Role-Playing

Role-Playing

September 2nd, 2011 @ 9:19 am by Miss Warbler
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Not that kind of role-playing, my fellow creepers. Budget role-playing.

Mr. Warbler and I are lazy by nature. So it’s no surprise that we’ve never really sat down and made an official budget. I found a sample budget in a wedding-planning book and adjusted it according to what I thought we should spend on vendors, and Mr. Warbler basically said, “That sounds good.”

The one thing we did agree on was that we didn’t want to start our marriage off in debt and that we would try to stick to the budget as closely as possible. For a while we were doing pretty well: I would fall in love with something we couldn’t afford, and Mr. Warbs would gently remind me of the budget. We had a nice good cop/bad cop situation working for us.

Then something began to change. Mr. Warbs started giving in. Out of nowhere we switched roles. “Remember the budget” turned into “Well, we’re only getting married once.” And instead of reminding him of the budget I said, “OK!” We had never really considered a videographer before, but after I fell in love with my boss’s wedding video, I felt like we had to have one, too. But, the videographer was too expensive so I was ready to let it go. Mr. Warbs’s “We’re only getting married once” mantra kicked in, and he decided there was no reason we couldn’t up the budget a bit to include the videographer, a photo booth, and a string quartet.

Jessica + Non :: Orange County, CA - 6.5.10 from Lighthouse Studios on Vimeo

To make matters worse, Mr. Warbs decided our wedding video HAD to be on Blu-ray. Freaking Blu-ray. It was at that moment that I knew we had a problem. As much as I would love a video to remember the day, I think we’ll just have to make due with photos. Even though I want a video. Badly. Very badly.

Sigh. Remember the budget. Is anyone else having a hard time sticking to the budget?

Tags: budget, malibu |

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16 Responses to “Role-Playing”

Member

kamiie (message) 115 posts, Blushing bee

get the video! after 7 months of planning, we decide to “budget” for a videographer…we don’t regret it

9/2/11 @ 9:34 am (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Hyena (message) 1,881 posts, Buzzing bee

We didn’t have a videographer, but we still had someone in the family film the ceremony and bits of the reception. It’s not the end of the world if you can’t get a videographer, but you’ll want to get *someone* to film it. And it’s okay if it’s not the most professional thing out there.

9/2/11 @ 9:38 am (reply)

Member

ThePinkPeony (message) 264 posts, Helper bee

totally hear you - i HATE the budget. It is my enemy. Except that Mr. PP and I agreed, like you and Mr. W, we don’t want to start out in debt just for a wedding. Our compromise re: the video issue was to buy a FlipCam (on super-sale at Staples at the time for $50!) which one of our handy friends has volunteered to man for the “good” parts of the ceremony, the toasts, first dance and exit. Definitely not the gorgeous, professional-quality video above, but also, will not land us in the poorhouse, so, decent compromise!

9/2/11 @ 10:01 am (reply)

Member

adria1211 (message) 74 posts, Worker bee

we don’t have the budget for a videographer, so i bought a flip video camera and am asking a few friends to capture brief moments of the day…and all of the ceremony. i love the trendy videos like the one you posted, but since i don’t have a few grand to get one, i’ll have to make due with what we can afford (and an $80 camera and free labor is where our budget is at).

I’m wondering if there are people out there who have done their own wedding videos with little to no experience and created something like the awesome videos that exist???

9/2/11 @ 10:01 am (reply)

Member

Eightgate (message) 21 posts, Newbee

I feel ya on this. After failing at begging an actual videographer to work for very little, I’m cosidering going with these folks: http://weddings.storymixmedia.com/index.html

It seems (from the samples) that the up side is you get something maybe a little more unique and personal and fun that covers a longer number of days (plus your honeymoon if there is room left on the camera) but the downside is… well, it’s not professional. Shaky video is a problem. What if someone misses something crucial. What if someone wastes all the space on the camera and you end up with something salvageable? I’m still debating myself.

9/2/11 @ 10:21 am (reply)

Guest

candykiss

Buy a couple flip cameras (around $100/each) and give to a few guests to record the important parts of your day. Have your guests send you the files and let them keep the cameras as a thank you. You can easily edit the videos yourself, or you can likely hire someone inexpensively to make it into a montage for you.

