The most expensive wedding you've attended?

[krylon]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
I've been to a potluck wedding in a church basement that must have cost $500 or less and a wedding that cost at least $100k (the invitations alone sent to 500+ people cost $10 each!). Both were fun.

My husband and I paid for wedding ourselves on a tight budget and spent $10k total:

I found my makeup artist for only $75 on modelmayhem.

Bought my veil for $2+5 shipping on eBay (brand new, it did the job).

Vera Wang wedding dress purchased from eBay (worn once), retail $7k paid $750

Total cost for the quaint church rental and wonderful pastor was $500

Husband picked out the ring

Flowers made by a family friend for free (this picture was taken in our photographer friend's rental car, no need for a limo for the 10-minute ride!)

Paid to fly out my photographer friend and her photographer boyfriend ($500 total for breathtaking professional photography)

Bridesmaid dresses were $24.99 each from Target

Groomsmen paid for their tux rentals, groom got his for free

Mom made our centerpieces with green apples to save money

Cake made for free by a family friend

It all goes down the same!

Friends were the MC, wedding band, dj, etc. Everyone chipped in and helped out and it came out amazingly. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

weaksauce

 

[hanoverphist]

mine was under 4k total, but it was very nice. the reception was catered by the same company that catered all the concerts in the valley during the 80s and 90s, he was a hell of a good chef. the food was great, we had swedish meatballs, wings, bbq chicken and somthing else i didnt like. cant remember what it was now, tho... a ton of sides that he either made up or thought would go well. been 17 years, i dont remember them now. the cool thing is, he did it for free as a wedding gift.

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: krylon

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
I've been to a potluck wedding in a church basement that must have cost $500 or less and a wedding that cost at least $100k (the invitations alone sent to 500+ people cost $10 each!). Both were fun.

My husband and I paid for wedding ourselves on a tight budget and spent $10k total:

I found my makeup artist for only $75 on modelmayhem.

Bought my veil for $2+5 shipping on eBay (brand new, it did the job).

Vera Wang wedding dress purchased from eBay (worn once), retail $7k paid $750

Total cost for the quaint church rental and wonderful pastor was $500

Husband picked out the ring

Flowers made by a family friend for free (this picture was taken in our photographer friend's rental car, no need for a limo for the 10-minute ride!)

Paid to fly out my photographer friend and her photographer boyfriend ($500 total for breathtaking professional photography)

Bridesmaid dresses were $24.99 each from Target

Groomsmen paid for their tux rentals, groom got his for free

Mom made our centerpieces with green apples to save money

Cake made for free by a family friend

It all goes down the same!

Friends were the MC, wedding band, dj, etc. Everyone chipped in and helped out and it came out amazingly. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

weaksauce

One of the best days of my life, you are of course entitled to your opinion. It wasn't dripping in gaudiness or diamonds but it had enough soul, laughter, life and love to fill many hearts.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
I've been to a potluck wedding in a church basement that must have cost $500 or less and a wedding that cost at least $100k (the invitations alone sent to 500+ people cost $10 each!). Both were fun.

My husband and I paid for wedding ourselves on a tight budget and spent $10k total:

I found my makeup artist for only $75 on modelmayhem.

Bought my veil for $2+5 shipping on eBay (brand new, it did the job).

Vera Wang wedding dress purchased from eBay (worn once), retail $7k paid $750

Total cost for the quaint church rental and wonderful pastor was $500

Husband picked out the ring

Flowers made by a family friend for free (this picture was taken in our photographer friend's rental car, no need for a limo for the 10-minute ride!)

Paid to fly out my photographer friend and her photographer boyfriend ($500 total for breathtaking professional photography)

Bridesmaid dresses were $24.99 each from Target

Groomsmen paid for their tux rentals, groom got his for free

Mom made our centerpieces with green apples to save money

Cake made for free by a family friend

It all goes down the same!

Friends were the MC, wedding band, dj, etc. Everyone chipped in and helped out and it came out amazingly. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

Gorgeous pics. Where did you find your photographer? I really wish I had pics of the day I got married.

