- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
i've been contemplating this.....hello monique lhuillier dream dress and goodbye wedding or vice versa:-) no, really, i thought i would be willing to spend more on the dress, but now......not so much. i know people who have paid in the thousands and those who paid 200.00 for their dress......and they all looked equally beautiful. seriously. FI and i decided the three most important things to us are: venue (includes catering), entertainment and photographer. i've figured out a classy and inexpensive way to do floral decorations. cake is going to be cupcakes from our fave bakery with a small cake on top. venue is our biggest splurge. by venue, i'm talking rental and catering. we are allowed to byob, so that saves us tons....especially since our family & friends like to party:-)
I went way over my original budget on photography and the venue (so far!) so I'm cutting corners on things like the dress and the invitations (doing partial-DIY project; the rest was a letterpress sale!). I thought the dress was more important to me, but then I realized that none of my guests are comparing designer gowns and they're not going to think I'm less beautiful on my wedding day if I spend $600 instead of $6,000! But really, the only thing I'll still have when the wedding is over is the pictures, so I doubled my photog budget (and spent quite a bit for the beautiful venue in the background!).
110218_front_up_close_2.jpg (39.7 KB, 192 downloads) 1 year old 110218_front_up_close.jpg (73.8 KB, 164 downloads) 1 year old 110218_back.jpg (63.9 KB, 148 downloads) 1 year old 
We have stumbled across a great venue deal, or else this would be a possible splurge ... but we think that an amazing photographer is really worth the splurge ... the rest we can happily save on!
I splurged on my photographer (am now kind of regretting it...she chooses to ignore my emails and texts and calls now that the wedding's over and the online preview is over a week delayed) but, even if she's late in getting things up, at least her pictures are really great.
Also our venue....and I'm SO GLAD we did. It was the biggest expensive and it was amazing. Everyone was shocked at the plantation house and all night I heard "where did you find htis place, it's amazing?!" and on and on and on. I mean, everyone was just in awe of it. It definitely wasn't your same ole same ole hall. The food was stellar, too, much to my surprise, considering the tasting I went to was so-so, and everyone said that the DJ was great, too! He was a requirement (came with the venue) and I was really quite happy taht he wasn't cheesy or anything. So, all in all, the venue (which included ceremony, reception, food, DJ, and two coordinators) was well worth its price tag
We're foodie people, so food is definitely our #1 issue- it needs to be of the highest quality, extremely well prepared, and local if possible. Frankly, I've seen plenty of beautiful cakes in this area that were extremely expensive, but tasted like crap- so rather than risk a pricey cake that looks great but falls short in the taste department, we are going with cupcakes that I KNOW are amazing and french macarons. Great photography is important to us, because we know we are hard to photograph (boy has a potato head, adn I have a moon face :P)- so while our photography won't be super expensive, it will be important. The most expensive thing will probably be the venue, because we want something that our guests will really be comfortable in and love- and since we're having a Halloween wedding, the decorations need to be both eery and elegant. And last but not least, my dress won't be too expensive since it won't be a typical white one (definately black of hot pink!), but the accessories will bump the cost up (insane jewelry, hair pieces, corset, whatnot!). I think I have the perfect shoes already, hehe- a pair of super awesome hot pink six inch Swear Alternative platform boots the boy bought me as my first really pricey gift (they're from England, they cost a small fortune to get, are no longer made, and I love them to bits, even if they are bizarre! Most comfortable pair of shoes I own, hah!)
I felt the same way. I didn't think that I'd get swept up in the whole wedding industry when I first started planning, but at some point I started to. When I faced my budget reality, I decided that I wanted to spend on the parts of the wedding that would last beyond the day. I had to get over what people thought about my wedding, and be more self-centered about it. I decided to spluge on photo/video because that was very important to us. I also splurged on stationery because it was my personal indulgence. The catering costs will be under control because we're doing a nice lunch as opposed to lavish dinner. What I realized is at the end of the day, it's my wedding, not an editorial layout for a magazine. I want nice things like any other bride, but I found that you don't need to spend lootcakes on it! I figured my guests will have fun so long as we're serving food and drink. I still haven't figured out the dress situation, but I doubt this will be a splurge. If I do splurge, you can guarantee that the dress will be "repurposed"! I think the upside of the recession is that it's really made me more conscious of how I spend my money. Someone told me that regardless of what kind of wedding I plan, or how it turns out, I'll still get to be with the one I love, and that certainly brings me back to planet earth when things start getting out of hand.
