Is there something that you splurged on for your wedding that you totally could have lived without, but absolutely had to have??
I just ordered a custom cake topper from etsy that was really insanely expensive. But it was just absolutely too perfect not to! It features the Natty Boh guy (a baltimore beer company) and the UTZ girl. I was able to add my animals as well as our favorite baseball teams! 
Seeing how it cost as much as almost all the rest of my reception decor, it is definitely a splurge. But a cute one :)
There's a few things I'm REALLY splurging on. Things that don't need to be as elaborate.
The Candy Buffet. Not your average candy buffet. It's going to consist of 2 large banquet tables, and 1 small round table in between. The round one will be the cake table. The other two will be candy/brownies/truffles/cheesecake, or whatever else. Not needed, but a I def want!
The Photo Booth. We're buying 2 backdrop murals for it, 2 polariod cameras and tons of film & props. We'll have a basket/box for them to drop pictures into. And they'll be able to take as many as they want. Will also do some light staging for it since the reception goes on until.. forever.
The Favors. We're going a little crazy with them. We're doing about a dozen of 20 or so different types. We want something for everyone.
There's other things like the venue itself. It's a bed & breakfast. We're taking it for 3 entire days and doing a wedding affair/reunion getaway type of thing. We're doing coffee, donuts & tea every morning for our guests staying during those time.
My big splurge is pipe and drape throughout the entire ceremony and reception.
I think my photobooth is also somewhat of a splurge. Definitely not in the initial budget but I got a groupon and it was too good of a deal to pass up!
@NVACat: FI and I splurged on the same thing, from the same seller! FI was all for it because it's something we could keep after the day was gone.
I splurged a lot I think. First it was my veil. I never planned to have one, then less than a month before I decided I wanted one custom off etsy.
A coat to wear to walk in between venues. It was a sample at CSB. Then I altered and embellished it.
The last splurge I could think of is my purse. Again, something I had just because I was moving around and just held the basics. ID, lipstick, phone.
I'm pretty sure it was over $600 just on these 3 items. I splurged more I'm sure but those were the first off the top of my head.
The only thing I've actually bought so far is my dress. But seeing how its $400 over my original budget its kind of a splurge.
We're splurging on the photographer. Once I met him, I knew there was no one else I wanted to take the pics. Even if he costs $1k more than the runner up...
@mchitt329: How exciting! I haven't shown my fiance yet since i'm pretty much wearing my dress in that picture. And since I wont be suprised at all during the wedding, its nice to have him get a few suprises throughout the day
@NVACat: Same here, I showed FI the picture with him and my cat in it and me blacked out so he can't see my dress! I can't wait for him to see it in real life :)
White dance floor!! I fell in love love love with a white dance floor early in the planning but DH and I decided it was WAY out of the budget. He bought it for me for Christmas. :)
That and the custom (GOBO) were way unnecessary but so made the room special.
I splurged on my dress, I was going to get something under $300 but fell in love with something more expensive :/ anyways I love it so it is ok in book.
@elysion: Same, ha ha!! ;)
I'm also shelling out quite a bit for vintage china plates for our reception. Still deciding if I should splurge on a DOC or not...
Venue and food. The venue was AMAZING and it still takes my breath away when we look at photos.
Our food was stations but not typical wedding food. We got a lot of great compliments on this. Of course, I was so wired/busy talking that i didnt get to eat any of it :(
Everything The most non-critical things are probably the trolley and the china. Since we're doing family style and can't have a lot of flowers on the table (need room for food platters), the fancier china acts as table decor.
Late in the wedding-planning (as in, during the month leading up to our wedding) we received some unexpected $ in wedding gifts. We had already done pretty much everything, but we decided to splurge on a rehearsal dinner at a nice restaurant--40 guests, open bar, 4 course dinner--and upgraded our room for our honeymoon to one with a rooftop terrace. Both were more "experiences" than physical things, and both were totally worth the money!
@NVACat: off topic but...why the UTZ girl? Are you from Hanover originally? If you aren't, that's where UTZ chips are made (as well as Snyder's pretzels and Wege pretzels). I'm originally from there so I was just curious!
