on a wedding, that's for sure. Different strokes for different folks.

well thats you! some of us want to have something really nice once in their life..

you cant do much with 700.00 and still have your dream wedding.

suppose if you use disposble cams for your photos and dine on sara lee cakes for a bridal

cake I suppose. I suppose you could be a cheap azzz get your dress from some clearance rack

at target. but, cheap and cheerful is not want I want. been there and certainly done that. 7,000

is not BLOWING it.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge. I certainly don't think my wedding was "cheap azzz". I don't have that kind of money to blow on a wedding, and we don't have parents alive to blow money on it either (I wouldn't dream of asking them). We just see that kind of money well spent in other areas of our lives, not one day. It was friggin hilarious and fun. It was MY dream wedding: quick and painless. YOUR dream wedding is different, and that is fine, hence my saying "different strokes", but maybe you didn't understand it. I doubt you will understand this post either so I'm probably wasting my time

Oh, and to really get you going (cos it probably will)...I didn't even wear a dress

Edited October 24, 2006 by Lou Lou

[Canuck Carrie 1]

My dress - $25

His pants - $16

My shoes - $9.99

Rings - $210

License - $35

Offsite JP - $100

My hair & nails - $75

= $470.99

The cake, reception at the in-laws and honeymoon were all covered by his parents, his dad & sister took the pics. This is exactly how we wanted it. Small, simple & outdoors.

[jordanianprincess 0]

Offsite JP - $100

[Jenn! 918]

Offsite JP - $100

JP = Justice of the Peace

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

We had a wedding reception. My budget was about 10K, we came in a little under. The actual wedding was in Vegas, no visitors, the 'budget' was airfare + hotel .. but I think of that as a mini-vacation and not part of my wedding budget.

[mybackpages 0]

Offsite JP - $100

Hey JP ..doing a little side business?

My dress - $25

His pants - $16

My shoes - $9.99

Rings - $210

License - $35

Offsite JP - $100

My hair & nails - $75

= $470.99

The cake, reception at the in-laws and honeymoon were all covered by his parents, his dad & sister took the pics. This is exactly how we wanted it. Small, simple & outdoors.

sounds absolutley lovely. Congratulations

[PlatyPius 5]

I'm not judging anyONE for spending lots of cash on a wedding, I'm looking at it from MY perspective. $10,000 for a wedding is about 1/3 of a years income where I live. If someone lives in, for example, Bellevue, Washington their income will be much higher than mine, yet the wedding costs will be the same. I was discussing this on my home improvement website not too long ago.... People in some areas make more than others in other areas. However, the cost of a porch light, for example, is the same no matter what state you're in. A $400 porch light might be nothing to someone in a high income state. Here, it's about one week's pay.

So, to me, I see $10,000 for a wedding and I think "4 months of working for a wedding". What do I live on for those 4 months? That's where I'm coming from on this topic.

Also, neither Sian nor I want a large wedding. It wouldn't make us comfortable or happy. It isn't our "dream". Ergo, why spend the money on one? I will be marrying Sian. I will be just as happy with a "cheap azz" wedding, and likely more so. Sian is the important part; not the wedding.

If it's what you want, and you have the money though, who cares? Have a big wedding if you want. I haven't seen anyone saying that you (generic "you") shouldn't.

[rebeccajo 14]

Well, no matter what you spend, marriages are usually cheaper to get into than get out of.

So get married for the right reasons to the right person and just enjoy your day.

[Caladan 19]

This is the huge Caladan Family Wedding Debate of 2006.

Most of my friends have had big formal church weddings with receptions, so my mental idea of a wedding is relatively big. My cousin just had a $15K affair. My other cousin had a small simple outdoor wedding, but her parents probably spent about $10K on landscaping beforehand!

My parents say they're willing to help, but are being awfully passive-aggressive about the budget. In that they're being vague. I don't care if they don't want to spend a dime, but I'm not reserving a church in my hometown or arranging for my fiancé's family to come down if our budget is $500 because no one should spend more on airfare than then wedding reception.

So we're either walking down to the courthouse sometime next June or having a big reception sometime next July. The following summer we'll have a reception at his family's place, which will probably be a huge thing but relatively inexpensive due to the fact that his family will probably potluck most of it.

Calling people cheap is uncalled for, especially if the way you're paying for your own blowout is by asking the Bank of Daddy.

[clairerubunda 0]

Wow, I feel really humble all of a sudden and am almost ashamed to see what I have spent on my wedding!

I really think that whatever you spend, and whatever you do or wear or eat, as long as you are happy then thats all that counts. There is NO WAY anyone should get in debt to pay for one day, its the rest of your life that matters. If you can afford it go for it, if its what you want.

So, that said, including my honeymoon my wedding is coming out at $30,000. Gosh!

I am very lucky to have a good job, and my fiance too. And both parents are paying towards something. Also, In England the average wedding costs £20,000 (aLMOST $40,000) so everything in the US seems so much less expensive to me!

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

We were not out to impress anyone, it was all about us and our commitment to one another. At the end of the day that is all that matters. I don't think he would have loved more or less based on how much my clothing cost, how big my bouquet was, or that our cake came from a top baker.

I couldn't even tell you how much we spent, because it doesn't really matter. I can however say that the meaning behind our wedding was priceless. IMO if you have to put a price tag on something, you don't need it. To each his own.

Bethanie

[tom&tata 2]

Ours was Indonesian wedding.

If it is up to us, we wanted to do it right on the day of my birthday (a weekday). But of course, you need to invite immidiate family & neighbours & my friends, so we moved it to the next day which was a public holiday so more people can come.

Mind you, immediate family is all cousins & uncles & aunts from both my parents side & 50 people from the neighbourhood. My husband was a bit in shock. We ended up with 100 people at least. It was SMALL for Indonesian standard......but it was already more than we wanted to do in the first place. We had a great time and that's the most important !

[Fandango 1,439]

We don't really have a budget...whatever it takes, I suppose.

Our first wedding is going to be down in Key West. We're doing the get married on the beach thing, then dinner afterwards. They'll be about 6 of us. So cost of a wedding dress + beach stuff (steel drum guy/decorations/JP/cake/flowers/photog/videog) + dinner + travel down there + hotel fees....so whatever it works out to, as we have no clue how much to gauge.

Then after he gets AP or when he gets his GC, we're doing what we initially wanted...a 7 day cruise with about 26 of our closest friends & fam. That'll take a lil more organization, as many of them will be coming from the UK.

[shannon65 2]

considering how much the visa expenses have been it's going to be a very low budget wedding