Tell me about the cost of your wedding...

[judasmachine]

Geezuz you guys are freaking nuts. My wedding cost a total of $1500, of that I paid like $500. The honeymoon though that's another story.

 

[Red]

We had a Disney wedding and reception, plus two additional receptions... cost breakdown:

Disney wedding + reception: $5500
Beachside reception in Satellite Beach, FL: $1000
Country Club reception in Cincinnati: $1000

With dress, wedding bands, Disney photographer and other random crap I'd say our wedding was around $10 or $11k. It was beautiful in Disney's wedding pavilion... but most importantly got to have three receptions to celebrate with family and friends in FL and Cincinnati.

Stayed in FL for the honeymoon.

Wife and I paid for most of the wedding. My parents paid for the honeymoon (Marriott points FTW)

I guess I have poor friends and family... got about $3k in cash/gifts.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
If we could have afforded it we would have spent more, the biggest disappointment was in not getting professional pictures and relying on friends. I also think a honeymoon would have been nice. However, I did the best I could to have a decent day with the budget we had to work with.

I believe you're the second person to say that in this thread. I HIGHLY recommend not skimping on the photography. The photographs will be pretty much all you have to help you remember the day (and a video if you do a video).

And albums and framed photos make great gifts to your parents. We had a photographer who gave us all of the digital files on a DVD AND gave us the rights to reprint them. Worth every penny.

 

[Zugzwang152]

If I ever get married, the wife is getting whatever she wants, provided it can fit on the credit cards. You only have one wedding (optimistically speaking).

 

[everman]

Considering that financial problems are a large contributor to high divorce rates, I don't think that getting in deep debt is a good start, you should be saving for a house and other investments.

 

[BornStar]

I don't know what all is being included in this but I'll do the best I can. The wedding cost anywhere from $20k to $30k depending on what you're including.

The big expenses (estimated, I don't feel like looking up the actuals):
Photographer - $5000
Reception food - $4000
Bar - $2000
Rehearsal dinner - $2000
Reception hall - $600
Dress - $500

We went with arguably the best photographer in town and we were extremely happy with how the pictures turned out. When my wife was ordering the pictures she noticed that he had a 20x30 of one of our pictures displayed so he apparently liked them too. If you spend more than a certain amount with our photographer ($3750) you get a DVD of the photos and the ability to print them.

My wife and I didn't actually spend anything on the wedding ourselves (even the honeymoon was covered) and we ended up getting at least $15k in gifts so I think it worked out pretty well for us.

 

[NoShangriLa]

No fancy schmancy wedding, and the saving letting the GF & I having enough money for a house down payment & furniture.

 

[Night201]

Around 40k for my wedding.

 

[Dobbs]

I think it was something like this,
Round trip plane rides to Vegas for two: $75.00
Marriage license cost at City Hall: $55.00
Little White Wedding Chapel drive through wedding: $100.00
First pull on a random dollar slot machine out of boredom while new wife in using the restroom +$1200.00
Telling your friends you were married in Vegas at a drive through wedding by a guy that looked like a 70's pimp, and probably was in the 70's : Priceless

 

[Soapy Bones]

Originally posted by: Dobbs
I think it was something like this,
Round trip plane rides to Vegas for two: $75.00
Marriage license cost at City Hall: $55.00
Little White Wedding Chapel drive through wedding: $100.00
First pull on a random dollar slot machine out of boredom while new wife in using the restroom +$1200.00
Telling your friends you were married in Vegas at a drive through wedding by a guy that looked like a 70's pimp, and probably was in the 70's : Priceless

We did something very similar, except our plane tickets were almost $1200 since it was last minute and though I did the same gambling experiment I did not come out so lucky with the $1200 profit. But it makes for a great story and we are very happy together.

 

[piasabird]

$0

Weddings are for vane people.

Justice of peace works great.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: piasabird
$0

Weddings are for vane people.

Justice of peace works great.

no they are not. Just because someone has different priorities from you does not make them better or worse than the choices you made.

 

[zebano]

$4k and it was a great time. We rented the church & hall for $100 a DJ for $150. My wife paid $600 for her dress and everything else was food, photographer, alchohol and the usual stuff.

Our honeymoon was another $1.5k (free plane tickets).