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
I've been to a potluck wedding in a church basement that must have cost $500 or less and a wedding that cost at least $100k (the invitations alone sent to 500+ people cost $10 each!). Both were fun.

My husband and I paid for wedding ourselves on a tight budget and spent $10k total:

I found my makeup artist for only $75 on modelmayhem.

Bought my veil for $2+5 shipping on eBay (brand new, it did the job).

Vera Wang wedding dress purchased from eBay (worn once), retail $7k paid $750

Total cost for the quaint church rental and wonderful pastor was $500

Husband picked out the ring

Flowers made by a family friend for free (this picture was taken in our photographer friend's rental car, no need for a limo for the 10-minute ride!)

Paid to fly out my photographer friend and her photographer boyfriend ($500 total for breathtaking professional photography)

Bridesmaid dresses were $24.99 each from Target

Groomsmen paid for their tux rentals, groom got his for free

Mom made our centerpieces with green apples to save money

Cake made for free by a family friend

It all goes down the same!

Friends were the MC, wedding band, dj, etc. Everyone chipped in and helped out and it came out amazingly. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

Gorgeous pics. Where did you find your photographer? I really wish I had pics of the day I got married.

Thank you AreaCode707, we couldn't be more thrilled with the way they turned out. Our photographer is actually a really good friend of mine who happens to be a professional photographer... we originally met over a year ago when she was looking for a dogsitter on craigslist. I pet-sat for her adorable corgi-Jack Russell mix for a week and we became friends! She's an amazing person with so much talent and really captured some special moments that we are forever grateful for.

May I ask what happened to your wedding pictures?

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
I've been to a potluck wedding in a church basement that must have cost $500 or less and a wedding that cost at least $100k (the invitations alone sent to 500+ people cost $10 each!). Both were fun.

My husband and I paid for wedding ourselves on a tight budget and spent $10k total:

I found my makeup artist for only $75 on modelmayhem.

Bought my veil for $2+5 shipping on eBay (brand new, it did the job).

Vera Wang wedding dress purchased from eBay (worn once), retail $7k paid $750

Total cost for the quaint church rental and wonderful pastor was $500

Husband picked out the ring

Flowers made by a family friend for free (this picture was taken in our photographer friend's rental car, no need for a limo for the 10-minute ride!)

Paid to fly out my photographer friend and her photographer boyfriend ($500 total for breathtaking professional photography)

Bridesmaid dresses were $24.99 each from Target

Groomsmen paid for their tux rentals, groom got his for free

Mom made our centerpieces with green apples to save money

Cake made for free by a family friend

It all goes down the same!

Friends were the MC, wedding band, dj, etc. Everyone chipped in and helped out and it came out amazingly. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

Gorgeous pics. Where did you find your photographer? I really wish I had pics of the day I got married.

Thank you AreaCode707, we couldn't be more thrilled with the way they turned out. Our photographer is actually a really good friend of mine who happens to be a professional photographer... we originally met over a year ago when she was looking for a dogsitter on craigslist. I pet-sat for her adorable corgi-Jack Russell mix for a week and we became friends! She's an amazing person with so much talent and really captured some special moments that we are forever grateful for.

May I ask what happened to your wedding pictures?

From earlier in the thread:

Mine was about $2800 but $2000 of that was airfare/hotel/gift for the pastor who performed the ceremony. Includes the venue.

Of course, if your wedding had GUESTS then you win. We did family-only. It was an awkward and unpleasant situation and the only good part of the day is that I walked away with the best guy on earth.

So we didn't really have a wedding, we just got married. No photographer, no pics. It's actually one of the things I regret most about not being able to do a real wedding.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: L1FE
My god sister's father is the lawyer for the richest man in Taiwan, and her husband is some business tycoon from Malaysia. The wedding was held in Shanghai, had 800+ guests, and was the most ridiculous wedding I've ever been to.