Photography has been our biggest splurge. My dress and catering probably come in second.
Photography!!! I knew as soon as they shot my best friend's wedding that I wanted Imaginative Studios as my photographer, but the price tag was probably 4x as much as we planned to spend. It was stressing me out knowing that I would not know for sure the quality or creativity of someone else's work. After we ended up spending only 1/4 of my dress budget on the dress, and got a very reasonable deal on our flowers, we decided to go with them for the photog. (And she gave us a solid discount because we knew her through a previous client) I couldn't be happier. I can't even explain the peace of mind it gives me to know that she'll take close to a thousand pics, I love her style, and she's so FAST about editing them and moving the process along. My engagement photos were fabulous and she just sees things other people don't. I know my wedding album will catch so much more than just images of our day, and long after our wedding I'll be able to relive some of the emotion through the photos.
Things I'm happy I splurged on:
- Venue. It was too expensive for my budget, honestly, but it was gorgeous and absolutely is what made our wedding memorable.
- Photographer. Our photos were great and our photographer was so unobtrusive that we barely noticed him or his assistant all night long.
- Food. We got so many compliments on how good the food tasted. I got to taste it myself and it was so, so yummy. That was really important to us.
- Premium Alcohol. I don't know if it was a splurge, per se, but we definitely could've spent that $2k elsewhere. We made it a priority, though, because among our group of friends that's an important element to a party, and it worked out really well, so I'm really glad we did that.
- Transportation. We rented a giant bus for all of our guests and, in light of all the alcohol and the short reception, are really glad that we did. We just got a town car for ourselves and didn't need a bridal party limo because our reception and ceremony were in the same spot.
Things I'm glad I didn't splurge on:
- Dress. I loved my dress, and I loved it even more since it cost a lot less than what I'd budgeted. Its alterations ended up being really expensive, which I hadn't thought about initially.
- DJ. We had a DJ and we got him for a great price; he does it on the side and he did an amazing job.
- Cake. We did go to a professional bakery so we spent a few hundred dollars, but it wasn't over-the-top by any means and it was delicious.
- Rentals. We spent a TON of money on just basic things like silverware, plates, linens, etc., and that easily could've doubled or tripled if I'd rented nicer chairs or china. I'm glad we didn't because most people ate then abandoned their tables to dance.
- Flowers. We spent more on flowers than a lot of people do, I think, but it was still less than 1/20 of our final budget. They were very pretty but they just weren't that important to me, so I was glad to save that money for other things.
- Videography. We had a friend who does videography give this to us as a gift, and although I'm so glad that we get to see it and so grateful for the present, I'm glad we didn't spend a few thousand on it.
I have decided that I will be splurging on the venue/catering (it's inclusive) but not on photography and flowers. We have several friends with an "eye" for photography and great cameras. They will all be asked to snap whatever they see as a good shot. I'm hiring a recent graduate of the local Art Institute to do formal posed pics for $200.00. I'll be DIYing all of the flowers (since it will be fall colors of rust and deep reds, the high end silk flowers look suprisingly good) I'll also splurge on the cake topper - one of those 3 letter monograms covered in crystals. My dress is going to run about $300 - purchased from an ebay vendor in china.
Photography for sure. it's the only place where we are over budget but I see it as an investment and completely worth it. Other than the groom, it's the only thing we'll have after that day and the results will be in our home for years and years.
We splurged on invitations. I really wanted letterpress, so we got letterpress. Our invitations were not super expensive by some standards, but I frequent a lot of wedding communities and I know I spent more than most of the girls there!