Edit: oh yeah, we had 180 guests attend (invited 210).

 

[J0hnny]

Well, the wife-to-be is kinda of setting the budget:

Location fee: $7500
Catering fee for 150 guests: $24000
Open Bar fee: $5000
Floral Designer: $8000
DJ/Lighting: $2000
Officiant: $500
Photography+Bridal Makeup Package: $5000
Limo: $500
Vera Wang Dress: $4000
Tux Rental for Groom and groomsmen: $600
Wedding Planner: $4500

Total of $61,100

Our wedding is in Manhattan. Yes, this is ludacris but it's the bride's day, not mine.

 

[J0hnny]

Originally posted by: J0hnny
Well, the wife-to-be is kinda of setting the budget:

Location fee: $7500
Catering fee for 150 guests: $24000
Open Bar fee: $5000
Floral Designer: $8000
DJ/Lighting: $2000
Officiant: $500
Photography+Bridal Makeup Package: $5000
Limo: $500
Vera Wang Dress: $4000
Tux Rental for Groom and groomsmen: $600
Wedding Planner: $4500

Total of $61,100

Our wedding is in Manhattan. Yes, this is ludacris but it's the bride's day, not mine.

oh yeh, and the trip to Tahiti will be another $3000

 

[Rage187]

maybe 1500

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: mugs
~$20k

$10k reception (location + food)
$500 wedding location
$1k her dress
$3k photographer
$1-2k florist
$1k band for reception
$1-2k - various miscellaneous items - my tux, the wedding rings (not her engagement ring), pastor's honorarium, rehearsal dinner, etc, etc.

We saved a lot of money on the honeymoon because we didn't have to pay for lodging or a rental car, so that was $2000 for a week and a half in Maui

Edit: Her parents paid for pretty much everything

If you want to save a lot of money, obviously don't get an expensive caterer, have a friend with a decent camera take pictures, do the flowers yourself, use an iPod instead of a band, etc, etc)

Edit: Oh, our wedding was awesome. Great day, beautiful location, and we have awesome pictures to remember it with.

I'm sorry but having an iPod playing music for a wedding seems really cheap and stingy, normally I'm not not sensitive to what other people think of me but that would just be lame.

As well I'm not sure how many people will have the time to do their own floral arrangements and stuff.

I think my parents wedding was in the area of $120,000.. but that was 20 years ago so probably around 200,000 todays standards.

 

[dullard]

A few thousand was spent on my wedding. This was in 1999.
[*]Rings: $2300.
[*]Dress: Free.
[*]Tux Rental: ~$60.
[*]Minister + Priest: $150
[*]Reception: ~$2000. $6/person for hall + food + free soft drinks. Everyone could buy alcohol if they wished, but with so many alcoholics in her family, we weren't going to buy alcohol for them.
[*]Photographer: $300 fee + ~$200 pictures.
[*]Misc.: $200.
[*]Decorations: $100 (made them ourselves).
[*]Gifts: $100 (made most of them ourselves).
[*]Fake flowers: ~$300.
[*]DJ: A couple hundred.
[*]Honeymoon: I forget now. It was under $1000 if I remember correctly.

Add in a few other things I forgot to post here and it is still in the $6k-$7k range. We got $7k-$8k in gifts (cash + returns + the few useful things we kept). So in the end, we profitted.

I was quite happy with it all. There is no reason you NEED to spend $10,000 on real flowers. A few fake flowers here and there is just fine. Apply that logic everywhere else in the wedding. The good times aren't based on the amount you spend, but on the people who you invite.

I wish I spent less since the marriage eventually failed. My next wedding will be far cheaper. Basically it'll be just a reception.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: J0hnny

Originally posted by: J0hnny
Well, the wife-to-be is kinda of setting the budget:

Location fee: $7500
Catering fee for 150 guests: $24000
Open Bar fee: $5000
Floral Designer: $8000
DJ/Lighting: $2000
Officiant: $500
Photography+Bridal Makeup Package: $5000
Limo: $500
Vera Wang Dress: $4000
Tux Rental for Groom and groomsmen: $600

Total of $57,100

Our wedding is in Manhattan. Yes, this is ludacris but it's the bride's day, not mine.

oh yeh, and the trip to Tahiti will be another $3000

How only 3k for tahiti?? All the places we looked it was mostly double that. Is that including air too?

