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We were married in 2010 and paid... $800 for the wedding/photos/pastor. I wouldn't change a thing! It was in gatlinburg on top of a mountain, beautiful scenery and peaceful. Just us and closest family. We loved it plus the pictures were just gorgeous. My parents paid for our cake and my dress as a wedding present. Dress was around $300 and cake $100-200 range. Looking back.. I would of gone with cheaper options. Honestly a home made cake would of been fine and I could of found a better priced dress. His tux rental was $50. Invitations we did ourself maybe $10 and misc items were probably $50(some decor, wedding album, ect). Our reception was back home 2 weeks later and it was at a preserve/park shelter. Also very peaceful setting and a great time. We just kept it very casual, cookout, cake, opened gifts. Nieces and nephews played games and we all just spent time together. It maybe cost $75 total for food and decor.
So total cost for wedding and reception plus misc around $1100, our rings were $800 so the grand total $1900.
I really loved our wedding and reception, could of done things a little cheaper but I'm so glad we didn't go overboard like many do. It was inexpensive, beautiful and fun! There was little to no stress. It didn't hurt us in any way financially. We had been planning a year for it and knew what we could afford - no debt incurred.
$1000.00 in 2006, gasoline, hotel for 2 couples, marriage license in Tennessee, Donation to the Little Log Wedding Chapel in Gatlinburg, TN, dinner for 4 after the ceremoney, rings for both of us.
Well, we had a big party at the yacht club for our wedding and we sailed off into the sunset on a sailboat instead of going by car and I think we got about $800 more in cash gifts than we spent on it. But, we then used that for airfare for the honeymoon where we bopped around his childhood towns for six weeks visiting friends so that didn't cost anything other than the airfare to get there, either.
A friend gave us the use of the yacht club for a present. Some friends mailed us a huge frozen salmon from Alaska to cook on the barbeque there. We appointed friends and relatives as chefs and added in other things for the BBQ. We didn't have to decorate since it was already decorated as a yacht club. This is Hawaii so nobody dresses up. A white holomu for a wedding dress with some matching kick out panels to go with his blue Aloha shirt. The rings were inherited, the boat we sailed away on was one we already had. He swapped a set of tires for a wedding cake. The musicians were friends. All the folks there gave us cash presents instead of things like toasters and such, which I was kinda bummed about because I like opening presents. When it's an envelope, it's hard to be surprised. So, we ended up making more money than we spent and everyone had fun time, too.
When I got married in 1986 our parents gave us the option of a big wedding or money gift. We chose the money gift. We headed to Cape Cod and got married by a JP and spent the week there in a hotel and the cost including rings was about $1,000. Banked the money gift, and three years later bought a piece of land, and a year after that built a house.
My husband passed away 15 years ago, and I am still in the house we built together which we managed to pay off 8 years after it was built. Had we chose the option of the large wedding we would not have been able to buy land in our development because it was just about built out when we purchased.
Maybe if my husband and I were younger when married we possibly would have chose the big wedding, but at ages 29 & 34 owning our own home after years of renting was the better option for us. Despite not having a big wedding, I still have wonderful memories of the small one we had which was followed by 15 years worth of memories of a very happy marriage.
It's much easier to have more in savings when you've been in the working world for 15-20 years, though, than when you're just starting out. Didn't need a "nest egg" for a house, as we already had one, had established longtime careers, investments, retirement accounts, etc.
I had just bought my second house when I was 23. Also had retirement accounts established.
We paid cash for everything, didn't charge anything. Much easier to do as two financially established adults who held off on marriage.More in savings.
We paid or everything ourselves and also paid all cash. We had a formal wedding and reception. About 150 people. With wedding, rings and honeymoon it was about $25K and that was 15 years ago. As I look back, it was a ton of fun and I enjoyed every minute. BUT if I had to do over again I would have made it a lot smaller and way more inexpensive! Could have used that money in other ways.
