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Help Me Win A Wedding


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Ours was 14k, but that's because we splurgged on some things (expensive photographer, a very expensive bar bill), and had a very nice room for our reception. We also paid for the groomsmen's tuxes and the bridesmaids dresses.

 

That said, I've had requests to get married again because people said our wedding was so awesome. Most receptions fade out before the night ends - ours ended at midnight, and most of the people that came were still there, some of which continued to party with us after. :)

 

Spending a bunch of money on a church = waste. Money on flowers = waste (if you are getting a scenic place for the wedding/reception, you don't need flowers other than what the wedding party carries).

 

Spending a ton of money on thank you notes, invitations, programs = waste. I was able to buy kits for all of that and saved a fortune, and because I spent some time, I was able to make ones that were better looking than many "professional" invitations I have seen (having a laser printer helps, which aren't that expensive, but would have still looked good on an ink-jet).

 

Limo = waste. Horse and carriage stuff = waste. Expensive DJ = waste...price != quality when it comes to a DJ - you just need to shop around and talk to a bunch of them to make sure it isn't some kid with a laptop, and make sure they have an understanding of the music you want. Our DJ was awesome for a very reasonable price.

 

Professional center pieces = HUGE WASTE. We made our own that looked great at a great price (Garden Ridge is great for getting wedding stuff on the cheap). Probably spent 1/8th of what you would on pro-stuff.

 

Uber-expensive dress = waste. There are tons of nice dresses in the $300-700 market.

 

Expensive cake = waste. Get one that is big enough to feed everyone, and make sure it tastes good, because that makes a much bigger impact than how it looks (ours was small and simple 3-tier, but was REALLY tasty). I'm not saying provide some cake in a pan, but spending 1k on a cake is just plain stupid.

 

E-bay and other online places are great ways to pick up stuff that is nice but on the cheap, such as your guest book, box for cards, garter, wedding topper, cake serving silverware, etc.

 

Also, be smart about the food bill. For our situation, we found plated dinner was the cheaper way to go for our situation, but buffets are normally the cheaper route. If you are really cheap, go with a cash bar, but cash bar weddings normally = crappy weddings. No booze weddings always = crappy weddings.

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I can... I was there. :D

 

And.. I believe our Wedding was ~ $13k. That was Dress, Cake, Tux, Food, Band, Location...blah blah blah....

 

:thumbup:

 

Good Luck!

 

KillJoy

Ours was about 14K and both our parents helped a bit. We saved up for a year to pay for it.

 

Ours was 14k, but that's because we splurgged on some things (expensive photographer, a very expensive bar bill), and had a very nice room for our reception. We also paid for the groomsmen's tuxes and the bridesmaids dresses.

 

That said, I've had requests to get married again because people said our wedding was so awesome. Most receptions fade out before the night ends - ours ended at midnight, and most of the people that came were still there, some of which continued to party with us after. :)

 

Spending a bunch of money on a church = waste. Money on flowers = waste (if you are getting a scenic place for the wedding/reception, you don't need flowers other than what the wedding party carries).

 

Spending a ton of money on thank you notes, invitations, programs = waste. I was able to buy kits for all of that and saved a fortune, and because I spent some time, I was able to make ones that were better looking than many "professional" invitations I have seen (having a laser printer helps, which aren't that expensive, but would have still looked good on an ink-jet).

 

Limo = waste. Horse and carriage stuff = waste. Expensive DJ = waste...price != quality when it comes to a DJ - you just need to shop around and talk to a bunch of them to make sure it isn't some kid with a laptop, and make sure they have an understanding of the music you want. Our DJ was awesome for a very reasonable price.

 

Professional center pieces = HUGE WASTE. We made our own that looked great at a great price (Garden Ridge is great for getting wedding stuff on the cheap). Probably spent 1/8th of what you would on pro-stuff.

 

Uber-expensive dress = waste. There are tons of nice dresses in the $300-700 market.

 

Expensive cake = waste. Get one that is big enough to feed everyone, and make sure it tastes good, because that makes a much bigger impact than how it looks (ours was small and simple 3-tier, but was REALLY tasty). I'm not saying provide some cake in a pan, but spending 1k on a cake is just plain stupid.

