Wedding Blog

Hi y’all! I already briefly blogged my budget (say THAT three times fast!), and I do plan to give you the “actual costs” breakdown after the wedding has taken place. But when Bee asked us all about this awesome Bee Budget series, I figured that as possibly the cheapest Bee thus far, I owed it to you ladies to weigh in.

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Without further ado, here we go!

Important Deets
Date: 9/2009
City, State: Northwestern Minnesota (I’ll fill you in soon.)
Budget: $1000
Guests: 7

All Inclusive Costs:

Wedding Bands: $3500
Honeymoon: $6000 estimate
Marriage License: $110

ALL INCLUSIVE TOTAL: $9610

Wedding Day Costs
Ceremony Site Fees/Type of Venue: $0 expected
The courthouse. I found out recently that Grand Forks will not work with us, so we are investigating other regional county seats. (The one below is our front-runner; ain’t she cute?)

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Dinner on the Day of for 9 of us: $150 original estimate/$0 expected
A family member has graciously insisted on paying for the dinner for all of us after we get married. Sweet.

After Party/Picnic the weekend after we’re married: $0 expected
This is being thrown by Mr. Mary Jane’s parents. They offered to have it - we weren’t expecting a reception of any sort. We don’t expect to contribute, but if we’re asked to, we will.

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Bridal Gown & Alterations: $250 original estimate/$206 running total
This includes every dress I’ve bought and haven’t been able to return.

Bridal Accessories (Hair accessory, Shoes, Jewelry): $150 original estimate/$57 running total

Groom’s Attire: $100 original estimate/$150 running total

Stationery/Postage: $150 estimate

Photography: $0 original estimate/$300 running total

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Cake: $30 original estimate/$0 running total
A family friend is making our cake. We will of course offer to donate/pay for her time and supplies, but as of yet, we have no details.

Flowers: $60 original estimate/$50 adjusted estimate

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WEDDING DAY TOTAL: $913

I’m amazed at this number, especially since photography wasn’t a part of our original $1000 estimated budget. How’d it stay so low? For one thing, I overshot (or saved) on some key things like shoes, my dress, flowers, cake and accessories. Those little deals and discounts add up! And the big one, of course, is the generous offer of having supper paid for by someone else. That helped a lot. Though I’m taking care to be frugal, I’m still expecting to see our budget expand by the time the big day rolls around.

How did our wedding come so ultra-cheap (compared to other weddings)? We skimped on a lot. Go look at the real budgets entry form. Then come back and look at mine. Notice anything missing? How about 2/3 of the “normal” expenses? The reception and all of its associated costs are our number one budget saver, of course. Food, entertainment, booze. And though $200 seems like a lot to spend on a single-wear dress (I’ll blog about it soon, promise!), I know it’s pennies in the wedding world. Our photographer was interested in our uncommon wedding plans and hence was willing to negotiate a reasonable price for what will probably amount to an hour or two or shooting time. Our lack of wedding party means no gifts, no clothes, no nuthin’ for anyone else but us. So yes, we saved a lot of money, but it wasn’t all by cutting corners: it was by cutting big, important stuff out entirely. If you want to get married on the cheap, do make sure you’re considering the importance of each element of your wedding. If it’s important to you, don’t cut it. Find a way to make it cheaper, sure, but don’t cut it. You’ll regret it later, I promise.

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I’ll close this reflection with a note regarding our total cost per person: I’m not placing any accuracy in it. It isn’t fair because we aren’t paying for anyone’s food, favors, or other guest-related expenses aside from our wedding announcements. By the official method, our cost per person is $133. But in reality, we will only be paying the postage and supplies costs for any paper products we send people. Each person costs us pennies. My parents are flying in and staying in hotels; that’s expensive. His parents are hosting a big ol’ party; that’s expensive too. We’re fortunate to have such support from our wonderful families, that’s for sure.

And finally… (drum-roll please…)

GRAND TOTAL (All Inclusive Total + Wedding Day Total): $10523.

That’s a lot of moola. I could pay off my car with that. But we’re getting awesome rings and an awesome honeymoon, not to mention a sweet and intimate wedding instead. Totally worth it. The breakdown really shows where our priorities lie, doesn’t it? We like to travel and have fun, and we’re big sentimentalists, but we rather dislike ceremony and being the centers of attention. So fittingly, Our wedding day expenses are only 8% of the grand total. Our honeymoon (TBA) is around 60%, and our wedding bands make up about a third of the total cost. Cool!

What kind of things have you cut from your wedding, and what were your must-haves? And, does your budget-breakdown reflect what’s important to you?