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: eakers
What was your wedding like?

About how much did you spend on your wedding?

Were you happy with it?

Do you wish you had spent more or less?


Spending $10,000 seems like its way too much to me and apparently, most weddings cost a lot more than that . Why spend 10k on a mediocore wedding when I could have an amazing vacation or a small car with the same amount of money?!

We spent $4200. We got married ,with two friends attending, on the beach in Puerto Vallarta. Then we had a reception a month or so later with ~70 guests, gourmet meals, a small but killer cake, and a premium, open bar. The two biggest costs: the open bar and airfare/hotel. We've got some heavy drinker friends and relatives, and we had a week in a *great* all-inclusive hotel.

Neither of us wanted a big show of a wedding, so it was perfect to us. The reception was more of a dinner party, just bigger, at our favorite restaurant (which happened to be on a Rachel Ray show a couple months back).

 

[J0hnny]

Originally posted by: LolaWiz

How only 3k for tahiti?? All the places we looked it was mostly double that. Is that including air too?

I use travelzoo for the occassional deals. Oh, I forgot the wedding planner.
Keep in mind, my wedding hasn't occurred so the price will either go up or down as we go through the process.

 

[Turin39789]

Re - f'n - diculous.

I come from a large and very close family. My brother just got married last summer, he and his wife flew to Hawaii, got married on the beach and had a nice honeymoon there. Before they left the had a reception to celebrate the wedding, I think they paid probably $50 for the space at the park, there was a grill for food and coolers for drinks. Money from family/guests went to a down payment I believe. Everyone came out and had a great time and celebrated the new couple.

My girlfriends sister did the same thing a few years ago, Parents paid for a honeymoon in the bahamas and gave them the money that would have gone for a fancy afternoon to use to build their new house.

Frankly I've got too many friends to try to do a disney wedding and reception, luckily I know photographers, caterers/chefs, and bartenders so if and when it comes to it I'll do it on the cheap.

Step one - never read a wedding magazine/book. Don't ask oprah and don't read labels.
Step 2 - ???
Step 3 - Profit

I suppose my attitude might be different if I had the money to blow, but I doubt it.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: erub

Originally posted by: acemcmac
I'll be fvcking damned if more than 5-10k is going to be spent on any wedding on my behalf :|

I can think of a thousand events in my life that I'd consider to be more important than a wedding involving me. Weddings have evolved into self important, egotistical, meniacal dick measuring contests of which I'd want no part of.

Don't even get me started on baby showers, wedding showers, housewarming parties, etc.

Quite simply, you are wrong, read this article about nonreligious arguments for getting married

most importantly, read this:

Fourth, to better appreciate just how important marriage is to the vast majority of people in your life, consider this: There is no event, no occasion, no moment in your life when so many of the people who matter to you will convene in one place as they will at your wedding. Not the birth of any of your children, not any milestone birthday you may celebrate, not your child's bar-mitzvah or confirmation. The only other time so many of those you care about and who care about you will gather in one place is at your funeral. But by then, unless you die young, nearly all those you love who are older than you will have already died.

So this is it. Your wedding will be the greatest gathering of loved ones in your life. There is a reason. It is the biggest moment of your life. No such event will ever happen if you do not have a wedding.

article

You may disagree with his opinion, but you can't tell him that he's wrong.
And don't you people have family reunions? Parties with friends? What do I care if my friends and family are together at the same time?

 

[isasir]

Was at a $100k wedding a week ago, and went to two other weddings that probably were in the range of $75k. (All were Indian weddings, so cost typically is in this range it seems.)

My wedding in a few months is about half of that, but still is pricey.

It should be noted that the professions of the people involved are: 2 doctors, a physical therapist, a pharmacist, a CIO, an IT Manager, a lawyer and a part-owner of a business.

 

[SearchMaster]

We paid for our wedding completely ourselves, and spent around $7K total (including $2K honeymoon, not including rings of course). I don't know how that broke down, but a LOT of it was do-it-yourself (mom did catering, I printed invitations, etc.). Photographer was relatively cheap at ~$700 because he was just getting started in the business - plus he gave us the negatives.

Even with the budget we were on, my wife later confessed that she wished she had taken me up on my offer to elope.