Budget Nonsense

June 27th, 2007 @ 11:03 am by Mrs. Blueberry

Most readers have probably figured out that our budget was not large by NY/LA standards, and not even really by midwest standards. When we first started planning, my desires were clear and adamant: we basically wanted to create a wedding on a budget, that didn’t *look* like it was on a budget. We started out working with about $8,000, all from my parents, and kept that number firmly in our minds over the course of planning. And all in all, I think we stuck to that number pretty well.

Here’s as complete a breakdown as we have, to the best of my knowledge. Some of these numbers are estimates, but I think they’re all fairly close to exact:

My Maggie Sottero gown: $768
Veil: $72
Shoes: $45
Jewelry, tiara, and misc. attire: ~$60
Flower girl baskets (4 of them): $16
Flower girl headpieces (4 of them): $30
Tulle and decorative flowers for ceremony: $50
Flower petals for ceremony: $20

*All* stationery (STDs, invitations, rehearsal invitations, programs, thank you notes): $500
Photographer: $1400 (2005 rates! Her prices have gone up since then)
Rentals (chairs, wine glasses, tables): ~$200
Venue: $995, plus about $300 in incidentals–$1295 total
My bouquet, Mr. Blueberry and best man boutonnieres, and MOH’s bouquet: ~$400
Toss bouquet: $1 (clearance at Michaels)
Family corsages/boutonnieres: $82
Unity candle set: $7
Cake: $350
Cake serving set: $18
Cake topper: $28
Ingredients for groom’s cake: $20
DJ: $450
Centerpieces (8): $64 (total, not apiece)
Candles: free!–from my massive stock of tealights
Table runners: $6
“Survival” kits for me and Mr. Blueberry: $35
Limo: free! (thanks to our generous neighbors and their Rolls!)
Guestbook: $30
Guestbook pen: free! Heirloom from my grandparents
Twinkle lights for ballroom: $30
Tulle for ballroom: $40
Organza for buffet table: $25
Ice buckets for beverages (5 of them): $30
Flower girl gifts, including activity bags (4 of them): $170
Day of coordinator: $300
Harpist: $350 (? I think?)
Chocolate fountains: $250 (I think)
All other reception food (ballpark estimate): $500
Reception alcohol (ballpark estimate): $600
Everyone’s hair: I don’t know…haven’t gotten the total from Mom
My makeup: free! DIY
Personalized napkins and matchbooks: $90
Plates, forks, etc. at reception: $65
Total: $8702

So even if you account for the various miscellaneous purchases, we stayed pretty close to the budget!

Here are the things that were paid for by me, or Mr. Blueberry, or us together:
MOH gift: $60
BM gift: $40
Videographer: $475
Officiant: $300
Mr. Blueberry’s tux: $120ish
Mr. Blueberry’s wedding band: $200
My wedding band: $600
Minimoon: $1500
Hotel: $210

You may notice I didn’t include the cost of many of our DIY supplies (paper cutter, etc) because we already had those, and I didn’t include the cost of any of the servingware at the reception since we’re keeping those to use again. And since I don’t know what the rehearsal dinner cost, either, I didn’t include it.

So is that it? Do I win the award for cheapest ’bee?

Speaking of which…we’re still waiting on those pro pics. We hope to have them within the next couple days. We’ve been communicating with our photographer, so we know she hasn’t dropped off the face of the planet

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16 Responses to “Budget Nonsense”

Guest

Suz

Thanks for the breakdown- I think you did a great job at sticking to your budget and using the money wisely.

6/27/07 @ 11:18 am (reply)

Guest

JenniferB

Thanks for the breakdown on your budget! Not only is it great to see a beautiful wedding can be done with a smaller budget, it is also a great list of things I had yet to think about!
Thanks for sharing!

6/27/07 @ 11:29 am (reply)

Guest

katherine

Agreed, agreed! I have a small budget and it helped me a lot to see your breakdown and some of the things I hadn’t thought of yet. Thanks mrs. blueberry.

6/27/07 @ 11:45 am (reply)

Guest

Red

You did an awesome job with your budget! I also really appreciate your openness regarding this. Note to self: Add survival kit list of to-do’s.

6/27/07 @ 12:00 pm (reply)

Guest

Miss Popcorn

I’m impressed. my budget total is close to yours, but you certainly managed to throw in some “extras” that I didn’t have. You probably had nicer stationary, for one, since going ultra budget on that was a concession I made to my fiance. Without pulling mine up and checking item for item, I’m not entirely sure where I spent more compared to you to balance items where I know I spent less.