We were married in 2010 and paid... $800 for the wedding/photos/pastor. I wouldn't change a thing! It was in gatlinburg on top of a mountain, beautiful scenery and peaceful. Just us and closest family. We loved it plus the pictures were just gorgeous. My parents paid for our cake and my dress as a wedding present. Dress was around $300 and cake $100-200 range. Looking back.. I would of gone with cheaper options. Honestly a home made cake would of been fine and I could of found a better priced dress. His tux rental was $50. Invitations we did ourself maybe $10 and misc items were probably $50(some decor, wedding album, ect). Our reception was back home 2 weeks later and it was at a preserve/park shelter. Also very peaceful setting and a great time. We just kept it very casual, cookout, cake, opened gifts. Nieces and nephews played games and we all just spent time together. It maybe cost $75 total for food and decor.
So total cost for wedding and reception plus misc around $1100, our rings were $800 so the grand total $1900.
I really loved our wedding and reception, could of done things a little cheaper but I'm so glad we didn't go overboard like many do. It was inexpensive, beautiful and fun! There was little to no stress. It didn't hurt us in any way financially. We had been planning a year for it and knew what we could afford - no debt incurred.
This was the biggest thing for me: no stress.
I can't tell you how many people I've known who barely remember their wedding days because they were so stressed about things unfolding just so, how much $$$ was being spent, and the, "for that much money being spent, it had better go just so" mentality. Our wedding day, and, really, the week leading up to it, as family was arriving in town from all over the world, was seriously such a relaxed, low-key blast that I could really enjoy. We didn't go out on a limb and overextend ourselves financially, incurred no debt, it was all just great. We had exactly what we wanted, a great time surrounded by a couple hundred people we know and love. And it was a great party.
We paid or everything ourselves and also paid all cash. We had a formal wedding and reception. About 150 people. With wedding, rings and honeymoon it was about $25K and that was 15 years ago. As I look back, it was a ton of fun and I enjoyed every minute. BUT if I had to do over again I would have made it a lot smaller and way more inexpensive! Could have used that money in other ways.
Ours was for 200 (160 of whom actually showed up), but we had so many freebies that it was sooooo comparatively inexpensive. I wouldn't have wanted it any smaller, though. We had exactly who we wanted there.
Our wedding was 18 people. Cost was $3500 not including rings. We pulled it off 3 weeks after the engagement. Neither one of us wanted a big wedding, and we bought a house last year so we were having fun renovating it and spending money there. The major costs really was the dinner for 18 people. We did it at an antique mansion this fall with foliage in full bloom. Got lucky that it was also 70 degrees that day. Paid for it ourselves as well.
I went with a Tungsten band. $99 and ordered it online. I liked the style, and it's stood up to my abuse which is working with my hands daily. Still looks new and no scratches. The only precious metal I like is silver, and a silver ring would get destroyed. Platnium/gold does nothing for me, so I went with the cheapo tunsgen and love it. I'm probably gonna lose it anyway as I take the ring off when doing some heavy labor, so I'd rather lose a $99 ring vs a $1000 platinum ring.
Now, not gonna lie...I splurged on her rings. I know diamonds are a ripoff, but I love seeing that rock on her finger.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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good to see so many 'ole-timers'
Lots of water under the bridge in last 37 yrs... still hitched, but annual 'renewal' is coming up
~$500, 1/2 went to the church as a contribution / service fee.
350 people
made the cake, and dresses, no tuxes, performed our own music (formed a group that is still performing)
Potluck lunch and a grand / fun reception for those who had traveled so far.
1 month (inexpensive) honeymoon, ruined us for the rest of our life ('wander-lust' is rough to overcome)
next time... JP & long weekend would suffice, THEN work (double income) for 10 yrs, THEN retire early together... FOREVER!
NEXT time...
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, but annual 'renewal' is coming up
)
('wander-lust' is rough to overcome)
