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We honestly didn't want to spend a lot on food because we figured people would be more apt to remember other details, but in the end, we splurged on a higher end premium bar and a few extra things on the dinner. We ended up saving a lot more on our invitations and my dress, so we just made a shift in the budget!
I had planned to be smart and get my dress from a used wedding dress website for around $1k after trying on some dresses in real stores, but went to Kleinfeld and spent $3k on a brand new dress and veil with custom buttons etc....
@Hunter~Oops! :)
I totally planned on spending a ton on a Lela Rose gown and fantastic shoes or having my dress custom made...and now i think I'm going to go barefoot {beach ceremony} and buy off the rack from JCrew. Who would have thought?
We splurged on the Ceremony, but mostly because we were naive about how much a Catholic Wedding would cost.
Initially I thought I would go uber budget friendly on photos and just have friends take photos and maybe even buy a fancy camera ahead of time to have a friend take high quality photos. I didnt need to look like a magazine shoot, I just wanted it captured on "film". Yeah, then I started reading photog blogs and sifting through AMAZINGLY beautiful photos and found a photog I looooooved. And after recovering from "sticker shock" realized that as far as wedding photogs go, she was high quality, but mid range priced. So we booked her and now that we've got photos, know it was worth every penny.
I think we budgeted pretty well... until I went to book the music for the reception. I had NO IDEA how much DJs cost!! We ended up spending $1K over what we budgeted... oh well... the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. :)
Mine is DEFINITELY photography! We went a loooooot over budget. The package we wanted was pretty steep, but they just take such wonderful pictures! And, we also upped it so that we'd receive all the rights to our pictures. Definitely something we didn't plan, but we're compensating in other places, i.e. not spending as much on invitations.
@mdarrah~ I'm thinking of using Rae...how much did you love her? :) She just seems great/nice and great prices!
@KateMW:
The Church, Priest, Social Coordinator, Music Coordinator all cost total $475
The Pre-Cana was $75
The Guitarist (our own choice, as opposed to a cantor) is $250 plus his hotel $114
We thought the whole thing would be $300-$500 but its turning out to be more like $1000... sigh. I keep telling myself that the marriage ceremony is the whole POINT of the wedding.
It IS the whole point, but it doesn't make it any easier to take! :) If it makes you feel better, it's $1000 for members of our church just to use the church!
@mskalinin - am so jealous, ours is $1100 BEFORE consideration for the priest and any other extras like special musicians. i had no idea. unfort it's uber-important for my mom that we get married in the church, so it's really a non-negotiable.
it's like that scene in father of the bride,
diane keaton: "good news, the church is free!"
steve martin: "thank goodness *something* is finally free at this wedding!",
I sort of splurged on my dress, by accident 
Let me explain.....I bought a dress that was originally $1150 for $500 so I was so happy that I had saved so much money however I have since then decided that that dress is not "the one" and I'm not paying $1150 for another dress but, that $1150 includes bustles, capped sleeves and some laces added at the train......so in the end I didn't really save at all, unless I can sell this dress I no longer want.
I splurged on jewlery! I figured I'd buy something simple but I am getting $300 earrings and a $500 necklace.
I spent LESS then I planned on my dress however...that helps justify it, atleast that is what I tell myself!
VIdeography...it was the first thing we cut from the budget, and the last thing we added back in at the end. Totally worth it though and I am so glad we did!
@KateMW: $1000? Mang, that's alot! The Catholic church where my fiance actually GOES (where we live now, as opposed to where we are getting married) is only $75 then $50 for the priest!
@mayeast06: Wow o.O I will tell my fiance that, it will make him feel a bit better I think. He is the Catholic one and really wanted to get married in church, so I think he feels bad sometimes that we are spending so much more on it than we had anticipated.
I love the rest of that quote, too:
Diane Keaton: "Noooo, I meant the date is free."
hahahaha I love that movie.
Food. Our families decided at the very beginning they would make the food. We tried to tell them no but they insisted. Now, my FMIL is hiring a caterer because she is worried about who will serve the food (we brought this up at the beginning). So while we are not actually paying for it, it's still an unexpected cost to the total budget.
Honestly, I had no idea how much wedding photography was. I hadn't expected to pay over 1K but I was sorely mistaken. So that is what I ended up splurging.
I was ready to drop some serious cash on my dress, but I keep going back to a Maggie Sottero that is less than $800. I love,love,love it. 99.7% sure that it's the one. We had planned on splurging on our venue and food, but we're having second thoughts. We really want a tavern spread and gourmet hamburger stations, and a rolled taco bar, build your mac n cheese station, etc. So, if we rented a hall and went this route with the food, we would save a ton. I would lose my deposit on the ballroom, but I think it would be worth it, since they don't offer fun options like this.
We are splurging on our DJ, but I am really excited about it, as he is awesome. We will also be spending more on decorating than originally anticipated. I'm okay-ish with this.
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It's a fun multi-phase question...
What did you NOT plan on splurging on, but did in the end?