How is your budget??

[Golden]

We really did not set a budget, we kept everything under 9k which is good

with everything hotel, flight, gifts, food, dj,cake,pic's. My mom was a big help with some of the cost. We paid for everything in cash no credit cards.

We refuse to use any credit cards.

[Kathie]

I do use a credit card but it is American Express and it has to be paid in full at the end of the month. The way I look at it is I might as well get some points that I can put toward airline tickets if I'm going to be spending $15,000.

[Copita]

We didn't really have a 'set budget' but when we did our 'final site visit' we had an idea of how much everything would be. And in the end, actually saved about $500 when we paid. Which is insane.

It wasn't too bad, actually, considering all the add-ons we go.

[kerryjbrown]

We are way over ours....FI said $20k at first we are about double that but he came back later and said that was just for day of (ceremony, reception, flowers, etc) not to include trip, dress, photographer, etc so....I guess I am on track. Although I just found out this morning about a 20% service charge I was unaware of on the reception...OUCH!

Good luck, just remember to choose your items that are no skimping (for us it was dress and photographer) and cut corners where you may not notice (I am going to DIY my invites versus ordering the ones I liked which will save me over $800).

[Davematthews16]

We tried to set a "budget" but it's hard to create one when you've both never planned a wedding before (especially a DW) I saved a TON of money by: making my own BF sandals, making my bms bf sandals, making my veil, & by making my BMs bouquets and GM's boutineers. I had a blast making all my stuff and am very happy with how everything turned out. I saved atleast $400.00 alone. Other things like photography, we are paying extra for because it's very important to us. We added a TTD (which wasn't originally in our "budget") but thought it was ABSOLUTELY necessary to spend the extra $ on. I say cut a few corners where you can, and spend that money on something you don't wanna cut corners on

[samanthag]

How funny, my FI and I were just talking about our buget last night.

We never set a buget but when his mother's- aunt's- friend rsvp for 6 people we sat down & figured that we are paying $16k for food/drinks alone for 60 people on our wedding day, so per person that's (in our mind) lots of money for people we have NEVER met!!!!!!!! Never mind the welcome/reception dinner & after wedding brunch!!

We are paying everything cash as we go so it's a little overwhelming considering we still have LOTS more to pay for but we both agree that we have waited a long time (I'm 32/Fi is 34) and this is our first (and last) marriage so we want to have the wedding WE want to have!

[Dez921714]

Budget? What's a budget??

 

We tried to set one, and I'm keeping track of how much I spend on what, but a lot of the "big" costs will depend on how many people come (and what perks we get from the resort). Right now, we'll probably be going over our goal by about 5k which isn't too bad considering it's still half or less than half of what we'd be paying to get married in the NYC area.

 

I saved a lot of money on my BM jewlery. I was looking at getting them JUST Swavorski starfish necklaces for about $20 each. Instead, I bought the crystals and I made them necklaces and matching earing and it came to less than $15 each.

[Virg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeroo We came in under budget. We didn't want to spend more than 10K, and ended up spending 9k. This included absolutely EVERYTHING, including our rings, gifts, hotel, airfare, getting legally married at home, etc, and even the after-wedding costs such as dress cleaning, thank you cards, and photo gifts. We had 38 guests and a private reception. I really didn't feel like we skimped on anything either; we just didn't do a lot of the extras such as DJ (we hooked up our laptop to the sound system), OOT bags, programs, etc, and we stuck with what the wedding package offered, nothing more, which was more than sufficient for us. I kept track of everything we spent mostly because I was curious as to how much the whole thing would cost. We paid everything on cash, so I wanted to keep track of it all. It also helped that we anticipated for after-wedding costs. I agree that you have to prioritize what's important to you and let the not so important stuff go. It was so easy though, to get sucked in to all the little details and want to have the best of everything. One of my moments was when I received my invitations and envelopes. I found the envelopes to be cheap-ish, made with thin paper, instead of that nice thick paper. I was going to go out and buy better quality envelopes, but then thought to myself, "Is it worth the extra effort and expense for ENVELOPES?! Are people going to really care? Or even notice? And even if they did notice and thought it was cheap to have thin envelopes, do I really care that they care? Not at all! I have more important things to think about. Use the freakin' envelopes and move on with your life, lol!" Not that envelopes would break the bank by any means, but these little upgrades here and there do add up, and you always want more! So yea, I had to say that to myself on a few occasions when I almost splurged for something unnecessary. Honestly, what I remember from the day was not the centerpieces or favours, etc - it was sharing in the moment of marrying my love with our close family and friends. Staying on budget felt really good too, lol!!!

VERY WELL PUT!!!

[Kristy!]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathie I do use a credit card but it is American Express and it has to be paid in full at the end of the month. The way I look at it is I might as well get some points that I can put toward airline tickets if I'm going to be spending $15,000.

I'm doing the same thing, only I get rebate checks. We're so smart!

[sunset78]

Well, I'm trying to keep it around 20,000. Though FI said he'd rather 10,000, but I reminded him it isn't going to happen if we are paying half for his parents, my parents, MOB Best Man, and his sister.

 

But the wedding should be all paid my retention package I get next year... so technically no money out of our pockets.... unless I go over that...