Post # 1
Member
1067 posts
Bumble bee
Just a vent about budget….
Sooo the numbers are in looks like the wedding is costing us a lil over $27K!!! That is not event counting my expenses- dress, veil, make-up, hair, nails, Bridesmaid or Best Man gifts, shoes, grooms personal expenses, and lil things here and there that add up to another $5k! When this all started I thought we would spend $20-25K, I was sooo wrong! I hate to think about it! I was considering adding another hour to the 2-hr hosted bar but I think not since that would cost us $900+ and no after dinner sushi snack a $500 cost!
Post # 3
Member
10287 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
My budget exploded too but it isnt anywhere near yours. We were originally going to try to do our wedding on $5K. That didnt happen. Then we pushed it up to $10K. That didnt happen. Now we’re at about $12K and I’m really hoping to cap it there. I think I have taken into consideration the cost for everything needed for the wedding so I’m crossing my fingers that I dont have to cought up anymore cash.
Post # 4
Member
1067 posts
Bumble bee
@UpstateCait:Wow, that is still a great increase! More than double!
Post # 5
Member
1166 posts
Bumble bee
I don’t think it’s unusual at all. In fact, I think it’s rather common for a budget to just about double – mine did!
When I started out, I had a somewhat arbitrary goal of around 12-15K for an semi-intimate, semi-destination wedding (about 80-85 guests, approximately 2-3 hour drive for most). And then I started researching actual costs and quickly realized I was off the mark. So I increased it to 20K.
And then I started reading wedding blogs and seeking inspiration… ack! The more great ideas I came across, the more I wanted to incorporate into my wedding! And despite DIY-ing quite a few things (invitations, centerpieces/flowers, liquor, photo booth), skipping others (pie instead of cake, no bouquet toss, no limo/transportation expense since we’ll be on-site) and intentionally keeping our attire budget low ($600 dress, $100 linen shirt & pants for groom), I’m up to about 26K. That includes paying for 2K in hotel rooms, though, and a second dinner for about 55 guests since it’s a weekend wedding, so I still come in well below the “national average” (I believe that’s in the range of 25-30K?)for the actual wedding & reception portion.
I have joked that I’m going to spend 25K, $25 at a time, because I keep finding cute things on etsy.com and other places that are “just $25” … it’s so easy to tack on an extra $25, or $50, or $100 when you bounce it against the overall cost, but that’s the dangerous part! Oh, and a long engagement doesn’t help, either – I think the best way to save money on a wedding is to plan it in 6 months or less! LOL
Oh, well… 🙂
Post # 6
Member
2392 posts
Buzzing bee
You’re not the only one. We went in thinking we didn’t want a fancy wedding. I was thinking 20k, and my fiance who is kind of pretentiously disgusted by money in general wanted to spend under 5,000. For an open bar, Saturday night wedding for 100 people in a venue we could have to ourselves for 2+ days. Which, um… I’m pretty sure ordering pizza and beer for 100 people would get you pretty close to that.
I don’t have a full number yet, because we still have a lot to plan, but I think it’s going to come in at about twice my initial estimate. Which sucks when I look at the number, but we’re lucky enough to be in a position to be able to have a fun destination/weekend-long celebration for our friends and family.
Post # 7
Member
4161 posts
Honey bee
I’m worried this will happen to us!! We chose $13,000 (not sure why we didn’t do 12 or 15 haha) but so far we’re doing okay. We aren’t including Honeymoon or rings in this cost, and I’ve already saved $600 on photography, and I’m hoping to find my dress for under $1000. Our venue for both ceremony/reception will cost around $5000 including food/beverages. I just keep hearing “you’ll never stay under budget, we didn’t blah blah blah” but I’m determined to!!!
Post # 8
Member
1067 posts
Bumble bee
@Ryansgirl: Good luck to you and to everyone! It’s definately very tough. My problem is that I kept on adding things- more roses on the centerpieces, more decor, and lil things here and there realllly add up!
Post # 9
Member
2410 posts
Buzzing bee
We are pretty much in that situation, and I knew it would happen but Fiance didn’t believe me when I said getting married in Connecticut is no joke so I had to let him find out the hard way. We started out thinking 20K, now I am certain that we will be lucky if we only spend 30K.
Post # 10
Member
1067 posts
Bumble bee
@plantains:I feel you! It’s ridiculous to think that all that money is going in to one day of fun! Eeeek!!
Post # 11
Member
4161 posts
Honey bee
@KIKI82: It’s so hard when I see ideas on here that I want to add!! I never heard of a photobooth until WB but they’re about $1500 to rent and I definitely can’t justify that. We might just set up my DSLR on the tripod and get a remote so people can take their own pics with some props. Actually yes, that’s what I will do! hah.
Post # 12
Member
660 posts
Busy bee
I hear ya! All along I wanted to keep our budget to about $20,000… well we’ll be more in the $30,000 plus range, NOT including my ring (which my fiance chose & paid for) or our Honeymoon. My fiance hired a wedding planner ($3,000)…I decided to have a videographer ($2,000)… having a photobooth ($900), see where I’m going with this. We can EASILY add another $5,000 or $10,000 by adding a couple of vendors. And we’re having a fairly smallish wedding, approx. 125 people! Yikes!
Post # 13
Member
1057 posts
Bumble bee
HOLY MOLY $27K. I could put a down payment on a house! :p Originally I didn’t want to go over 10k but the reception alone is going to be about 7k.
Post # 14
Member
1067 posts
Bumble bee
You said it, HOLY MOLY! I had the same reaction when I was reviewing my spreadsheet yesterday. Thing is I don’t think I went crazy on a lot of things. My venue is a bit pricey, but that is only about $15,000 and includes ceremony so where did the rest of the money go??
Photography- 2100, Decor & flowers 2,800, priest 400, rings 1500, and the rest is everything else dj & mcee, favors, invites, and soo on
Thank goodness the guest count did not get out of hand! Wanted 150 guest, have 154 coming! Not including 6 children and vendor meals
Post # 15
Member
14183 posts
Honey Beekeeper
If you don’t want to spend more money, you need to stop and cut back somewhere. If your budget is firm, find a way to make it work.
I don’t understand the whole concept behind “i lost control of my money” if you are tracking your money and planning carefully. If you spend too much, you may regret it! It’s always the little things–that’s how some people go in debt!
I had a budget range of 15-20K and came in right at $18,500.
Post # 16
Member
1067 posts
Bumble bee
@ejs4y8: Definately important ot stay firm! I think Fiance and I got swayed by add ons and upgrades! At first we wanted a conservative budget but then adopted the “well it’;s only one day….” mentality. Thankfully none of this is going on credit cards or loans. This is all are hard earned money and not dipping in to our house saving either!
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