Wedding Blog

One of the things that I HATED about wedding planning was the budget. Who wants to think about money when you can look at pretty pictures?! Well, as it turns out the budget is pretty important. Go figure!

Mr. Powder Puff and I had decided early on that we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on this one day. Yes, it’s important, and yes you only get to do it once, but we would like to buy a house in the near future, and I couldn’t justify spending our house down payment on a party. And honestly, keeping the wedding small was a good thing. I found that keeping the costs down kept me focused on the real reason for the celebration- Mr. Powder Puff and I becoming man and wife! Instead of a huge production, we’ll be having an intimate ceremony with a (hopefully!) fun party afterward.

Ultimately, what kept the price reasonable was getting married in Western Michigan. Everything is so much less expensive there—holla! We also enlisted quite a few friends and family to contribute their services, which helped A LOT. It takes a village!

So here’s the breakdown:

Date: 7/2009
City, State: Spring Lake, Michigan
Budget: $12,000
# of Guests: 120

Wedding Day Costs

Ceremony Site Fees: $700 + $3 per chair (120 ppl) = $1060
Reception Site Fees: Included in food costs
Food/Drink: $41 per plate (with alcohol), which includes tax and gratuity =$4920
Bridal Gown & Alterations: $900 for the gown, $70 alterations = $970
Bridal Accessories: $40 veil, $78 bracelet, $75 shoes, $35 undergarments, earrings already own =$228
Groom’s Attire: FREE! Deal offered with four groomsmen’s rentals.
Stationery/Postage: $152
Photography: $1600
Ceremony Music: $200
Reception Music: $700
Flowers: $900
Cake: $100 (made by Mr. Powder Puff’s aunt)
Officiant: $200
Coordinator: FREE! My aunt will perform this duty for us.
Hair/Makeup: $40, done by my cousin. Makeup done by me!
Wedding Party Gifts: $100 (four groomsmen, four bridesmaids. Yes, we did this on the SUPER cheap. Don’t be hatin’.)
Hotels: FREE! Paid for by my parents’ Mariott points.
Misc: $17 Quaker Marriage Certificate, $25 miscellaneous paper costs, $360 chair covers

WEDDING DAY TOTAL: $11,572

TOTAL COST PER PERSON: $96.44

All Inclusive Costs
Wedding Bands: $600
Rehearsal Dinner: $1200 (paid for by Mr. Powder Puff’s parents)
Honeymoon: $3000 (gift from my parents)

ALL INCLUSIVE TOTAL: $4800

GRAND TOTAL: $16,372

So we’re over budget. But in our original budget, I had not included our honeymoon or rehearsal dinner. So really, we did pretty well!

I hope that seeing our budget will help you all if you’re in the planning stages. Beautiful weddings CAN be pulled off for not that much money! And hopefully we’ll prove that when we exchange our vows and party down in T-minus one month.

Is your budget similar to mine?  Where does your breakdown vary greatly from mine?

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We’d really love for hive members to share their budgets as well! If you’d like to participate, check out our past real budget features, and submit your own budget and pictures with the information provided here!