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We took the cash my Dad offered for the wedding, had a tiny wedding with just immediate family and our best friends. I did wear a wedding gown that I got for $150 off-season. Reception was at a Polynesian restaurant for just the small wedding party of ten. With the wedding cash, we bought a new car ($2000 in 1969!) for a little Fiat 850 sports car). Had a great honeymoon in Provincetown MA and enjoyed ourselves in our little red car and no-stress wedding. No regrets! I'd do it again!
We got married last year. All in all, it was quite economical, IMO. The rings were most expensive, about $4K for both sets, but my set had to be remade due to a defect, which added $1100 to the cost. My dress was $600 including $200 in alterations. Being a busty, petite bride has its disadvantages
We saved a bundle on the honeymoon by combining it with a cross country trip we needed to take anyway for a huge birthday celebration for her mother. We had the wedding in the mountains several hours from MIL's home. So we only needed to pay hotel for the honeymoon and didn't have to fork over money for extra airfare. We hired a reasonably priced minister, but she was pretty lousy. We didn't care; it was a fabulous day nevertheless. Because it was a destination wedding 1500 miles from our home, it was just the two of us.
I got married back in the dark ages...you know, the groom gets a new club, steals the bride from her tribe and drags her by the hair off to his cave for the honeymoon. A mastodon or two might be thrown on the fire for a celebration. Someone beats on the rocks with bones and everyone dances.
No, I got married in the 1960's and had what was the typical wedding for my circle of acquaintances. Church, minister and organist were free, my dress cost $72, my mother made the bridesmaid dresses. Flowers were cheap. A friend took the wedding pictures. We got a good deal on the tuxes. We had cake, nuts, mints, and punch in the church Fellowship Hall. Everybody in the church were invited via an invitation posted on the bulletin board. Our wedding rings cost $20 apiece. We had a cheap honeymoon.
I was still in college and he was in the service and being sent overseas in a couple of weeks. And you know what? Even with no $6000 gown, $200-a-plate reception and a band, the marriage somehow managed to last for 37 years until I lost him to a heart attack.
Jamary.....that is the exact kind of wedding that I remember as a small child in the South. Several of my cousins in the late 70s/early 80s had the exact same wedding. I'm so sorry that your lost your love but thank you for sharing your sweet story.
We have a "family" type friend who is a minister, and married us for free at his "estate", very small gathering, and laid out a deli style sandwich spread/picnic for us afterwards.
We have a "family" type friend who is a minister, and married us for free at his "estate", very small gathering, and laid out a deli style sandwich spread/picnic for us afterwards.
Best type there is.
For you.
Other formats are best for other people, other cultures, etc., obviously.
* One hall with an aisle chairs and a string quartet for the ceremony
* Another 150 person hall for our 80 guests + the quartet, minister, DJ, and photographer.
* Catered food for everyone, including quartet, minister, DJ, and photographer
* Open bar on select beers and wines. Liquor, cocktails, mix drinks not included.
* Photographer (I provided my personal equipment and film. I retained ownership of negatives).
* My wife's wedding gown and her bridesmaids.
* My Rental tux.
* DJ
* Complimentary Suite in the Hotel.
* IIRC it also included our plane tickets (we lived in another state but had our wedding were most of our friends and family were located)
The manager was nice enough to even cover the bill for our breakfast with immediate family the next morning. By the end, word got out that we delayed our honeymoon because we didn't want to dip into anymore of my savings. Wife's maid of honor's mother handed us the keys to her retirement home on an island in Florida that she just closed on. That and some donations allowed us to have a modest honeymoon in a wonderful island resort town for just the cost of food and plane tickets. Since it was a home, we had access to a full kitchen and cooked breakfast and lunch. Ate dinners out at restaurants.
The engagement ring was $2500 out of my pocket. Wedding bands were another $300.
Pretty much everything just kinda worked out....
In the end, we had enough in savings to cover closing costs on the home (our first and only) that we still live in today.
First wedding was around $10k, of which half was paid by my wife's parents. What we paid was made up for in the cash we received and we did an inexpensive long weekend honeymoon to a bed & breakfast in a nice little resort town on Lake Michigan that we drove to in a family friend's Miata convertible.
Second wedding (her first) was also around $10k, 11 years later. We paid for all of it. Still pretty reasonable considering what we got and that we had about 75 people show up. The venue, photographer, and really everything was better the second time around. Shopped around more and found good bargains, but didn't skimp. We got around $5k in gift cash for that one, too, which paid for our honeymoon in Maui.
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