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Early on, we decided to split the cost of our wedding down the middle. How my parents contributed would be handled between yours truly and Papa/Mama Piglet, and the same went for him and his parents. For the most part, we’re trying to cover the Hawaii wedding ourselves, which means controlling our spending these days. We love eating out, Piggy loves shopping, and we both love snowboarding! For the past four years, we’ve gone on an annual trip with our friends to resorts all over the country. Mr. P is a-w-e-s-o-m-e and often claims he is X-Games material. I’d hate to total the amount we’ve spent over the years, because it would likely be enough to pay for 10 Ben Chrismans. I have so many fond and not-so-fond memories from each trip, but we’ve decided to forgo our annual trip this year and save the Benjis for Hawaii.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane…
Lake Tahoe, 2005. I actually have no pictures from this trip because I came down with the flu the day before we left. What luck! I bucket this trip into the ‘not-so-fond’ memories. I slept in the master bedroom, humidifier on full blast, while everyone hit up the mountain. Tahoe was dumped on that year. So much so, that the road was blocked off on their way back from boarding, and also, with my food in hand. Mr. Pig got out of the car and trekked it back to our cabin to deliver my food as quickly as possible. How sweet is that?! It was the wrong order.
Whistler, 2005. Whistler is gorgeous! I was too much of a beginner to appreciate what this resort had to offer. This is where the Mr and I had our first big argument. I was upset he left me to board alone while he went off to the bowls and the blacks (for the entire weekend). In hindsight, I can understand how he felt the need to take advantage of the amazing terrain. Kidding. I was P’d off! I fell off the lift every single time, while kids with the porcupine looking hats rode off kicking snow in my face. Heh, it wasn’t that bad (yes it was). What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! I took lessons, and now I wear the porcupine hat (kidding again).
Sugarbush, Vermont, 2007. Our friends below got engaged during this trip. CS coordinated the trip and let everyone in on his master plan. Mr Pigs left me in the dark, because admittedly, I have a small problem with being able to keep secrets. 
He told his now wife he had cramps, and headed to the lodge where he planned to sing their song to an instrumental version over the speaker system. It was SO cute!
Park City, 2008: Awesome trip! I brought my VW bridesmaid (she’s built nice and sturdy) with me, and we had a blast. Mr P, on the other hand, made friends with Mr. Tree. My poor baby!
For now, my Burton Feelgood will have to hibernate through this season.
Did any of you pass up on hobbies in order to save for the wedding?
I haven’t snowboarded once this year… though I’m usually a 60+ day a year girl. It’s been hard on me, but it’s for a good cause! And I’m thinking the girls are going to surprise me with some snowboarding this weekend. I’m gonna be so sore!
Try Big White in Kelowna, BC next 
hehe! After you’re married of course ;).
We seriously curbed our eating out habit. We also bought a house and moved to a quieter neighborhood, so that helped not eat out so much, although a mortgage certainly didn’t help w/ wedding savings.
Ouch (Mr. Piggy)! As pretentious and ridic as it sounds, we’ve had to hold off on buying more art!
Mr. MagPie and I — bigtime foodies — have tried to curb our eating out tendencies (just a BIT). We’ve also found http://www.restaurant.com to be BIG help in continuing to have the moola for our (admittedly, still pretty regular) date nights.
We are complete foodies and eat out a LOT. So, we’ve been trying to cut back on that. It’s hard, though! Kudos to you for making the sacrifice!
@Miss Perfume: It doesn’t sound ridiculous at all! It is hard to hold off doing/buying something that you love
We’ve cut back on eating out and going to the movies. We used to go to “double-features” of seemingly mis-matched movies (i.e., No Country for Old Men and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, or The Dark Knight and Get Smart) semi-regularly. We’d have dinner in between and dessert afterwards. But no more. Sigh.
we stopped our yearly trips to vegas, refrained from major purchases, and only eat out once a month (instead of every week). it’s a bit of a lifestyle change, but worth it. and we can return to going out/shopping after the wedding.
