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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
  
| RoaniePonie11 - 2017-10-27 7:09 AM
What did you spend on:
1. Venue
2. Photos/Video
3. Dress
4. DJ/Music
5. What did your wedding cost as a whole?
Do you have any regrets about what you did/didn't do for your wedding?
Looking back, what were/should have been your priority list in planning the wedding/ paying for the wedding?
How far from your house was your wedding?
How many was in your bridal party? (brides maids/ groomsmen)
Thanks Y'all
Venue- Free (had the ceremony in our pasture under the oak tree and reception at the rodeo hall where we are committee members)
Photo/Video- Free (a photographer friend took pictures/video as a gift to us.)
Dress/accessories/hair- $500 (I was a professional model back in the day and did my own make-up)
DJ/Music- $300
Food- $400
In total the wedding cost about $3k. We did not have a wedding planner, I had a MOH and one bridesmaid, he had his best man and one groomsman, did a lot of the decorations from stuff I found on pinterest or laying around the barn, and while I had our bouquets and boutonieres (sp?) made, the girls and I did the table arrangements ourselves. It was beautiful and simple, we had a taco bar (we advise this or BBQ for those wanting cheap but good food) fed about 150 people- and the whole town said it was the best wedding they had ever been to.
No drama, no stupidness (we went to Costco or walmart and each time we went bought a case of beer or a box of wine for the event leading up to that date.)
I do wish that we were able to get the DJ we wanted and had been able to afford a different photographer- not that the one who took the pictures was bad, but they just weren't as polished as some others that I had seen, nor do the pictures tell a story to the person looking at them.
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| RoaniePonie11 - 2017-10-27 7:09 AM
What did you spend on:
1. Venue
2. Photos/Video
3. Dress
4. DJ/Music
5. What did your wedding cost as a whole?
Do you have any regrets about what you did/didn't do for your wedding?
Looking back, what were/should have been your priority list in planning the wedding/ paying for the wedding?
How far from your house was your wedding?
How many was in your bridal party? (brides maids/ groomsmen)
Thanks Y'all
1. Our venue was free, we got married on my parents’ summer lease cattle pasture, and then had dinner back on the deck at my parents’ ranch house.
2. We opted not to have a videographer, and our photographer was great. He was local to my parents’ area (my hometown), and since we didn’t do engagement pictures and all that, our package was modified to include more time on the wedding day. He stayed all afternoon, we have access to all our pictures on a flash drive, and chose to have them make us a wedding album. I think the whole cost there was around $1600-1800. That was our biggest expense, and it was worth it in my mind- I love our pictures.
3. Dress was my grandmother’s from 1948 that a few of my aunts had worn as well. I had it altered slightly (sleeves taken off and neckline loosened) for less than $100.
4. I purchased Spotify for my phone and created a playlist over the course of a few months leading up to our wedding, with some of our favorite love songs, family favorite songs and songs that had meaning to us. Then I canceled the premium and have just had the free version since.
5. We only had 16 people including my husband and I, our parents, siblings, officiant and his wife (who were also family friends/related), and my cousin and his wife (whom I am very close with and their son is my godson), and kept it extremely small and intimate. We had a mixture of real flowers for my bouquet and silk ones for our arbor in the pasture, and milk jugs with real flowers. We decided not to have a wedding party besides my parents’ geriatric border collie as the flower girl, and my godson and husband’s nephew as the ring bearers.
We did have the wedding catered, but it was roughly $750 for 25 meals (hello leftovers!), and it was great food. Our two-tier cake was made by a local mom and pop grocery store, and they did an amazing job! It was a lot cheaper than the boutique bakeries that specialized in wedding cakes.
We had a lot of people pitch in: my step dad made our arbor, my father and step mom made wine vessels (they do pottery) that were also our favors, and the flowers were done by a close family friend that’s a florist, so we basically got the flowers at cost.
ETA: we had a LOT of wine gifted to us, and offered beer and the wine at dinner, along with huckleberry lemonade that the caterers provided. We also had the rehearsal dinner at my parents’ place as well, and my husband’s parents made pulled pork for that.
Our day consisted of the ceremony itself, and then a simple catered dinner with music in the background, and plenty of time to visit and play lawn games. I am so absolutely glad we didn’t have a huge wedding. That was the farthest thing from what my husband and I wanted, and we were so thrilled with how the day turned out. We kept a budget in mind, and held true to how we wanted our big day to be. We had a lot of family trying to change the day and invite themselves, and we stood strong! (We did have two separate receptions for his extended family and my extended family to celebrate with us during other scheduled family gatherings- since our families are based in separate states. We didn’t want a huge ordeal, and didn’t want people to have to pay for more plane tickets and all that jazz.)
I know people always say “take time for just the two of you on that day” and it is so, so true. The whole day was a whirlwind, and I am very glad we did a first look, as it eased a lot of our jitters (even though I still cried during the ceremony). With it being such a small group, everyone was able to spend the weekend together and most stayed at my parents’ ranch house, so we cut cost there with hotels as well.
CONGRATULATIONS and I hope your big day is exactly what you want and have planned for!
ETA: our whole wedding cost less than the bar at my brother’s wedding. They also had over 400 guests. It can be as extravagant or simple or complicated or awesome as you want, there is literally an entire industry based on weddings. OH! And everything is more expensive when you say the magical word “wedding”- keep that in mind.
Edited by madredepeanut 2017-10-27 6:09 PM
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13503
  
Location: OH. IO | If you purchase your dress WAY EARLY,make sure you do not look at any other dresses after your purchase.I know several girls that have bought a second dress because the didn't like the first one because they continued to look at other dresses:( | |
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 Three in a Bikini
Posts: 2035
| I do not remember specifics, but we spent around $15k total.
