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Tax on everything, mandatory gratuity charged by caterer/service people, gifts for wedding party, the magically expanding guest list, a cake cutting fee charged by the reception site (in addition to the baker's fee for the cake itself), overtime fees for DJ and photographer (their "package" only covered 4-5 hours which was not long enough for my reception), gratuity for the band, the DJ, the photographer, the florist, etc... And counting!
Be sure to check with your venue to see what you can supply yourself and what they insist upon providing. My sister got married in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, which is a beautiful historical landmark. They insisted on providing their own candles (smokeless, dripless) which were horrendously expensive. Luckily my venue just bans candles altogether. The big lesson is that you can never, never ask too many questions... and don't be afraid to sound stupid. Hey, its your first wedding, right?
Cake cutting fee was also a surprise at my sisters' wedding, although when we asked it turns out to be more related to the provision of plates and forks, and the subsequent washing of those... makes a little more sense when you look at it that way. Even though you bring your own cake, you eat it using stuff belonging to the reception site.
We specifically asked our photographer happened if the reception ran long, as 5 hours does seem to be the standard. The photographer will be there more like 7 hours, as he will take pictures of the cake and the wedding party before the guests arrive. Luckily they have said that is not a problem, but it is a good idea to discuss that with everyone involved up front. The venue may also charge extra if they have to keep staff there later than anticipated.
About the tax + gratuity thing... I'm not sure how it is in other states, but in CA, vendors apply the tax on top of the gratuity! So it's the price of the item, plus 18%-20% gratuity, and THEN you do the tax. I didn't know that at first and was adding up the numbers separately.
Cake cutting fees were an unexpected expense for us as well... luckily we're doing wedding cupcakes so we can get around that =P
that cake cutting thing surprised me. also, get all those little things mentioned above written into your contract. this way you know for certain what its going to cost and get no nasty surprises.
Bar setup fees were an ouchy spot! I think it was something like $4/pp for the package we wanted. And that only includes set up and glassware, no alcohol!
Tips for restroom attendants and coatroom attendants I forgot on my initial budget list. That and tips for cake delivery and floral delivery. I know these vendors work hard, but wowie all the tips sure do add up!!
Oh, and some places charged extra for linens, dishes, and silverware. Gotta love that.
It wasn't "unexpected" but I did forget to add it into the budget - and that was postage. I didn't (and couldnt't have) known the actual mailing cost with out having it weighed at the local post office. What I thought it would be, wasn't right and we ended up having to add a significant amount to buy the stamps.
Not to mention the return stamp for the RSVP...don't forget that!
Stamps - RSVP, invite & TY's
DIY materials
Guestbook
Manicure/Pedicure before wedding
Hair/Makeup trials
Candles
Fees for valet parking attendants at the reception site.
All the decorations--lanterns, candles, guestbook, etc--these were not unexpected, but they were a lot more than I thought they would be.
The cost of postage was a surprise--I've never spent that much in one visit to the post office, not even at Christmas!
I've decided at the last minute that I want the hair person and the makeup person to travel from the hotel to the wedding site with us to do last minutes touchups; this will result in overtime charges.
Undergarments. Seriously, I didn't budget for these, but I bought frou-frou undergarments which I will likely never wear again (it's not like they're comfortable for work wear :-), not to mention pretty lingerie (we are not really a lingerie couple, either me wearing or he appreciating). I may eventually spring for Spanx, too, depending on how that workout schedule goes....
Definitely TAX!!!!! (for catering its $500+!!!)
Also I totally forgot to include the honeymoon in our budget OUCH!!!! ( I thought my FH was going to take of it, he has a zillion hotel points )
As for cake cutting, I've read in several books that this is a joke and that you should refuse to pay the cater to do something that is their JOB. The caters I have been talking to say the same thing.
This is gonna be a long list: Tax, Gratuity, cake cutting fee, delivery fees, undergarments (special bras, spanx, petticoats), jewelry, corkage fees, makeup (the ones I bought to try), manicure/pedicure, cake cutters, cake topper, chair covers, DIY tools......etc...
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This post is SO true and making me a bit sad....
Sigh...
I'd like to add HOTELS on there as well! Staying in one the night before the wedding, then the wedding night...adds up quick..then if you are picking anyone elses tabs up.....adds up quick!
