You Could Already Be a Winner!

You Could Already Be a Winner!

February 9th, 2011 @ 10:12 am by Mrs. Lox
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Hive, I have had a revelation! Ummm…but before we get to that, let me set it up for you.

Lately, in my inbox, I’ve been getting these contest announcements for a free wedding. Awesome, right? Right. I remember when I used to enter every single one of these. I would have taken a free wedding anywhere from anyone. And especially with how tight our budget is, a free wedding is kind of like a gift from above, right?

Well, maybe. Then I start thinking about all of the deposits that we’ve made. I mean, we’d lose those. So now it’s not actually free, see? It’s free plus the lost deposit money. But that’s the only downside, right?

Well, sort of. But what does the free wedding entail? I mean, I really love my dress. Are they going to replace it? Will I have a say? Some of those contests were ones where other people got to vote on and decide your wedding details for you. That’s when I started to draw a line. Those went right into the trash. Type-A brides do NOT give up control. Seriously. Honestly? That nixed most of them.

Well, now that I’ve started throwing things away, let’s take a closer look at the rest, then. Now we’re down to winning individual elements mostly. Win a photography package? Yeah, but I am really pleased with the photographer I booked. Win a free venue? But ours is perfect for us, and we’re so excited about it. Win a dress? With my body issues? No way, Jose. Wait…what’s left?

Nothing. I threw every single contest email out. And that’s when I realized why. I’m in love with our wedding! I put blood, sweat, tears, and money into all of our decisions. I don’t want to change a vendor. I don’t want to change the look. I don’t want to change anything. Mr. Lox and I handpicked all of these things for a reason. Why would we change anything now?

The answer is that we won’t. And I couldn’t be happier. But what about you? Would you consider a wedding as a contest prize? Why or why not?

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14 Responses to “You Could Already Be a Winner!”

Member

Gerbera (message) 4,481 posts, Honey bee

I entered things left and right up until the point we booked our venue. After that I stopped.
Never realized some of those “free weddings” had control over elements of your wedding. If that was the case I probably would not have entered either.

2/9/11 @ 10:14 am (reply)

Member

Miss Horseshoe (message) 62 posts, Worker bee

It’s also not free because of the taxes you potentially have to pay on your winnings! I’m pretty sure the cash value of the prize gets included as “income” when you do your income tax returns.

2/9/11 @ 10:25 am (reply)

Member

mrsbowieii (message) 692 posts, Busy bee

I have entered contest for certain elements but it was mostly for things that I didn’t have already. We got some great things out of them… 3 trips, free save the date cards, and 4 tuxedoes for the groomsmen. So it’s not all bad but once I got my ideas together I stopped entering.

2/9/11 @ 10:36 am (reply)

Member

Miss Tattoo (message) 7,521 posts, Bee Keeper

If I could win a free caterer I would be all about it. Other than that, nah.

2/9/11 @ 10:40 am (reply)

Member

TheFutureMcBride (message) 4,479 posts, Honey bee

Since you actually looked at it, no, I would’ve never wanted to change anything except our officiant. Everything else was us.

2/9/11 @ 10:50 am (reply)

Member

mrs. obscene (message) 11 posts, Newbee

What a fulfilling revelation! My FMIL wants us to enter every possible radio station, tv show, contest possible. For what, for us to give up control of OUR day? All your plans and DIY elements are awesome, no matter if the cost was hundreds of dollars or pennies! Now if only I could stand up to my FMIL….

2/9/11 @ 10:55 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Brooch (message) 1,721 posts, Bumble bee

I’m posting about something similiar today! We’re on the same page!

2/9/11 @ 10:58 am (reply)

Member

sparks (message) 649 posts, Busy bee

I rarely enter these types of contests because I want to pick vendors that are willing to work with us. I would take free transportation or a florist though, so long as my plans wouldn’t be compromised.

2/9/11 @ 10:59 am (reply)

Member

katsupgirl (message) 620 posts, Busy bee

I always read the fine print to see how much decision making power I have to give up. Alas, it’s always too much.

2/9/11 @ 12:28 pm (reply)

10.

Member

icelara (message) 272 posts, Helper bee

We actually entered a contest that a local caterer/events company was throwing and submitted our story….it seemed like we actually had a chance, as less than 10 couples had entered…..then the day before the deadline the extended the date for more entries because they obviously wanted more couples to enter. They also extended the end of the contest…which threw a wrench in my plans because I couldn’t wait for a contest to end just so I could start planning…anyway we tried for about 2 weeks, gathering online votes, and then stopped when we realized we didn’t want to wait for 2 months to start planning our wedding. The effort just wasn’t worth it…but now we got a venue we really wanted. It’ll cost us, but its what we want!

2/9/11 @ 12:33 pm (reply)

11.

Bee

Miss Bacon (message) 656 posts, Busy bee

I keep entering for free honeymoons and I’m looking into the one art C&B, but I’m not really lucky, so I don’t have too much to worry about.

2/9/11 @ 2:04 pm (reply)

12.

Member

mak418 (message) 693 posts, Busy bee

We won a free cake from our caterer - but that was just a drawing from among those couples who booked the same month we did. It was nice getting it for free, though!

2/10/11 @ 6:10 pm (reply)

13.

Guest

Briar

I just realized that, too! I was in the middle of entering the C&B one and then started reading the terms. I was like, oh hell no! I love my venue! I work with my caterers! No way I’m giving these things up for a free wedding! And like you said, we have put down so many deposits…so it wouldn’t be “free.”

2/15/11 @ 8:59 am (reply)

14.