I would have said that my biggest splurge was photography, but I am in the middle of signing a contract for an amazing photographer at a really reasonable price--so it looks like catering will be our splurge. The least important things to me are the dress and the flowers. I think I could be wearing something from my existing wardrobe and I'd still be thrilled and feel special--but it was pretty fun to shop for a dress. :)
my big splurge is venue 246/head at the waldorf--this is the only time I will be with my whole family at the same time at a big event plus it is the most important day in my life
everything else is overblown way out of proportion; and I am finding ways to save; every other thing I got well below market value, free or seriously on sale or DIY
jan2_007.JPG (4898.7 KB, 28 downloads) 1 year old
Venue and Photographer were our big splurges. Until we found our photographer (who is rediculously inexpensive) we were willing to pay $10,000 for this one guy!!!! crazy I know! we really want to capture our day!
Our big splurges? FH and I came up with the "3 Ps": people, place (food) and, photography.
1. PEOPLE: we are spending $ on a charter bus to get several of my family members (many who are older and have limited incomes) to our wedding because it's important that they be present. we are limiting the number of people to 75 guests so we can spend time with everyone and give them special attention.
2. PLACE: we chose to do a buy-out at one of our fave retaurants. we got a great deal because they are normally closed on Sunday...the management and staff know us and they have great service, beautiful linens/decor (it's a fall wedding so lots of candlelight and fireplaces), and a yummy, seasonal organic menu. no need for rentals or pricey centerpieces!
3. PHOTOS: to caputure it all, we chose an amazing photographer who also discounted the price because it's a small wedding and on a Sunday (he is also providing a photo booth)! like many posts have stated, what good is spending money on all the other special things if you don't have a well documented record of it?
As for where I refuse to splurge:
I would say food, venue, photography were the most important items for us. Our original budget was $12,000 but we had to go over to get the caterer we wanted for the amount of guests (130) we are having. Our venue was not that expensive, it's a bed and breakfast, but also bringing in all the rentals is making it way more than we budgeted, but worth it. Luckily, we've saved a ton of money because our photography is a gift from my close friend who is a professional photog. She would have set us back thousands.
I didn't spend a ton on a dress, we're doing cupcakes instead of wedding cake, we bought all our alcohol and beverages ourselves.
Things that turned out to be the most important...
Venue - we really lucked out with this one. Not only was it a beautiful building in a lovely location, but the staff there were fantastic, and really helped the day run smoothly. I think (after the guests) the venue is the most important, since it really IS the wedding.
Photographer - two ways in which I know we chose the right person -1) she was really unobtrusive, and let us just enjoy the day, and 2) we have amazing photos to look back on - it went so quickly and I soon found it hard to remember everything that I was so glad to have photos to remember it by. I'm glad I didn't underestimate the importance of photography - it's the only one that continues after the wedding (apart from the hubby of course!)
DJ - he was really great, played all the music we wanted, and really made for a great party. We had lots of guests saying that he was the best wedding DJ they'd ever heard (so often terrible at UK weddings), so we were glad everyone had a good time.
I think those three are the main areas where, if we'd chosen badly, it would have really had a bad impact on the day.
Things I'm glad we didn't pay too much/stress over...
Invitations/other paper - I'm glad ours were nice, but we didn't go crazy on them. A combination of printing at home and ordering online helped us manage to avoid undue stress and ridiculous expense. I really think it's one of those things you stop caring about as soon as they're out the door.
Favours - again, glad we didn't go crazy. We had little tins of mints on the table (hubs' choice, I wasn't bothered about having anything) and flip-flops which went down well, but I really don't think they're that big of a deal.
I wouldn't really say it was a case of splurge or not splurge though - the venue and photographer were quite expensive, but the DJ wasn't at all - it's more a case of being sure to make the right decision with those. Choose well with the top 3, you can't really go wrong. Similarly, with the dress, I'm not really bothered about how much I spent, but I'm glad I kept looking till I found one I was really comfortable with.
It's no surprise that many brides decide to splurge on photography because at the end of the day, that's what you have to remember your wedding. And as a photographer myself, I am very happy to see that but I also think brides should look into other things before discounting them. Yes somethings may be expensive, but just work with your budget to make it work for the top 2 or 3 things that you really, really want. I skimped on the dress, flowers, stationary, rehearsal dinner etc to get the venue and photo/videographers I wanted. If you can accept not having EVERYTHING you want, you can certainly have a few very nice items.