If I could change anything I would only purchase enough to satisfy the needs of those that took time to RSVP. I had way too much of EVERYTHING. And in some of my photos you can definitely tell. IE: too many seats, wasted food, etc.
Otherwise I have no regrets. We splurged on things I wanted to splurge on and saved in areas that I did not care much about. We did it our way and that was reflected in the overall image. | |
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Veteran
Posts: 286
| I really regret changing my name.
Why is it that the woman is expected to change her name??????
If I had it to do all over again, I would keep my last name...and my identity. Lol
I think some things need to change... in this day and age...especially if men and women are really gonna be "equals". | |
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 Expert
Posts: 1268
Location: North of Tulsa, Oklahoma | I just recently got engaged. We've both been married and have decided against a public wedding and all the hassle... I think we've decide to do a weddingmoon instead and just have the vacation we were planning for the future anyhow. We are leaning towards going to a Sandals resort in St. Lucia based on friends experiences there and having a great all inclusive beach vacay with the simple included private beach wedding. We do plan to have a celebration party with local band, BBQ, drinks and fun. Will will do it all ourselves cutting the cost. | |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | BFN - 2017-10-27 9:41 PM I really regret changing my name. Why is it that the woman is expected to change her name?????? If I had it to do all over again, I would keep my last name...and my identity. Lol I think some things need to change... in this day and age...especially if men and women are really gonna be "equals".
very progressive of you | |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| Thanks everyone!
I’m currently sitting in the parking lot of David’s Bridal waiting on my MOH and appointment time. I found the dress I have wanted for YEARS. It’s at a shop about 10 min from here BUT it’s $6K LOL. So here I am at David’s LOL | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
Location: on the fine line between insanity and geniusness | I got married a few weeks ago, so we have been in wedding mode around here for a while. I did not hire a videographer- my uncle filmed our ceremony on my moms camera and burned it to a disk for me. HUGE money saver. I had a wedding planner because of the venue, she was a lifesaver!!! That made all of the planning and the day of a breeze. She handled vendors, the timeline, guests coming in, decorating- EVERYTHING!! I didn’t do favors, we had a full meal and an open bar- merry Christmas! My issue was- we had 255 people RSVP. These were the ones that sent their RSVP card back in the mail, not just mentioned they were coming... we had about 100 people show up. It’s frustrating because that cost us about $5,000 for people that said they were coming and didn’t. Our bridal party was fairly big, we each had 6 attendants... not so sure I would do that many if I had to do it over again. That is a lot of different personalities, and a lot of people to keep organized through the clothes buying and events leading up to the wedding. David’s bridal usually has really good sales on bridesmaid dresses. The dresses we had were originally $180 and we got them on clearance for $25!! We had a few alterations, because there were limited sizes when they went on sale- but we made it work!! Our guys didn’t wear a tux... they were starched jeans, a shirt, tie and vest. It was cheaper for them to buy their shirt and stuff than it was to rent the tux. At least now they have it to keep if they ever need to get dressed up! Etsy has TONS of wedding things! | |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| Just throwing this out there, I am 57 and have been to many weddings, from beautiful church weddings to simple ceromies under a tree. My two favorite weddings: the couple had an engagement party on New Year’s Eve, catered food, etc. All family and friends who would be at the wedding were there. Around 9 o’clock somebody started playing the wedding song on the piano, everyone gathered around, the bride appeared at the top of the stairs in a beautiful wedding dress, a photographer appeared to take pictures, her dad met her,walked her down the stairs, their pastor was there to marry y them, a beautiful cake was wheeled out after the ceremony. They had all their moments without the stress and hassle of planning a formal wedding. I also loved my sisters wedding, everyone was broke,they married under a tree in the mountains in Colorado, friends brought food to share,we stood in a circle around them as they said their vows, it was very intimate and special. Congrats on your day and enjoy it no matter what the wedding details are.
Edited by rodeomom3 2017-10-28 9:18 AM
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 BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25352
Location: Bastrop, Texas | BFN - 2017-10-27 8:41 PM
I really regret changing my name.
Why is it that the woman is expected to change her name??????
If I had it to do all over again, I would keep my last name...and my identity. Lol
I think some things need to change... in this day and age...especially if men and women are really gonna be "equals".
How about this, as an alternative.....hyphenate your names. Your kids and grandkids, and great grandkids can follow your example. Eventually, your great grandchildren will have last names like they do in some Middle Eastern countries:
Hassan el Ibin Al Abdul-Azziz Bin adbdel Rahaman Bin Hussein. | |
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Veteran
Posts: 113
| BFN - 2017-10-27 8:41 PM
I really regret changing my name.
Why is it that the woman is expected to change her name??????
If I had it to do all over again, I would keep my last name...and my identity. Lol
I think some things need to change... in this day and age...especially if men and women are really gonna be "equals".
I was honored to take my husband's name  | |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 518
| everything was within 20 mins of my house because almost my entire family are farmers meaning they had livestock to feed between the ceremony and reception.
Venue cost about $3000-4000 including decorations minus the centerpieces which i did myself.
Videographer was a gift to us, I have no idea what he cost but I know it wasn't cheap.
Photographer- $1800. I did a ton of research and was really excited about her but my pictures are terrible, she didn't listen to what we wanted and she's my biggest regret from our wedding!!
Dress- $1400, totally worth it!!
we didn't have a DJ or music
we each had 3 in our bridal party and I ordered the bridesmaid dresses from UWdress.com which came highly recommended but I wouldn't order from there again.
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