Love love love snowboarding and while we’re not hitting Tahoe or Mammoth this year we’re leaving this Friday for an overnight at Big Bear Mtn. but yep shopping is at a standstill and watching the funds!
Btw always wanted to get to Whistler! Also, not gonna hit any jumps this trip for fear of Casts on my wedding day! Broken ribs, dislocated a thumb and a concussion on previous snowboard trips…
Eating out! I don’t know if that’s a hobby.. but that def is one of our favorite things.. but we have been cutting back =( It’s all worth it!
I love that this board is full of foodies! Mr Techie and I also had to throttle back our restaurant budget. We try to keep it to once a week (which may still seem like a lot, but for us this equaled a big savings in the budget).
Something that’s really helped to offset this change is our monthly ‘Chef’s Night In’. Both of us are good at cooking, so together we plan a restaurant-quality menu, then go shopping in our local market district for the ingredients (cheaper than the supermarket, and much more fun), and cook the whole meal together, start to finish. We even plate them restaurant-style, right down to garnishes. It’s been a wonderfully fun experience and I highly recommend it to any couple who loves food! We’ll probably continue this activity even after we’re married.
sigh you are making me want to cry. i’m addicted to snowboarding too! i went on a jay peak trip for new years but the conditions were so bad (which is unheard of over there) that we barely got to board. its been snowing a lot too here on the east coast, and i feel soooo sad i can’t board. after the wedding though (end of march) we’re going to get in as MUCH spring boarding as possible. can’t wait!
Yeah, we usually go away to the Caribbean - BVI or Playa del Carmen - during Memorial Day weekend. Not this year. On top of the cost, we also don’t have the vacation time since we are off for two weeks for the Honeymoon.
Nonetheless, we are going to Stratton this weekend for what will probably be our only ski trip this year.
We’re cutting back on eating out, as well. So instead, we’re trying out new recipes and learnig new dishes. Next on the list? Traditional cullen skink from Scotland! Can’t wait!
My fiance has been going to the NCAA Final Four tournament every year since 2001. He’s skipping this year to save for the wedding…what a guy!!!
My fiance has been going to the NCAA Final Four tournament every year since 2002. He’s skipping this year to save for the wedding…what a guy!!!
Yep, all Tahoe trips are on hold this year. That and my friend who lives up there is pregnant and not skiing- bummer. And this is going to sound totally selfish, but I don’t blame Mr. P for exploring Whistler. It is my favorite mountain ever! I don’t think I could take Mr. Peep until he could totally appreciate the mountain too.
Great memories! And hey - Mr. P should have spent at least one day with you in Whistler! We recently came back from Banff and the Mr. had only 2 of 4 days to hit the slopes - hey, it was my vacation too!
We’ve cut back big time on our weekly sushi habbit to once every 3 or 4 weeks. And the biggest sacrifice - moving into the future-in-laws basement… though we both hate our current abode, so it’s not that huge a sacrifice.
We’ve had to cut back on eating out and vacations, too. We used to eat out 5 - 6 times a week, and now we’re down to once every other week. We also canceled our cable and DVR, so now we’re stuck at home wondering what to cook and what to do with our time. Instead of going on the mini-vacations we used to enjoy, we go camping when we get time off to save money.
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Mrs. Piglet, Virginia/Oahu Age and Occupation: 28, Consultant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Entrepreneur/Fashion Apparel Wholesale Importer Engagement Date: June 22, 2008 Wedding Date: August 2009 Venue: Ceremony at the Lanikuhonua Phase II private estate, reception at a historic hotel in Waikiki About Me: I'm an East Coast gal with intense road rage and an addiction to romantic comedies, fast food, gadgets, Korean BBQ, and my wiener dog George aka Georgia May. I carry mustard packets in my purse and I love perusing the aisles at discount stores. A self proclaimed shopaholic, I impulsively buy electronics, software, and craft tools; none of which I know how to use. I'm excited to dust these babies off and immerse myself in DIY projects galore in preparation for our DW in paradise!
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