How much is your wedding costing you?

[Dazeydawl]

Oh my gosh. I don't really want to think about this but here is where we are so far Dress - $2000 Suit - $450 Suite at tensing pen for 7 nights $1800 Flights - gift from BIL (his aeroplan miles) -$0 Photographer - $3700 (bringing from home so this includes package, flight, and hotel room) Chair rental - $450 Set up fees - $360 Cocktail hour food and drink - $1175 Drummer for cocktail hour - $375 Reception food and drink - $2500 Cake - $350 Officiant - $300 Flowers - $800 Favours - $200 Wedding party gifts - $450 All stationary (invites, menus, place cards ect) - $400 OOT bags and other random - $1200 Some of this is estimated as I don't have all the costs yet but this would be the budget or hopefully cheaper. We are not staying at an all inclusive resort therefore our costs are a bit higher than average I think. Also don't have included in here yet hair and makeup dress alterations and accessories.

[Melissa14]

7 nights for $1800 is awesome! Is it all inclusive?
 

[Dazeydawl]

7 nights for $1800 is awesome! Is it all inclusive?  

No it's not all inclusive. That is just the cost of our room for the seven nights but it is so worth it. Here's some pics of our suite From the outside Inside our suite And the view from our suite

[Melissa14]

Gorgeous!

[hessina85]

I like!!!!

[AnaSteele58]

Me and my FI also have a joint accounts at our credit union one is for the wedding and the other is for our house down payment early this year after getting engaged we made a commitment to put aside money we set a goal , a budget , and do automatic transfers our bank is so far away from out home so that lessens our chances of spending the money also we opted not to get a bank card instead when we need to make vendor payments we go directly to our bank and take out exactly what we need in the form of a check.....all other bills we split evenly each month with my FI taking on some bills independently this has been working for us hope this is helpful

We are doing the same-joint savings for wedding and first home.

[hessina85]

Oh yeah:) so I'm not the only crazy one out there trying to pay for two large expenses....but we can do it !!! And congrats on everything !!!

[TinkerSofi]

Originally Posted by lilpbc 

 

So frustrating with planning our wedding and having to work everything within our budget. Our Budget was $10k for 1 week but after configuring out how much wedding package/resort/etc we up it to $15k. However we don't think this is enough. Here's a rough estimate breakdown: $7k AI for 6 adults for 1 week - Myself, FI, My mom, His mom, his dad, and step mom ( there goes half of our $,,, sighs. ) $5k for wedding reception/decor/ceremony (estimating 30-40 guests) $3k Miscellaneous things - Welcome bags, welcome cocktail, invites, std, tip, etc. This doesn't include our honeymoon or rings. We are not having a photographer or videographer. We are having the BIL use our DSLR to take photo's. There will be no honeymoon and it will be on a separate occassion. I am doing my own makeup and hair. So there's a lot of of things I can cut costs. I have discussed with the FI that maybe we shouldn't pay for our parents but he insist that we do. We are asian so we are obligated to pay for them so there's no way of getting out of the $7k. It's really a bummer cause it's eating half of our costs and the FI won't go any higher than $15k. We are still in the planning stage so will see how we can work on this budget. =)

What about offering to pay for half of their trip? I wish I could pay for my grandparents to come from Argentina, but unfortunately we'll also be buying a house at around the same time so it won't be possible . We'll be on a pretty tight budget too.  

 

On the other hand, if you can't cut down those costs, how about for example having decor that does not include flowers, or not too many flowers? There's lots of good options out there, and flowers can get expensive quickly. I'm planning on spending on most of my decor budget for for the reception decor. Given that the ceremony is so short, I think it's kind of a waste of money, and the ocean as a backdrop is beautiful anyways. I'll just keep it simple but nice. 

Also, what about keeping the welcome bags to a minimum? I'm sure your guests wouldn't mind. Shop at your local dollar store, include only practical items that people would actually use, like sunscreen, and cut out all the nice-but-not-so-necessary items. I know a lot of people like to personalize their bags and it adds a nice touch, but maybe you can cut down on that cost too. After all, are people really going to use that bag afterwards? I just hate wasting my money on things that people will never use. I can find a million ways to better spend it

Another way we're thinking of cutting down some costs is by sending invites early in advance rather than std and invites. I'm planning on making my own invites, but vistaprint also has some nice ones for budget-minded brides. 

[AnaSteele58]

Oh yeah:) so I'm not the only crazy one out there trying to pay for two large expenses....but we can do it !!! And congrats on everything !!!

Thanks! Same to you...

[AnaSteele58]

Originally Posted by TinkerSofi 

 

What about offering to pay for half of their trip? I wish I could pay for my grandparents to come from Argentina, but unfortunately we'll also be buying a house at around the same time so it won't be possible . We'll be on a pretty tight budget too.  

 

On the other hand, if you can't cut down those costs, how about for example having decor that does not include flowers, or not too many flowers? There's lots of good options out there, and flowers can get expensive quickly. I'm planning on spending on most of my decor budget for for the reception decor. Given that the ceremony is so short, I think it's kind of a waste of money, and the ocean as a backdrop is beautiful anyways. I'll just keep it simple but nice. 

Also, what about keeping the welcome bags to a minimum? I'm sure your guests wouldn't mind. Shop at your local dollar store, include only practical items that people would actually use, like sunscreen, and cut out all the nice-but-not-so-necessary items. I know a lot of people like to personalize their bags and it adds a nice touch, but maybe you can cut down on that cost too. After all, are people really going to use that bag afterwards? I just hate wasting my money on things that people will never use. I can find a million ways to better spend it

Another way we're thinking of cutting down some costs is by sending invites early in advance rather than std and invites. I'm planning on making my own invites, but vistaprint also has some nice ones for budget-minded brides. 

 

Good advice in regards to not using flowers.  I'm thinking of doing parasols and centerpieces without flowers.