Wedding Blog
I’ve mentioned before that we don’t really have a formal budget for our wedding. Owing to the bazillion home improvement projects we’ve taken on (and have to complete before the wedding), we’re planning to spend as much (or as little) as we can afford as we go. Projects for our home will take precedent over wedding expenses. I know, I know, not the best budgeting strategy, but that’s our plan.
For giggles this morning, I plugged my guesstimates into a wedding budget spreadsheet (it’s this one).
*choke*
The total was double the amount we had in our heads. DOUBLE!
How did that happen? Being an analyst-nerd by personality and profession, I did some digging.
What’s the lesson? I’m betting you all know this, but it was an epiphany for me: planning ahead of time will allow us to get past the shock and make conscious decisions about where our money should go. Instead of assuming that we can’t afford fabulous flowers (or whatever), we might realize that we can, if we cut back on the small expenses.
I think we’ll need wine. And possibly a shock to restart our hearts — especially when we do the same thing with our home improvement budget.
Your turn. What was the most surprising epiphany you had when putting your budget together? Like me, did you find yourself gasping for breath? Did you start with a lump sum of money or are you saving as you go, like us?
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Our Rabbi is costing twice what I thought an officiant should cost. Plus, why does wedding hair and makeup cost an arm an a leg. Both things I was not planning on.
I am an accountant and I feel like I have a pretty good handle on our budget. However, I have been surprised so far by things that I never expected to incur (i.e. things I didn’t think we even need to pay for, so I didn’t account for them at all!) So far those type of things have been our Pre-Cana classes with my church which will end up being roughly $500, and the musician that comes with the church (with little options otherwise) which will run about $300. Hopefully we don’t have too many more surprises like that!
We totally didn’t account for rentals and staffing for our catering plan, it was 3x what I thought it would be. We really had to rethink our initial plans when we realized that you can only cut down the cost so much. I had a lump sum in mind and so far we’ve added about 30% to that and I think we’ll be able to make it work. It’s been an eye opening month or two of planning.
that we’ll be spending over $5000 just on renting things like tents and glassware. it absolutely blew our budget.
I don’t have a firm budget. My plan is “don’t spend where you don’t have to.” I am going to DIY what I can. Eliminate what I can (we may skip the DJ and the florist for all but the bouquets) splurge on what I can’t live without (invitations) and we’ll make it work. I’m hoping we’ll come in around $10,000. It may end up being more or less. Food will be most of that, and we’re planning on having our parents help with that, so I think we’ll be good.
At this point, if we end up with more money to spend on things closer to the wedding (it’s a little less than a year away), we will. If we don’t, then those things won’t be part of the wedding.
invitation extras. sure you think about the actual invites, but don’t forget the reply cards, two sets of envelopes, wedding programs, table numbers, wedding direction/accommodation cards. i did most of the invite extras myself to save money, but just the rsvp envelopes were $33! I budget $300 (i did not go with letter press), actual cost will be about $500.
I second the makeup! i budgeted $50, actual cost is about $250.
My groom said the church was free. I doubt that, but have yet to find out the bill.
pre cana classes $250 (also not in the org. budget)
Wedding underwear (not in my budget)
Wedding jewelry (not in my budget)
etc. etc. etc.
completely agree with CS: Catering! $xx per plate is NOWHERE near the whole story with a full catering.
On the other hand, things like Invitations, I’m doing 80 for approx $55, If I do our center pieces then they’ll be less as well. We got a discount on our venue. So I think it has been give and take with budget items.
i was almost surprised at how much all the small miscellaneous items add up to! and my dress alterations were outrageously expensive (HALF of what I paid for the dress)! but we’re saving a bundle in certain areas (less expensive photographer, Sunday morning wedding, DJ instead of a band) so I think we should still come out being within our budget (fingers crossed!)
This is totally not wedding-related, but my aunt lives down the street from Maurice Sendak. When I visit her, I always go out for a walk or a run around the neighborhood, and often see him walking his dog. He always says hello, and it makes me SO ridiculously happy.