9/2/11 @ 10:32 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Ladyfingers (message) 1,119 posts, Bumble bee

Haha - I totally TOTALLY relate. I love the part where you say yeah, not only are we shoving a videographer in there, but also a photobooth and a string quartet. Love. It.

You know how they say the typical couple goes 20% over their budget? We went 100% over our budget. Yeah, you read that right. And that’s just so far. Granted, we weren’t include a honeymoon or the rehearsal dinner in our original estimate but… I’m officially in the over-$20,000-for-a-wedding camp after YEARSSSSS of disdain for those who spent more than $10K.

But hey - you only get married once

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

Bee

Ms. Ferris Wheel (message) 345 posts, Helper bee

I’m jealous - I want a “you only get married once” person in MY life! Can Mr. Warbler talk to Mr. FW?

9/2/11 @ 12:54 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Parasol (message) 2,132 posts, Buzzing bee

Oh man, I totally get that attitude. It’s so tempting! Unfortunately, we need to stick to a budget, though we’ve managed to splurge on some much-needed items because, really, we’re only getting married once!

9/2/11 @ 1:00 pm (reply)

10.

Member

lisamarieloves (message) 446 posts, Helper bee

Oh my goodness. Your scenario describes me and my fiance to a “T”! Only it is me saying “we only get married once” and him saying we don’t need it! I am dying to have a videographer but it is on my budget with a “?” next to it. I just don’t know if we will be able to afford to make it happen. However, a friend of mine got married last year and, at the very last minute, booked a super inexpensive videographer. They were only provided with very basic video of their wedding day. Yet, we had so much fun watching it with them. There is not always a need to have the fanciest of everything. I think any video would be better than no video. Just my opinion!

9/2/11 @ 1:16 pm (reply)

11.

Bee

Miss Pony (message) 4,171 posts, Honey bee

We would have to have a real figure for our budget in order to go over or argue about it, but I’m definitely the one that wants to include every detail possible.

9/2/11 @ 1:35 pm (reply)

12.

Bee

Mrs. Ostrich (message) 1,948 posts, Buzzing bee

There’s hope, Miss W! having a videographer may not be as daunting as it seems. while many cost an arm and a leg, i know mrs. jaguar scored her videographer for free {?? or like for dirt cheap, i forget} because she was just starting her business. and even though Mr. O’s mouth fell to the floor when i told him how much we were going to pay for our video, he preaches up and down that it “WAS THE BEST $$$$ WE EVER PAID.” hope that eases your mind and helps a bit.

9/2/11 @ 1:35 pm (reply)

13.

Bee

Miss Warbler (message) 154 posts, Blushing bee

Thanks ladies, Flip cams are a definite possibility!
@Mrs. Hyena: We are thinking about having one of Mr. Warbs’ uncles shoot the ceremony.
@Miss Ladyfingers: Haha well go big or go home, right?
@Ms. Ferris Wheel: He’ll probably convince Mr. FW that you need a circus!

9/2/11 @ 4:42 pm (reply)

14.

Member

Soon to be Mrs. C (message) 35 posts, Newbee

I was so focused on photography that I totally forgot about a videographer - and now I’m in the same predicament! I don’t know what we’re going to do - I soooo want a wedding video!

9/4/11 @ 1:52 pm (reply)

15.

Bee

Miss Kettle (message) 909 posts, Busy bee

Indeed we are. Luckily, we’re getting help, so when our budget groans, it’s mostly only my daddy that groans. But he knows it’s really my momma that’s doing the “only getting married once” thing. They didn’t have a big wedding, so…. you know… I get the benefit from that.

9/6/11 @ 7:57 am (reply)

16.

Bee

Miss Cucumber Sandwich (message) 569 posts, Busy bee

I have no idea where we are budget wise any more…. if I don’t enter it in the excel sheet it doesn’t count against the budget…. right?!?! We are going to use the wedit flip cam company. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

9/7/11 @ 12:57 pm (reply)