Budget

[crawford2B]

I'm only doing this once and I want everything to be the way I want it. SO, we said no budget but our check book has the final say in that! Ha Ha!

[alex]

I am sooooo glad I've found this site so early in our planning!!!!
I always thought "hey, we'll get married on the beach with some friends & family & it won't cost us very much!" but after reading differnet info from the forum & add-ons I never knew were possible for a destination wedding I am getting a bit nervous!!! As much as I am all for simple cost-effective, there are definately some things that I am now willing to spend extra money on! (IE/ photography, etc!)
We are a younger couple, and as much as I want everything at my wedding to be exactly how I want it.. I also want alot of other things!! My car isn't going to last much longer than a year & we're definately hoping to find our own place so we can stop throwing away money on renting....
I'd better tell the bf he better start working some overtime shifts!! LOL

[Ana]

We didn't really set a budget, but we discuss all the expenses as they arise. If we think something is unnecessary then we just don't do it. We splurge on some stuff and get rid of others (like the rehersal and welcome dinners).

[AmandaR]

Originally Posted by Adinu

We didn't really set a budget, but we discuss all the expenses as they arise. If we think something is unnecessary then we just don't do it. We splurge on some stuff and get rid of others (like the rehersal and welcome dinners).

We're doing something similar. Our ballpark figure is $10k and so far we're coming under, but not by much. We discuss all expenses as well and decide whether they're necessary for us to have our "dream" Jamaican wedding. One good thing is that the $$$ we're spending on our wedding is our money - we're not going into debt for this celebration! So far, we haven't had to skimp on anything that we thought was crucial for our wedding to be spectacular. Of course, we also only have 8 guests, so that helps keep OOT bag and reception costs down!

[ochoriobride]

Trip -1950$ (we have 1 free ticket because we booked more then 21 guests)
rings- 800$ (does not include my e-ring)
my dress- 1000 $
My alteration- 200 $
BMdress - 660$
GM suit-200
Tierra - 130$
BM gift- 120%
Wedding favors - 100$
Shoes - 90$
Photography - free ( my FI aunt will take the pictures, she is pretty good)
IM estimating at least 1500$ for the decoration, reception, flowers)
and i'm sure i'm forgetting thing I already bought

my parents give us 3500 to help for the wedding.

So I'm estimating around 4k...so it's not bad at all

[Ana]

Originally Posted by Asteff2001

We're doing something similar. Our ballpark figure is $10k and so far we're coming under, but not by much. We discuss all expenses as well and decide whether they're necessary for us to have our "dream" Jamaican wedding. One good thing is that the $$$ we're spending on our wedding is our money - we're not going into debt for this celebration! So far, we haven't had to skimp on anything that we thought was crucial for our wedding to be spectacular. Of course, we also only have 8 guests, so that helps keep OOT bag and reception costs down!

That's awesome! Its huge to not need to go into debt for the wedding, that's what Michael and I wanted too. I feel really lucky that my parents are able to pay for most of it so hopefully we won't have to spend too much. We're moving across the country in September too and so far that's going to cost us about $8000 ugh...i'm getting freaked just thinking about it...so much to worry about!

[heather007]

This is what we have so far.

Dress: 350
His ring: 800
All-inclusive package 2 weeks: 6000
Wedding package: 1850
Music: 240
Photographer: 2500
Invitations/STD/etc.: 300
Itinerary: 30
Favours: 500
Gifts: 350
Spending Money: 2500

Total: 14970


This does not include:
Engagement ring: 11000
Wedding band 1200

New total: 26170

That's a lot of money.

~~

[Morgan]

OK here is mine. We will have about 28 guests for a wedding in Riviera Maya in June of 08. I've been keeping up with every dollar, so I tried to condense it.

My budget was set at $5,000. I was under budget for most things because of all the DIY projects I learned from the forum. Then I went over budget for some things when I realized they meant too much for me to skimp on. Is skimp a real word?

The biggest struggle for me was photography. I was trying to set too low of a photography budget for myself. I love pictures & should have known that was an area I would have been OK skimping on. I should have set a more realistic budget from the beginning. I am perfectly happy with all the other places I've cut corners. But, I'm so glad I will now have awesome photography.

I guess I would say my tips for having a wedding on a budget is to figure out what really matters to you. Allocate more money for those things & cut corners on the rest. I'm really happy with my cheap dress, but I really care about having great photography. Mike & I both also wanted cheap rings. For someone else it could be swapped. Just figure out what matters to you. Keeping things cheap made me get more creative & I had a lot of fun with it. I also love all the personal touches DIYing puts into my wedding.

I'm also saving by not having a private reception. I've talked it over with my guests & I think it will work for us. I'll report back in 2 months if I feel like I should have spent more in some places & less in others.

I am really excited to be taking our guests on a Coba excursion.

Photography is the one thing I left off my budget below. With prices always changing I think it's better to contact the photographer directly for current prices.

OK here we go. I hope this copies correctly:

[Morgan]

Dress (Macy's) 230
alterations (just hemmed) 30
Mike's clothes 100
shell sandals (kohls) 10
hairflower DIY 10
Starfish necklace (Kohls) 15
earings (already had them) 0
bracelet- pearl from grandma 0
hair 100
total clothes 495

Save the dates (100 vistaprint postcards) 12
Save the dates postage 14
Thank you cards (leftovers from Sarah- sent money for shipping) 10
prewedding brochure (25 vistaprint) 7.45
20 invitations (vistaprint) 9
40 invitations (vista print) 21.45
20 invitations (vistaprint) + 100 postcards with website & TA info 11.45
invites cardstock (AC Moore) 9
invites envelopes 17
invites postage 30
website (weddingannouncer.com) 0
invitation total= 97.9
stationary stuff total 141.35

OOT bag postcards 10
OOT bag cups 152 cups (for AHR too), 2 paint pens, 4 pages rub ons 30
OOT bag first aid kits (14) 15
OOT bag 96 immodium (made pouches) 10
OOT bags advil (made pouches) 5
OOT bag SPF chapstick (30) (ebay) 7.57
OOT bag misc printing 10
OOT bags master locks (16) ebay 36
OOT bag chapstick label vista print 3
OOT bag stuff from oriental trading (24 coin purses, 24 totes, 50 carabeaners) 40
OOT bags glasses wipes sam's club 8
OOT stuff from lauren 7
OOT bag total (16 bags with stuff left over & stuff for AHR) 181.57

organza bags for petals (ebay) 6.5
real petals when we get there 20
starfish for bouquet 15
36 multicolored hand fans (asianideas.com) 25.6
Hotel ceremony fee (symbolic) 360
Ceremony total 427.1

Our flight & hotel 2086.12
trip to coba for guests 300
travel & fun total 2386.12

guestbook (shutterfly free except shipping) 8
photobook gift for gma (shutterfly, free except shipping) 4
hankies for mom's DIY 8
tips (very few vendors) 150
misc total 170

Mike's wedding band tungsten from wholesale website 20
my e-ring (no wedding band) $700~not counting in budget
wedding band total 20

Grand total 3,821.14
plus the cost of photography

I honestly feel like I'm having a million dollar wedding. I have loved every bit of planning for it. I am so excited for the group vacation, the great time with Mike, and the awesome pictures when it's all over.

If you want more details about my stuff, look at my BDW blog. I tried to include links to everything to show how I made it & what it costs.

[Ana]

Morgan that's awesome! You're my idol for being able to do a wedding on such a great budget. Ugh :S I don't even want to think about ours so far...its at home and I don't like looking at it..haha!