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All of the above AND: Wedding Bands.
Many people do not budget for this - and they can be pretty pricey depending on what you want!
If you're having an open bar, make sure to budget MORE than you think your guests will drink in this area because you don't really have any control over the price of this item. Do NOT budget conservatively in this area because if your guests end up drinking quite a bit, then you may have a larger-than-expected bill to pay by several hundred dollars. Better to budget too much and then have some wiggle room left in the budget at the end.
Apparently the cake our venue offers is very limited in its decorations. So if you want anything special, flowers, any type of cake topper (even if it's edible) you might have to pay more.
Here's items I missed.
Hair/make-up trials.
Place cards, menus,
flowers for wives/husbands of close family members.
Quick informal thank you cards when we received presents months before the wedding.
We're totally going over a lot higher on gifts b/c a lot of people are spending money on things we didn't expect them to.
We didn't expect to do save the dates or engagment photos, but finally did it because of parent nagging. So watch out for family induced expenses. Also dinner rehearsal invites.
As far as cake cutting goes, I am not sure it is the caterers' job to serve a cake they did not provide. The cake cutting fee is something like the corkage fee you get charged when you bring your own bottle of wine to a restaurant (or the bar set-up fee you get charged when you supply your own liquor at the reception). There is still labor and materials involved. I think it is not unreasonable for the venue to charge me a small fee to use their plates, forks, and labor to serve the cake I had brought in. If your caterer is actually providing the desert, then those costs should already be rolled into the cost per serving.
We LOVE our venue - but it essentially an empty barn that we need to fill with rentals, meaning everything from table & chairs to salad forks, saucers and water glasses. Everything needs to be accounted for! We knew it would be more expensive to do it this way, but we've been surprised by how much more it has been. Thank goodness our caterer is handling all the logistics.
omg rentals.
chairs alone (the plain ones) are $1000.
don't get me started on the tent, tent sides, tent lighting, portapotties.
gross.
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As far as the little stuff that just adds up...I would say gratuities, food the day of the wedding (people have to eat), under garments, just the last minute expenses that you don't feel like bargaining for because by that point you are frustrated and just want the whole thing to be over!
Oh, here's another one-- our venue is charging a "labor fee" to move the chairs from outside at the ceremony site into the ballroom (literally right next door). It's only $150... but still! I'm probably spending less than that for my favors! I may have to try and weasel out of that one.
Don't forget your vendor meals. Check with the catering people to see if they will eat a guest meal or if there are special arrangements and pricing for the vendors.
In addition to cake-cutting fees, corkage fees.
There may be surprise fees at the end of the wedding. Check your contract to see if you would be responsible if anything is missing, broken, etc.
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i just received info from a gallery/event space.... i gotta pay for my own security for everey 100 guests per city ordinance. sigh~
Adding in large ongoing expenses can completely trash off a sound financial plan if you aren’t careful. Perhaps surprise by a big expense you weren’t prepares to pay? If so you were not alone. It happen to all people in all the times and all causes them to incur unwanted debts to solve the problem. Sometimes these are often expense you have simply forgotten about. It never occurred to me that a cash advance could help me get through the winter months until I read the article linked to this post. Winter is always pretty stressful for me. Not only do I have the usual bills and holiday expenses to worry about, I live in an area that gets tons of snow every year. Piles of snow mean dangerous driving conditions and freezing living conditions. I am a good budgeter, but if anything happens to me and/or my car this winter, my budget will be out the window. Speaking of my car, I need new snow tires, and I’m sure that will cost me a pretty penny. Plus, when it’s cold outside, I like it to be warm and toasty inside. Unfortunately, heating my apartment isn’t exactly cheap. I plan for all these costs ahead of time, but it’s good to know that I have a responsible option for covering unexpected costs. I’ll look into getting a cash advance this winter when the cold weather expenses take a toll on my budget.
Click to read more on Cash Advance
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Hello All,
I am starting to plan and since I dont know much about what I'm doing (besides what's in the books, magazines and online). I have to ask...
Where there any (which i'm sure they were), unexpected expensis that you had to deal with, that are not covered in the books or called out as "part of budget"?
Thanks in advance for your answers!
D