Okay, back to your regularly scheduled wedding programming.
I’m always surprised by how much tax and service charges add on! The venue & food seemed reasonable until I added almost 30% for tax & service!
We put together a budget with rough estimates & then entered the actual expenses as they came in. It really helped us grasp how much $$ was going towards the whole process & helped us to cut back when needed.
My biggest shocker was the cost of chair covers. At almost $800 for our very small wedding, I just couldn’t justify it.
Funnily enough - we all still had a blast. 
I’ve just started planning my wedding, and I gotta say — maybe I was just naive, but I had NO IDEA how expensive everything is. I really thought we’d be able to do this for around $5000. What was I smoking??
I started with a lump sum, and I’m trying to write down EVERYTHING, down to the postage stamps, and the gifts we are buying for little things, like asking our flower girl to be in the weddinG (a tiara and a book).
My parents gave us a hard budget, and I’m using that for all of the major things. My FI and I are paying for the smaller things as we go, such as little gifts, the save-the-dates, etc, but I’m trying to keep track of everything.
Our food/alcohol budget it taking up more than what the budget estimator says it should. It says that it should be 40-50% of your budget, but ours will end up being about 60%. But its the minimum that we have to spend at our location, and it was a better value than all of the other places we looked!
Tipping…we forgot about tipping. That is definitely was something we did not remember.
I a mwith you. We did like a tpyical budget calculator and the numbers sounded good. So we thought we could splurge a little on the venue. After doing so I created a spreadsheet that included every tiny detail you could possibly imagine for the wedding, excludinh honeymoon, rehersal dinner, day after brunch and gas and we were about $12,000.00 over budget. Those extras REALLY add up!
The church was the biggest thing for me. I am really anal about budgeting and such and had everything pretty much planned out. My fiance is Catholic so we are getting married in a church and it is costing us about $1,000 including the pre-cana weekend! So expensive! I originally wanted an outside wedding so I figured we would pay a pastor $100 or so and rent chairs… but now we have all of these envelopes to fill! Priest “donation”, alter boys, musicians, day of coordinator, etc. Oh well, what can you do?
@budgetbeautiful: I know how you feel. We were shooting for just a couple grand. HA!
Yeah, the church costs were definitely a lot more than I thought. We expected to get a deal because my FI is a member, but he’s been at college for the past couple of years and they want you to be an active ‘contributing’ (tithing) member for at least a year before they’ll let you in for cheaper.
@budgetbeautiful: @<a
I know different things are more of a priority to different people. I, too, wanted to put money into gorgeous invites…but, I thought why should I put money into something that will end up in the trash the day after the wedding? I think it is SO much more important to have good music at the reception so that the GUESTS have a great time. People aren’t going to remember the invitations…they will remember a great party!
The costs I didn’t anticipate — $7 per glass of inexpensive wine, tent rental (I figured $400, not $1,200!) and the groom’s clothing. I figured $100, but he went down the new suit road — $800 for the suit, $300 for the custom shirt (add alterations to both!) $150 for a tie, $200 for shoes. His wedding wardrobe costs over $1,000! Damn!
Also little things like the card box, my jewelry, my underthings, niceties for maids and men also add up.
I am thankful for my dear friend — a master hairstylist doing my hair for free, and the giftcards for MAC to soften the blow of wedding makeup costs.
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Mrs. Cheese, Knoxville
Age and Occupation: 29, Engineering Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, CAD Designer
Engagement Date: July 31, 2008
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Blogging Since: October 16, 2008
Venue: Our home and the two acres it sits on
About Me: I’m an emotional girl who loves sentimental things, parenthetical asides, and trying to do things herself. I can cook, sew, am a whiz at planning, terrible at delegating, and totally in love with my fiancé (who will be my second husband but first love of the rest of my life). For our home/ garden/ DIY wedding, we’ll be moonlighting as interior designers, home improvers, and gardeners with the help of our fabulous friends and neighbors. We can’t wait to be married, and are learning how fun getting married can be.
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