In order of pricing we spent the most on 1. Venue 2. Cinematography 3. Photography.
We chose to spend the most on the venue and photography. The venue because we wanted make sure our guests will have a great atmosphere and menu. As far as photography; we had friends who chose to not spend much on pictures and they turned out to be horrible (I could have taken better pics!). Besides, the way we look at it, when my fiance and I are old and forgetful, we'll always have the pictures to look back on.
I love hearing what bees' priorities are. Seems like photography/venue/food are the major costs, and the things that people value the most.
What I would really *love* to do is offset more of our guests' costs by paying for more people's airfare/hotel rooms (it's a small DW in Hawaii). We are already covering the important guests who couldn't otherwise afford it. We haven't decided yet whether we will extend that to others. FI says no, but I have a lot of friends back east that I would love to see there. Most of our guests can well afford to go, but it's a matter of priorities - both ours and theirs. I will have to think more and see who's really coming, and who's just been saying they'll come.
@Mermaid1082 - "Other than the groom, it's the only thing we'll have after that day..." ha ha. Love it. :)
This is exactly what we did when we first started planning. We each got to pick one thing that we wanted to splurge on, and then one thing together, so we have three priorities we let ourselves splurge on. We ended up with photography being the big one, and then the venue and the print materials (since we're both into graphic design).
We REALLY splurged on the photography. I planned some events at my previous job, and I feell in love with a photographer right away, and knew I wanted her for my wedding someday. She's insanely expensive, but worth every penny. So we booked her. Because our print materials ended up not being nearly what we thought (our cousin designed them for free and paid for the invitations as her gift to us), we splurged on a high-end open bar since drinking is a priority for our families :)
Things that WEREN'T important to us: flowers, decor, cake, the food and favors. We wanted a GOOD meal, but didn't really care if it was original or fancy cuisine. We also skipped favors and we're just having a candy bar as part of dessert. We got our venue to include cheesecake with our package because we're REALLY not cake people and purchased a small red velvet cake from a baker that will only serve half the guests (first come, first serve) because we really didn't care, as long as we had cheesecake!
We splurged on our venue and photographer. We really wanted a venue that represented US as a couple, so we got married and had the reception in the MIchigan Union. We are both UM alumni, so this was something that really reflected our love of the school AND the place where we met. As for the photographer, I felt like getting a photographer we really loved was totally worth the money. Photographs really are your link to that day forever, so I wanted to make sure we loved what we had.
I'm curious to know how many of you brides decided to splurge on having your makeup done? I am totally biased, as I am a makeup artist, and I think it makes a huge difference...but I'm wondering what everyone else thinks.
Our priorities are live music/entertainment because it's such a huge part of both our lives, and photography. We're lucky in that we have connections who can get us good deals on the venue and catering, but if we didn't those would also be pretty high on the list.
Maureen -- good question. I did splurge on that, and on my hair, too. I'm terrible at styling myself and really wanted to look good. I even had 2 trials done.
I guess I splurged on my bridesmaids, too, because I paid for their dresses and their makeup and hair. I'm definitely glad I did that.
I dont know that I "splurged" on anything since it was all within my budget but I guess I would say all the linens & chiavari chairs. I heart my chiavari chairs and renting linens in the colors I wanted tied everything together. Also the photobooth, since it was the biggest hit of the night! I wouldve spent less on my DJ/lighting (see my other post for explanation) but I was really happy with everything else.
I don't know anyone who regretted over spending on photography, but I do know someone who regretted underspending! After my wedding, I was a bridesmaid in a wedding where the photographer clearly was not as experienced or professional. The bride did not get the pictures she wanted because we spent so much time taking formal pictures inside the church (something the bride had expressly asked not to do) and then the photographer was late to the second shooting location. She would take pictures and then look at the screen on her camera, and make us do it again, EVERY TIME! It was annoying for us and the bride.
I also picked catering as something to splurge on. If you have really good food, your guests will remember it as a good wedding, and even if you save on everything else, good food will make your wedding seem more expensive. Our caterers were expensive, but it included a coordinator, bartenders, servers, alcohol, and really yummy food!
