Money spent on wedding

[misty8723]

I got married in 1980. My gown cost around $60 - $80. I didn't have a veil because I found out they cost as much as the dress. We had only family and few close friends in attendance. The reception was at my parents house, and it was catered by the local deli. I had no registry and didn't expect anyone to give me gifts (although they did, but none of the gifts was anything extravagent).

There's absolutely no chance in the world I would have spend anywhere close to the amount people are spending these days (or even back then), nor would I ever have let my parents foot the bill for it. It's just one day, and it's not the wedding that's important, it's the marriage.

 

[jessy]

Originally Posted by Renovia

i'm glad to chime in here.....

anthony and my wedding package cost 10,000 and we paid for it ourselves AND had it in under a year AND did not put any on a credit card. we had a budget and stuck to it:

oh and did i mention that that 10,000 was for actually: all gifts, dress, flowers, HONEYMOON, rings, rental church, banquet hall AND band??????

we honeymooned in las vegas

it's doable just about on ANY budget. I'm glad at what we had and wouldn't change it for the world....DH's brother though, boy he was in for a shocker.....their wedding (in july) will probably cost 75,000 and that' in MAINE......glad mommy and daddy (bride's side) are footing the bill

Wow! $75K!!!!! Tell us the details, is she having a big designer dress? A really fancy venue? How many guests?
Or wedding was about £10,000, but after both sets of parents contribution & gifts (travel vouchers for our honeymoon) we only paid around £5,000 including a honeymoon to Aruba. The flights to Aruba from the UK alone were £1,200!!! But Aruba is so worth it.

 

[bonnie1965]

Originally Posted by Misty8723

It's just one day, and it's not the wedding that's important, it's the marriage.

Too true!

Originally Posted by WhosaMyHercules

When that happens we are going to get married in Vegas. Hes wants to be Elvis and I wanna be Dolly Parton..Boobs and all..LOL...

I wanna see that wedding!

(look! I multi-quoted!)

 

[renovia]

Originally Posted by Jessy

Wow! $75K!!!!! Tell us the details, is she having a big designer dress? A really fancy venue? How many guests?
Or wedding was about £10,000, but after both sets of parents contribution & gifts (travel vouchers for our honeymoon) we only paid around £5,000 including a honeymoon to Aruba. The flights to Aruba from the UK alone were £1,200!!! But Aruba is so worth it.

well for their photos 4000-5000 dollars, a fancy venue for 15,000, a nice trip to mexico, an escalade limo, their rings were really fancy......and mommy and daddy footing the bill - her shower was pretty fancy too.

 

[babyharley]

Originally Posted by Renovia

well for their photos 4000-5000 dollars, a fancy venue for 15,000, a nice trip to mexico, an escalade limo, their rings were really fancy......and mommy and daddy footing the bill - her shower was pretty fancy too.

Wow, those better be pretty high quality photos!!

We aren't married- but I've always wanted a nice fancy wedding, but I'm leaning more towards something simple. I've always wanted to get married on the beach at sunset, with a nice reception afterwards.

 

[renovia]

Originally Posted by babyharley

Wow, those better be pretty high quality photos!!

We aren't married- but I've always wanted a nice fancy wedding, but I'm leaning more towards something simple. I've always wanted to get married on the beach at sunset, with a nice reception afterwards.

yeah i couldn't believe how much they are spending - ok, i may be exaggerating the 75,000 but i bet in total it will be close to 40-50

 

[babyharley]

Originally Posted by Renovia

yeah i couldn't believe how much they are spending - ok, i may be exaggerating the 75,000 but i bet in total it will be close to 40-50

But still- thats unreal!! I'd rather spend the money on a vacation or put it away for something... or spend it on the rings. I dunno about spending that much on all that stuff. Thats insane!

 

[crazyforinfo]

We paid $5000 for just us to Jamaica & my FIL paid 10k for the reception. Not sure how much the photographer was since our Mom's paid for that. The DJ (

) was $500 with family discount.

 

[alice_curiouser]

Ours cost *maybe* $2000, including everything. We were married on the beach (in formal wedding wear) with just my mom and a couple of friends in attendance, but it was a beautiful ceremony.

 

[auntsewissa]

Our budget was $7500 (that's what my parents gave us). I feel we stretched it really well but that didn't include the honeymoon, which we spent out of our own pockets. That was 2 years ago. During the planning, I lived on Martha Stewart, and magazines. We made all the decorations for the tables etc. I set out to find a dress under $1000 (and it had to include everything, shoes, undergarments etc.) I had a friend make my veil, flower girl baskets, and ring pillow. Also, the bi-weekly 50% Michaels coupons helped!

After Christmas sales helped with decorations too!

We had 150 people and it was a 3 day affair. A lot of fun!

My married girlfriends and I are planning a girls night out in our wedding dresses, just so we can say "we wore them again!"

 

[valanhb]

My Dad gave us a budget of $2500 and that was it. We did the formal reception (cutting the cake and all that) at the church, and then had a smallish party at our apartment afterward. I found the dress on sale for $250, and I made (hand-beaded) my veil. We made the bouquets and decorations ourselves (the night before the wedding!

).

Granted, we didn't have a DJ'ed reception or anything, and we still haven't gone on a honeymoon. But the important thing is that we're married and we had a good time on the day we got married.