They paid for all the guest's hotel rooms at the Westin and Shangri La. The reception was hosted by 2 TV newscasters. Video was done professionally (even had the cranes to swoop down aisles, etc). There were harpists, ballerinas, live entertainment between courses of the dinner. The whole thing was just crazy.

As for why they had 800+ guests, and why it was so expensive: there were dignitaries, politicians, and affluent business partners that were there. For rich Chinese families, big weddings are more for political wrangling than for the bride and groom.

Chinese wedding? So basically they profited off it?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: scorpious
How much did it cost?
What kind of food was there? (specific examples, i.e. steaks, lobster)
Did anything make it stand out more than a regular wedding? (besides the cost)

Mine was in the $20K ball park.

I forget what the food was. Steak or chicken or a vegetarian option I think.

I hate to float my boat, but the place we had the reception at was probably the nicest place I've ever been to for a wedding.

Not bad considering my wife's parents basically told my wife that she had a blank check for the wedding. I think they knew we weren't going to start buying $10K wedding dresses and having all this crap you see on MTV even though we could have. My wife's dress was $800 and looked wonderful.

Most expensive party though. Easily in the 6 figures. This was for an annual boat club party on a small lake chain. The party was thrown at a private residence. It's nice having a billionaire throw a party. Band flown in from England or something. And a chef from NYC was flown in. The ordeuvres probably were $10K alone if not more.

 

[cHeeZeFacTory]

scary indeed when it doesn't even include the money the guy needs to spend on the ring ...

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
I've been to a potluck wedding in a church basement that must have cost $500 or less and a wedding that cost at least $100k (the invitations alone sent to 500+ people cost $10 each!). Both were fun.

My husband and I paid for wedding ourselves on a tight budget and spent $10k total:

I found my makeup artist for only $75 on modelmayhem.

Bought my veil for $2+5 shipping on eBay (brand new, it did the job).

Vera Wang wedding dress purchased from eBay (worn once), retail $7k paid $750

Total cost for the quaint church rental and wonderful pastor was $500

Husband picked out the ring

Flowers made by a family friend for free (this picture was taken in our photographer friend's rental car, no need for a limo for the 10-minute ride!)

Paid to fly out my photographer friend and her photographer boyfriend ($500 total for breathtaking professional photography)

Bridesmaid dresses were $24.99 each from Target

Groomsmen paid for their tux rentals, groom got his for free

Mom made our centerpieces with green apples to save money

Cake made for free by a family friend

It all goes down the same!

Friends were the MC, wedding band, dj, etc. Everyone chipped in and helped out and it came out amazingly. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

Gorgeous pics. Where did you find your photographer? I really wish I had pics of the day I got married.

Thank you AreaCode707, we couldn't be more thrilled with the way they turned out. Our photographer is actually a really good friend of mine who happens to be a professional photographer... we originally met over a year ago when she was looking for a dogsitter on craigslist. I pet-sat for her adorable corgi-Jack Russell mix for a week and we became friends! She's an amazing person with so much talent and really captured some special moments that we are forever grateful for.

May I ask what happened to your wedding pictures?

From earlier in the thread:

Mine was about $2800 but $2000 of that was airfare/hotel/gift for the pastor who performed the ceremony. Includes the venue.

Of course, if your wedding had GUESTS then you win. We did family-only. It was an awkward and unpleasant situation and the only good part of the day is that I walked away with the best guy on earth.

So we didn't really have a wedding, we just got married. No photographer, no pics. It's actually one of the things I regret most about not being able to do a real wedding.

I see, sorry for missing your post earlier. It sounds like you had a very special relationship with your pastor, I'm sorry that there was an awkward/unpleasant situation involved and am glad that you wound up with your happy ending and hubby. Did any of your family members manage to snap pictures with a digital camera or even a disposable? If you and your husband ever want to renew your vows you can take plenty of pictures then, I know it won't be the same but at least you could possibly incorporate some elements of a "real wedding" that you would've liked to have.