Maureen- I'm not having my makeup done only because I've never in my life had someone do my makeup and I like it. I think I do my makeup alright as is, and it seems to photograph well, so, I save a bit of $ I guess, lol! Hair I may do myself also because I want my hair to be really abstract- I may test out a few funky salons in the area (the girl that does my hair is great, but she isn't good at weird- I stick with her because my basic cut is always perfect) to see if I can find someone who will style my hair in a very abstract bi-colored way, but we'll see! :)
170194_AAAAAjOow9oAAAAAARRmOg.jpg (9.9 KB, 35 downloads) 1 year old 
I splurged on my venue - amazingly beautiful and amazing food. I also splurged on my photographer - stunning photos!
Ooo, things I'm glad I didn't splurge on!!!!
Too many cocktails: beer, wine, and two signature cocktails were PLENTY.
Cake: Costco! Everyone loved it. It cost $55 actually. For 3 half sheets (150 ppl)
Dress: $400 with no alterations. I loved it MORE b/c it didnt cost an arm and a leg. Sure, it wasn't Italian silk or anything, but nobody tried to pet me at my own wedding
Jewelry/accessories: Ebay, mom, and my own talents. I spent a total of maybe $200 on everything, including my veil, my Etsy bracelet, garters, tiara, flower headpiece, etc.
Flowers: $200 in silk florals (during a Michaels all flowers 50% off sale in January!) was fine. They looked real, my allergies didn't act up, and nobody had to worry about them staining their light dresses.
Everyone I have talked to says that photography is NOT the thing to scrimp on. I know that my photos will be treasured forever, and I am ready to pay more for that!
Here are my ideas on what I think is worth and not worth spending money on:
Food - Very important. People will remember if the food was bad
DJ - If the music is bad, people will leave. So make sure to get a good DJ.
Favors - That comes last on my list. Do you remember what you got as a wedding favor from the last wedding you went to? I'm sure you threw it away because it wasn't anything you wanted to keep.
Dress - I regret not renting one. I bought one instead. I'm going to have to figure out where to put the dress once I'm done with the wedding. When will I ever wear it again?
Flowers - Shop around. There are thousands of florists. I just wish I had mine done through Costco. They had great packaged deals.
Photographer - One regret is not spending enough on the photographer. Hopefully the pics will turn out well. We'll see in a few weeks.
Cake - Don't spend a lot of money on this. Do you remember what the cake looked like at your last wedding and do you even remember how it tasted?
I wish I splurged more on my photographer...
But luckily of Videographer was awesome. So it made up for the lack of pictures we had
We personally are not splurging on anything. =) BUT I think that a good venue, and a good caterer, is worth a splurge -- we're just lucky that with the feel of our wedding, we're able to have a good space and food for cheap.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| MissBoPeep | 94 |
| ndreighton | 64 |
| hisgoosiegirl | 56 |
| beargoose | 55 |
| Mrs.KMM | 46 |
| akp0702 | 42 |
| BetterSherm | 42 |
| MrsBlueSeptember | 41 |
| MrsPom | 37 |
| Beckster329 | 37 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| jjilyeah | 3 |
| sienna76 | 2 |
| strawbabies | 2 |
| MrsBlueSeptember | 2 |
| ohulani | 2 |
| zippylef | 1 |
| Lindsay12.31.2010 | 1 |
| misslene | 1 |
| QuietOne | 1 |
| angela85 | 1 |
As a follow up to my expensive cake post (in which it became clear that $20/slice cake is NOT worth it), I was wondering -- what do you bees consider worth splurging on?
I am not fixated on money, nor am I on a particularly tight budget. But I find myself getting swept into the frenzy of the whole wedding industry thing and I think it might be easy to go overboard. I realize that having expensive stuff at the wedding is by no means going to guarantee happiness. But what do you think is worth spending money on?
Mrs. Bee wrote in a post that she would have spent less money on flowers and more on videography (if I remember correctly), and others have recommended photography, e.g. over cake.
So, what do you think it worth it?
Attachments