 

E-bay and other online places are great ways to pick up stuff that is nice but on the cheap, such as your guest book, box for cards, garter, wedding topper, cake serving silverware, etc.

 

Also, be smart about the food bill. For our situation, we found plated dinner was the cheaper way to go for our situation, but buffets are normally the cheaper route. If you are really cheap, go with a cash bar, but cash bar weddings normally = crappy weddings. No booze weddings always = crappy weddings.

 

We basically had everything Joe is saying cost too much for the same price he spent.. so i dont agree with him.

 

However.. I was smart about what i spent, its easy to do. We made all of our center pieces and flowers, we didnt get a church. We found a all in one location, (cheerschalet.com) and got married on a sunday. No booze.. We didtn buy a guest book made for a wedding.. i shopped around for a beautiful Journal i liked and we used that. We also didnt do booze as we dont have alot of drinkers on either side of our family.

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/voted

 

I agree, everyone should do this and use the left over for the photographer since thats all you'll have after the day:-) Hehe I should raise my rates now.

 

Two weeks ago I photographed a very nice and cheap wedding in the Bahamas. They are going to have a reception at a relatives house once we get a little warmer weather for the people who didn't get to come to the wedding.

 

 

Ours was 14k, but that's because we splurgged on some things (expensive photographer, a very expensive bar bill), and had a very nice room for our reception. We also paid for the groomsmen's tuxes and the bridesmaids dresses.

 

That said, I've had requests to get married again because people said our wedding was so awesome. Most receptions fade out before the night ends - ours ended at midnight, and most of the people that came were still there, some of which continued to party with us after. :)

 

Spending a bunch of money on a church = waste. Money on flowers = waste (if you are getting a scenic place for the wedding/reception, you don't need flowers other than what the wedding party carries).

 

Spending a ton of money on thank you notes, invitations, programs = waste. I was able to buy kits for all of that and saved a fortune, and because I spent some time, I was able to make ones that were better looking than many "professional" invitations I have seen (having a laser printer helps, which aren't that expensive, but would have still looked good on an ink-jet).

 

Limo = waste. Horse and carriage stuff = waste. Expensive DJ = waste...price != quality when it comes to a DJ - you just need to shop around and talk to a bunch of them to make sure it isn't some kid with a laptop, and make sure they have an understanding of the music you want. Our DJ was awesome for a very reasonable price.

 

Professional center pieces = HUGE WASTE. We made our own that looked great at a great price (Garden Ridge is great for getting wedding stuff on the cheap). Probably spent 1/8th of what you would on pro-stuff.

 

Uber-expensive dress = waste. There are tons of nice dresses in the $300-700 market.

 

Expensive cake = waste. Get one that is big enough to feed everyone, and make sure it tastes good, because that makes a much bigger impact than how it looks (ours was small and simple 3-tier, but was REALLY tasty). I'm not saying provide some cake in a pan, but spending 1k on a cake is just plain stupid.

 

E-bay and other online places are great ways to pick up stuff that is nice but on the cheap, such as your guest book, box for cards, garter, wedding topper, cake serving silverware, etc.

 

Also, be smart about the food bill. For our situation, we found plated dinner was the cheaper way to go for our situation, but buffets are normally the cheaper route. If you are really cheap, go with a cash bar, but cash bar weddings normally = crappy weddings. No booze weddings always = crappy weddings.

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We basically had everything Joe is saying cost too much for the same price he spent.. so i dont agree with him.

 

However.. I was smart about what i spent, its easy to do. We made all of our center pieces and flowers, we didnt get a church. We found a all in one location, (cheerschalet.com) and got married on a sunday. No booze.. We didtn buy a guest book made for a wedding.. i shopped around for a beautiful Journal i liked and we used that. We also didnt do booze as we dont have alot of drinkers on either side of our family.

That means you spent too much money. Or had a shit ton of people, which IMO isn't necessary either.

 

We splurged on a number of things - our reception hall was expensive, but was super-nice too (far nicer than any other wedding I've been to...and I've been to/in a lot). We could have spent far less and had a wedding that was just as fun/memorable, but we wanted our reception to be fancier than guests would have expected (such as having wine service with our meal, went up a couple levels on our plated dinners, the reception hall, artsy photographer, etc.).

 

There are plenty of ways to save cash at a wedding.