6/27/07 @ 12:18 pm (reply)

Guest

Pencils

I’m very impressed too. It’s good to see that couples can have a beautiful wedding for significantly less than the national average, which I recently read is just under $28,000(!) Our wedding was also on a serious budget, although we are in the NY area. We tried to stick to $10K, not including honeymoon, and we were close. But it wasn’t easy in the NY metro area!

6/27/07 @ 12:35 pm (reply)

Guest

tto

you’ve probably already mentioned this somewhere but could you remind us how many guests your budget covered? thank you for sharing!

6/27/07 @ 12:36 pm (reply)

Guest

Mrs. Blueberry

tto–sure! We had about 120 guests planned, though of course there were a few no-shows, people who left as soon as the ceremony was over, etc. I’m afraid that practice is really common here in the midwest All in all, I’d (conservatively) say we ended up feeding 100 people at the reception, though of course we had enough on hand for the full 120–and then some!

6/27/07 @ 12:43 pm (reply)

Guest

Tea

wow, i’m really impressed that you pulled off that great of a wedding on that small a budget. that’s a real testiment to you. congrats. i can’t wait for the pro pics!

6/27/07 @ 1:32 pm (reply)

10.

Guest

Tea

wow, i’m really impressed that you pulled off that great of a wedding on that small a budget. that’s a real testiment to you. congrats. i can’t wait for the pro pics!

6/27/07 @ 1:32 pm (reply)

11.

Guest

Lisa

You definitely deserve to be commended. Your wedding is one of the most interesting ones I’ve seen on this site. Congratulations!

6/27/07 @ 1:48 pm (reply)

12.

Guest

Andria

my budget is only about 3000 more than yours, and thank you for showing this to those of us who are in the same boat!

6/27/07 @ 1:59 pm (reply)

13.

Guest

Mrs. Bee

thanks for sharing this mrs. blueberry! i think it’s been really helpful to our readers.

6/27/07 @ 3:40 pm (reply)

14.

Guest

sally

IT was a beautiful wedding, and I am very impresssed with your budgeting (and honesty). I think you could have a career doing this Mrs. B

6/27/07 @ 3:44 pm (reply)

15.

Guest

luckyme

Good job on the budget! My guess is that things must be cheaper in the Mid West - would be hard to pull this off in a city on either of the coasts, but I’m trying! I’m having a much smaller number of guests in order to do so.

6/27/07 @ 7:43 pm (reply)

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Guest

Christine

Mrs. Blueberry, thank you for posting your breakdown. I’m new to WeddingBee but have enjoyed seeing the recent pics of your wedding. It looks lovely and most importantly - that you had a lot of fun! I hadn’t read your post before responding to Mrs. Butterfly’s (btw- thank you for the lovely compliment on my post!).

My FI and I are also trying to keep costs “reasonable” in our eyes; $5-10,000 - including, rings and mini-moon. We’re looking for a B&B or country inn in rural PHL (never though I’d use rural and Philadelphia in the same sentence!) for a morning ceremony and brunch or heavy appetizers with limited bar for 50 adults and 10 children. Much cheaper than the standard evening sit-down dinner.

Other suggestions for keeping one’s budget down - tap into your social network! We network for our careers so why not our weddings?! One of my niece’s preschool friend’s mothers (still with me?) is starting a floral business from her home. My brother-in-law’s sister is a pt photographer who has amazing style and perspective - her shots should be next to any award-winning photojournalist. One girlfriend surprised me by sharing that she’s learning calligraphy and has offered to calligraphy anything I pass her way. Another girlfriend’s mother has worked the makeup counters at Macy’s for 15 years and has offered to do makeup. Another friend did decorative cupcakes for a mutual friend’s daughter’s naming ceremony - she’s got the special “Martha touch” as we like to call it! This is just what we’ve discovered in a few days of sharing news of our engagement with friends and family. (Who knew we had such a talented circle of friends and family?)

Be open to ideas that are not the centerfold of this month’s bridal magazines. Thumb through home decor and gardening magazines. Check out English bridal blogs for *amazing* floral concepts. I’ve come across some wonderful ideas in unusual sources!

6/28/07 @ 10:11 am (reply)