The Queen Bee of Budgets
January 9th, 2008 @ 5:47 pm by Mrs. Flamingo
I consider myself little over the top when it comes to my organizational skills, so when the wedding kicked in… I went ballistic. Every person that sees me and my famous white wedding binder says I am extremely ahead of my game when it comes to my wedding planning, but then again I started planning almost 2 years before my official wedding date.
I wanted to share with my wedding planner budget (in excel form) with all of you. It’s a detailed compilation of everything you can think of for the whole planning process. (In hopes I have not forgotten anything)
Loans For A Wedding?!
November 9th, 2007 @ 6:27 pm by Mrs. Onion
There has been a lot of talk about money and opulent wedding related spending on the bee today — Mrs. Caterpillar’s “The Weight of the World” post and Miss Jasmine’s “Opulent Wedding Spending” post.
Sticker Shock
October 11th, 2007 @ 2:30 pm by Mrs. Hummingbird
Since we started planning, one of the absolute hardest things I’ve had to deal with is getting over how much things cost. During the initial engagement period, it was all happiness and sunshine and rainbows, but once we got down to number crunching and began to research our options, I’ll be the first to admit, I suffered from a pretty severe case of sticker shock.
How To Build a Wedding Budget
August 28th, 2007 @ 2:06 pm by Mrs. Onion
I’ve seen budgets come up quite a bit recently, so I thought I’d throw in my two cents for those of you who are at the beginning of your planning. Using this method, we were able to stick pretty honestly to our budget so far:
1. Before you set a total “budget” number, decide what will be included in that number.
2. Then get a quote from 2-3 vendors in each category to get an idea of what is to be expected in your area. Our budget categories are as follows:
a) Reception
b) Attire/Beauty
c) Ceremony
d) Flowers/decorations
e) Music
f) Photography
g) Stationery
h) Transportation/Lodging
i) Favors
No More Honeymoon
August 24th, 2007 @ 2:13 pm by Mrs. Peony
Last night I had a dream that Mr. Peony and I were on our honeymoon and having the time of our lives. When I woke up, I couldn’t help but be sad…..because we had just recently decided that we will not be going on a honeymoon.
When I first started budgeting for our wedding, I was taking national averages of vendor costs. It never occurred to me that a New York wedding would cost so much more. Some of the things we’re doing, such as the charter bus to and from the reception, are not necessary but I really want it as a courtesy to our many guests who are arriving from all over the world.
In addition, Mr. Peony and I just signed a contract for a condo! I honestly did not think we would find something we both love this fast. The rest of the nation may be in a real estate recession, but the NYC area is still red-hot. We knew that if we didn’t grab it, we wouldn’t be able to find anything comparable for a long time.
How Are You Paying For Everything?
August 21st, 2007 @ 1:54 pm by Mrs. Peony
The average American wedding costs almost $28,000. Taking into consideration that the median household makes less than that, it’s alarming just how much one day can cost you.
Now, I won’t lie - I’m having a large wedding for 250 guests and it will cost more than the annual salary at my first job. Since I started wedding planning, several of my friends have asked me how we’re managing to pay for such an expensive event. My answer is the Korean kye.
When I first started working full-time, my parents knew that I wouldn’t be able to save much money on my own - I need discipline! So when a friend of theirs started a new kye they asked me to join.
The Korean kye, which means contract or bond, is a credit rotating system built on trust and honesty. It dates back hundreds of years when it was first used to pay official grain loans and military taxes. Since then, the kye has been transformed to finance small businesses, weddings, and funerals. These days, the kye is not only a financial function but a social one as well, where members meet every month to socialize, choose the winner, and celebrate. Kye’s can give a lending hand to new immigrants with no or little credit history (in fact, there are several papers out there which discuss how kye’s were one of the driving factors in helping the first Korean immigrants start their lives in the states). Plus, the monthly meetings are great places to socialize, network, and have good food and drinks.
Wedding Dress Budgeting
August 6th, 2007 @ 5:54 pm by Mrs. Onion
A note about budgeting for a wedding dress: Don’t forget that there are other costs involved than just the sticker price of the gown.
Other costs of your bridal look include:
a) fittings/alterations, which can be 15% or more of the gown
b) tax (which can sometimes be avoided by shipping out of state — but then there are shipping costs)
c) a veil
d) shoes
e) a bra for the dress (can be anywhere from $70-$150 I found)
Although my gown was $1,770, I budgeted $2500 which is about what I ended up spending as follows: Read more…
$25,000 Real Wedding Budgets
July 26th, 2007 @ 1:12 pm by Real Budgets
Today we’re featuring three budgets in the $25k range. Each of the brides is taking advantage of the talents of friends to save costs on invitations, videography, etc., giving them room to splurge in other areas.
DJ and Anon are both having day-of coordinators, for example. And SA and her fiance hired a brass quintet from the nearest symphony! You can see some shots of her wedding below.
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Submitted By: DJ
City: Washington, DC
Budget: $30,000
# of guests: 100
Ceremony Site Fees: $1200
Reception Site Fees: $0. Having it at a restaurant, so there’s no site fee - just a food and beverage minimum.
Caterer/Food/Drink: $11,000 ($110/pp)
Service Charge/Gratuities: $3500. This includes all gratuities and all includes tax on the food and drink. Read more…
Reader Buzz: Budget Overages
July 12th, 2007 @ 7:53 pm by Reader Buzz
Commenter Red had a good point about how most brides exceeded their initial budgets in our Real Reader Budgets post earlier today. So we’d like to know how much your budget has changed from your initial estimate, to what it is now (mid or post planning).
Words of Wisdom: Budgets
July 12th, 2007 @ 1:23 pm by Words of Wisdom
Budgets are all the buzz these days around Weddingbee. So while the topic is hot, what have you found to be the best tips for saving money in planning a wedding?