My splurge -->my shoes ($300 blue badgley mischka beauties) and probably whatever my wedding jewelry is although we haven't picked it out yet
we're splurging and getting a limo-bus to shuttle our guests to/from the venue to/from the hotel. It's a slurge because, well it's expensive & we're not even riding on it (driving our car)
We're splurging on the reception room hire, but I just couldn't say no to this (got to imagine it with long tables, chiavari chairs and high centre pieces made of foliage to mimick trees):
Oh, and the band. We went more than a bit over budget there but they are just so much more awesome than the other bands we heard! So I've happily abandoned facials, manicures and other pre wedding pampering, and jimmy choo shoes to make up the difference.
My dress by Jenny Lee and my shoes by Valentino were definitely a splurge, but I loved both and don't regret either ONE BIT! My photobooth was also more expensive than some of the going rates competitively, but they had a turn of the century camera and produced the most beautiful photos! I had a whole other album of my guests enjoying themselves AND looking great!
@reebs83: There are advertisements all over Baltimore that have the UTZ girl with Mr. Boh. I think Baltimore was one of their original markets?
I guess our splurge was our lodging.
The elopement package came with a queen bed and a balcony, but we upgraded to a king and a view of the lake. We also added a 3rd night (package came with 2 nights).
Totally not necessary but we are glad we did.
My photographer, my FI is still a little annoyed over it, but you have to slurge on photographers!
For me it was my gown, and for my FI it was the cake. Although overall I'd say my decor budget is a bit of a splurge, I have lots of little things like some lovely lanterns and blue mason jars.
Photography. I signed a contract with somebody that was in my budget, but she disappeared into nowhere. So I got my deposit back from paypal and signed a contract with my dream photographer. I figured it was worth it to get amazing pictures and not have to stress about somebody even showing up.
@NVACat: I ordered our cake topper from the same girl!
@MissFireFlower: Those are ADORABLE!!!
I splurged on my veil. I ended up having it custom made and in the end with added crystals and length it cost me well over $800.00. It did make for some stunning photos though.
Shoes: Will be Christian Louboutin
The Venue itself is a splurge.
The Meal:
Bacon wrapped scallopsBison wellingtonAsian pork and mushroom wonton with sesame chili dipping sauceGrilled portobello with goat cheese and sun dried tomato canapésSoupBeef and shiitake mushroom consommé with petites profiterolesSaladButter lettuce and spinach salad with sun dried cranberries, oranges, red peppers, goat cheese and a candied orange vinaigretteEntréeGrilled New York steak with jumbo tiger prawns and roasted garlic jus, goat cheese whipped potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetablesDessertWhite chocolate raspberry cheesecake with raspberry coulis
Its a splurge (for us) at $67 a plate.
The Dress: Because none of the designers I love (besides Maggie Sottero) are carried in my city or country, I will be traveling to the states and possibly Kleinfeld.
Red Roses. They are pricey but I refuse to have anything else.
My dress....went over the budget...oops
My justification is this - I had already canceled the photo booth because I decided I didn't want/need it.
I got a 10% discount (which basically worked out to a "free" veil).
Our ceremony and reception are in the same location, so we have do not have to spend money on limos/transportation.
@Bostongrl25: HI! just wondered what you did for food stations? We are doing a buffet type thing...very casual and am looking for ideas on food..thanks!
@nigerianpolack: Don't you love how you justify things?? Since I got a groupon for my photobooth (which was not initially in the budget anyway...) i keep saying "oh its fine because I saved money on the photobooth.
I also realized I splurged a LOT on invitations. While I totally DIYed my Save the Dates, I fell in love with an invitation suite and of course it was one of the most expensive. Still, it is perfect so it was worth cutting corners in other areas :)
@NVACat: That's awesome about the Groupon - I love a good deal! My mom was the one who had to point out my "justifications" after I had a small heart/panic attack when I bought my dress.
I am spending 1300 on photog, only slightly more for venue, and will be DIYing at least centerpieces, and possibly all other flowers. My veil will probably be tulle scrap from Hobby Lobby. We are bringing in our own alcohol.
We are doing this so that we can get
-Lighting. The venue is gorgeous, but in the pics I've seen, lighting makes ALL the difference.
-Dinner. Very few of the weddings in my family are anything but cake and punch. I want to go all out, maybe even steak.
-Photo Booth
-Candy Bar
-Fancy Chairs. Garden chairs and banquet chairs will look really out of place in such a grand-looking space, so it's Chiavari or (if I can find them) Versailles.
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