 

[purefusion]

Ours was about $2500. We had a very small ceremony (about 40 guests) in a local botanical park in front of a gazebo and small pond. We had a lunch reception at a banquet hall and the room rental was insane: only $50 because it was on a Friday. If we had reserved it for Saturday, it would have been $500. Insanely cheap. And the lunches were only about $12/person. My dress was technically a Homecoming dress. I got it online for $75 +s/h. It was perfect, though! I was very excited to wear it because it was so fitting to the occasion. I made my veil and I actually found my perfect shoes at Good Will for $3. They were satin, dyed and matched the red embroidery on my dress exactly (what are the odds). I made my wedding cake too. The cake was less than $50 for all the ingredients and supplies and looked fabulous. It tasted great too. Oh, and I made my wedding favors and my mom and aunt arranged the floral centerpieces.

It was a fabulous day, I wouldn't change a thing except maybe the weather. The week prior, it was sunny and warm in the mid-50s. The day of the wedding it was overcast and more like lower 40s. After the hour or so sleeveless for the photos, I had to wear my jacket to get married in as I was freezing. But the pictures turned out great. We hired a professional who offered a digital-only package for less than $500. Awesome, all the others were like $1000 and above.

Then I used some inherited money for our Caribbean cruise honeymoon, which ended up costing about the same as the wedding! It was a wonderful time.

 

[renovia]

it sounds like most of us have/had lower budgets, regardless of who paid. i just feel badly that i had to pay for everything...

 

[kiwideus]

I can't remember how much it cost for me, because we eloped.

My brother in law had a $75,000 wedding.

 

[eburgess]

Our budget is $15,000 and we are pretty close to it now.

 

[auntsewissa]

Originally Posted by Renovia

it sounds like most of us have/had lower budgets, regardless of who paid. i just feel badly that i had to pay for everything...

Don't feel bad. I wasn't expecting anything from my folks. It was their gift. I felt fortunate that they did that, but didn't not expect it. Wether it's a $10 wedding or a $100,000 wedding, what's important is that you were (and are) happy with the day and your spouse.

In fact when my Dad told me the budget, he said "if you're smart, you'll invest this in your house!" (we bought a house the year we got engaged). He also said "It would be a shame if you spent all that on one day, and nothing on your future!" So, with half that money, we got central AC installed in the house

I spent that next year as a house painter (as a side job) to make up that central AC money. But now, our house has increased in value and we're a lot comfortable in it!

 

[samantha1979]

We spent about $4,500. It was very traditional... in King Arthur's time!! HEHE!

We had a medieval wedding. I wore a pretty traditional dress, with long flowy sleeves, and lots of beading (got it for a great price!). My bridesmaids wore medieval dresses that I found in a magazine for under $100. Now they have Halloween costumes!!

My husband rented a King's costume, and the groomsmen were knights. My dad was a wizard. They all had swords and stuff like that.

We encouraged guests to dress up, and our invitation was worded, "Hear Ye, Hear Ye!!" We built a castle outside with decorations that you would use for a dance or prom. It was outside in April. There would have been no moving it in if it had rained!! We got lucky and had a beautiful day!

 

[calico2222]

We budgeted about $10,000 for our wedding (cashed in mutual funds inherited from my mom) but only spent around $7500. I saved A LOT on ebay! If anyone is planning their wedding, ebay is your friend! I got my invites, my bridesmaid's jewelry, groomsmen gifts, favors and flowers on ebay. All my flowers (bouquets for me and 4 bridesmaids, boutiniers for groom and 4 groomsmen, flower girl basket, MIL corsauge (sp?) and 20 candle rings) for under $300. They were silk and beautiful. Truthfully, if you do a lot of the work yourself, you can save a bundle but I was under enough stress at the time to not want to worry about doing the flowers or favors myself. I was very happy with our wedding. I always wanted a big church wedding...big as in 125 people, and I wanted to make my mom proud (she passes away the year before). People couldn't believe we planned the whole thing without any help.

The most extravegant wedding I ever attended was my cousins. My aunt told my mom her dress cost over $5000! It was HUGE! She had 12 bridesmaids (I wasn't one of them, thank goodness!) and their dresses were over $500 each. For their cake topper, they used actual Hummel figurines. It was incredible, and I never felt so uncomfortable in my life! Of course, my uncle was CEO for some company and brought in a 7 figure salary a year, so throwing a $50,000 wedding probably was nothing. Of course, I'm from the "poor" side of the family

 

[calico2222]

Originally Posted by Samantha1979

We spent about $4,500. It was very traditional... in King Arthur's time!! HEHE!

We had a medieval wedding. I wore a pretty traditional dress, with long flowy sleeves, and lots of beading (got it for a great price!). My bridesmaids wore medieval dresses that I found in a magazine for under $100. Now they have Halloween costumes!!

My husband rented a King's costume, and the groomsmen were knights. My dad was a wizard. They all had swords and stuff like that.

We encouraged guests to dress up, and our invitation was worded, "Hear Ye, Hear Ye!!" We built a castle outside with decorations that you would use for a dance or prom. It was outside in April. There would have been no moving it in if it had rained!! We got lucky and had a beautiful day!

Oh, I would LOVE to see pictures!! I love rennesaince weddings (can't spell the word, but I still love them!) I think they are so romantic!

 

[valanhb]

Originally Posted by Samantha1979

We spent about $4,500. It was very traditional... in King Arthur's time!! HEHE!

Originally Posted by calico2222

Oh, I would LOVE to see pictures!! I love rennesaince weddings (can't spell the word, but I still love them!) I think they are so romantic!

We're thinking about doing that for renewing our vows for our 10th Anniversary (give or take). There's a Renaissance Festival near here and they have wedding packages starting at $3000 that are really pretty inclusive. Yeah, we got married in November, and the Ren Fest is in June and July, but it's close enough.