how much did your wedding cost? (fiance, wedding gift, money, wear)

[android91891]

just curious i would like to plan for when i get married, so how much was your wedding?
and how was the whole process or planning?

[Neemy]

Originally Posted by android91891

just curious i would like to plan for when i get married, so how much was your wedding?
and how was the whole process or planning?

Not as much as my divorce.

[DaBurgh]

However much she says it will be.

[Whyfor]

Well, mine was in the $4k-$5k range. This included everything...

Dress/Tux (es)
Dinner for roughly 80-85 people
Location, chairs, canopies, officiant, etc. (we were married at a state park)
String quartet for music
Full open bar
Flowers/bouquet
Any other minor stuff I might be forgetting

It was a bit demanding, no doubt, since we did all the planning and reservations, etc., ourselves. But it was totally worth it. The weather was great, the food was good, we all had a great time. My wife did most of the actual planning and arrangements, and I did most of the legwork physically setting up and taking down, and such.

Personally, I think the hardest part was trying to keep the number of guests to a "reasonable" level. We were doing ok ourselves, but our families (well, mainly her family) kept wanting to include more and more people. Finally we had to put our collective foot down and say "enough is enough". (especially since more than a few of these people were just old friends of her parents who we've never even met before, but that a whole 'nother topic I suppose. lol)

But anyway, this was in Wisconsin in 2004, for the sake of reference.

[foxywench]

my guess is the answers are going to vary so widley because everyones idea of a dream wedding is different.

2 of my frineds got married this past spring, and their wedding was about $5000, they rented a hall at a local tennis/golf club (not super fancy) our frined who is an ordained life church minister did the ceremony as their wedding gift, another friend is a photgrapher who did the wedding photos as their gift, I sang her down the isle while another friend played guitar, and yet another friend dj'd the reception.
his dad paid for an open bar, so their money whent on renting the place, custom garb (rannaisance themed wedding) for them, 3 bridesmaids and 2 groomsmen and dinner/desert.

another friend is getting married next october and shes already looking at a $10000 quote for the hall rental, food, desert and their clothing.
she still has to figure out flowers, center peices, music, minister/preist/whatever she decides to do (probably our friend as they plan on a handfasting style wedding). she says shes looking at about $15000 all said and done and that doesnt include the bridesmaid dresses (that will run about $300 a peice) because us bridesmaids are expected to buy those ourselves (ive already told her i flat out cant afford it...)

and then we take into account MY dream wedding...
id like it either in my back yard, or in a nice park.
preferably with either a pot luck type meal, and a nice home made cake, or a catered buffet style meal with a nice cake...
add to that someone to run the music (and my dad to play a couple of live sets) and im good to go.

i think my biggest cost would be a photographer. lol.

[JerZ]

Ha ha, about $750 and that included airfare for one and our hotel room.

We "ran away to Vegas," had twelve people follow us, and got dinner at a GREAT Brazilian restaurant. I bought my dress on ebay for $8. Yes. $8. It was gorgeous. It was short and white and the owner just wanted to let go of it.

We had a BLAST.

[Coolhand68]

Originally Posted by Whyfor

Well, mine was in the $4k-$5k range. This included everything...

Dress/Tux (es)
Dinner for roughly 80-85 people
Location, chairs, canopies, officiant, etc. (we were married at a state park)
String quartet for music
Full open bar
Flowers/bouquet
Any other minor stuff I might be forgetting


But anyway, this was in Wisconsin in 2004, for the sake of reference.

I was just about to ask if you got married in 1950 considering all you got for that price.

[imsh0t]

wow these are definitely some very fiscally responsible weddings, no need for any what a waste of money lectures yet llol

[Barefoot Potato]

Our wedding is around $7000 (it's not until April, but everything is paid for minus last minute expenses like alterations). We're having about 65 guests, with a full sit down dinner, and wine and beer. It's really not as expensive as you'd think, but I still have issues with the money, even though my parents are gracious enough to foot most of the bill.

We're using a banquet room at a nearby golf club, and getting married in our church's chapel, which is on the national historic registry, so you really can't do much in the way of decorations (nor would you want to). I have only my sister as my maid of honor, and fiance will have his brother as his best man (who's in the Army and comes complete with a very nice dress uniform). My sister bought a dress to wear to homecoming, and cleverly chose the exact same color as my blue shoes, so she can wear it again to the wedding. It's all about simple planning.

Photographer was definitely a big expense, but we found someone who fit our budget perfectly, but is actually quite talented. She's only doing three hours of photography at our wedding and reception, which takes a huge chunk out of the price.

Best advice for planning/saving? REALLY sit down with your fiance (and those with the checkbooks, if other than you), and figure out what you all want. Plan around it accordingly. Even my mom tries to add stuff that we don't want - we're simple and quirky people, and our wedding will reflect that.

To be fair though, we're five months away from the wedding, and I'm addressing the envelopes now, really wishing we'd just eloped!

[kronenborg]

i thought my wedding was absurdly expensive, but it was the wedding my wife wanted, and i was more than happy to oblige. it was in england, and with the current exchange rate it came to around $40,000. this included everything except honeymoon.

my wife's father died many years ago, and my family were in no position to pay this kind of money, so i funded the lion's share.

the venue was my wife's old school which used to be a castle, and was historically the home of henry VIII's first wife (catherine of aragon). it was a beautiful summer's day. my wife arrived by horse drawn carriage, and after wedding in a local church, we were both taken by carriage to the castle for the wedding reception with around 120 guests. guests had to pay for their own accomodation, but apart from that all food and alcohol was covered.

after the wedding breakfast, speeches and the subsequent dancing, around midnight my wife and i left the venue while fireworks were going off, to a small orchestra playing lakme's flower duet, while walking down a tunnel of guests holding sparklers which stretched all the way from the castle main entrance, down the magnificent staircase, and up to the waiting car, which took us to another equally magnificent place for our wedding night.

i arranged this for my wife, because it was what she wanted, but i have to say it really was the most spectacular wedding ive been too (but of course, im biased).

i just wanted to give the perspective from someone who might be regarded as having spent quite a lot on their wedding. certainly there is no need for the extravagence, but if you stretch to it, and its not at the expense of other more essential things, then it can make the occasion extra special! id certainly say its the best wedding ive ever been to (but then im rather biased!)

as a post-script, now with two daughters of my own, im rather apprehensive as to where the money will come from when the day comes that they turn to me and say "i want a wedding like you guys had!"