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Guest tbutera2112
maybe im the odd-man out...but im sure theres a ton of couples on that site trying to win a free wedding...if the info page is correct, you proposed after 5 months...kinda makes me not want to vote for you...after 5 months the relationship isnt even hardly began yet, so to make a commitment like that and already actually start to plan the wedding, seems kinda foolish IMO...not trying to offend you or anything, but i would rather see a couple who has a proven relationship and thats been together for a few years win...the divorce rate is so high right now, and with such a fresh relationship, it almosts seems like it would be a waste if it didnt go to a couple who have better "odds" of staying together
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Ours was 14k, but that's because we splurgged on some things (expensive photographer, a very expensive bar bill), and had a very nice room for our reception. We also paid for the groomsmen's tuxes and the bridesmaids dresses.

 

That said, I've had requests to get married again because people said our wedding was so awesome. Most receptions fade out before the night ends - ours ended at midnight, and most of the people that came were still there, some of which continued to party with us after. :)

 

Spending a bunch of money on a church = waste. Money on flowers = waste (if you are getting a scenic place for the wedding/reception, you don't need flowers other than what the wedding party carries).

 

Spending a ton of money on thank you notes, invitations, programs = waste. I was able to buy kits for all of that and saved a fortune, and because I spent some time, I was able to make ones that were better looking than many "professional" invitations I have seen (having a laser printer helps, which aren't that expensive, but would have still looked good on an ink-jet).

 

Limo = waste. Horse and carriage stuff = waste. Expensive DJ = waste...price != quality when it comes to a DJ - you just need to shop around and talk to a bunch of them to make sure it isn't some kid with a laptop, and make sure they have an understanding of the music you want. Our DJ was awesome for a very reasonable price.

 

Professional center pieces = HUGE WASTE. We made our own that looked great at a great price (Garden Ridge is great for getting wedding stuff on the cheap). Probably spent 1/8th of what you would on pro-stuff.

 

Uber-expensive dress = waste. There are tons of nice dresses in the $300-700 market.

 

Expensive cake = waste. Get one that is big enough to feed everyone, and make sure it tastes good, because that makes a much bigger impact than how it looks (ours was small and simple 3-tier, but was REALLY tasty). I'm not saying provide some cake in a pan, but spending 1k on a cake is just plain stupid.

 

E-bay and other online places are great ways to pick up stuff that is nice but on the cheap, such as your guest book, box for cards, garter, wedding topper, cake serving silverware, etc.

 

Also, be smart about the food bill. For our situation, we found plated dinner was the cheaper way to go for our situation, but buffets are normally the cheaper route. If you are really cheap, go with a cash bar, but cash bar weddings normally = crappy weddings. No booze weddings always = crappy weddings.

 

I looked back at the prices I paid and it looks like I must have been in the $13-15k range (after taxes and tips). It's the nickel and dime things that get ya, like chair covers, ceremony music, invitations, favors, etc. Some of these things are usually things guys don't care too much about, but girls will usually want. In the end, I agree that it made the ambiance nicer it it was worth the small (in proportion) amount we spent on them. We had a harpist at the ceremony, added the chair covers, had the invitations done locally (only had to make 25), and put the favors together ourselves.

 

We actually made a lot of our own stuff in order to save money, but we got dinged 20-30% on flowers because we were married on Valentine's Day. Our photographer and DJ cost around the average and they were both awesome.

 

Good luck on winning the wedding.

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That means you spent too much money. Or had a shit ton of people, which IMO isn't necessary either.

 

We splurged on a number of things - our reception hall was expensive, but was super-nice too (far nicer than any other wedding I've been to...and I've been to/in a lot). We could have spent far less and had a wedding that was just as fun/memorable, but we wanted our reception to be fancier than guests would have expected (such as having wine service with our meal, went up a couple levels on our plated dinners, the reception hall, artsy photographer, etc.).

 

There are plenty of ways to save cash at a wedding.

 

How did i spend too much when i got more for my money than you did?

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maybe im the odd-man out...but im sure theres a ton of couples on that site trying to win a free wedding...if the info page is correct, you proposed after 5 months...kinda makes me not want to vote for you...after 5 months the relationship isnt even hardly began yet, so to make a commitment like that and already actually start to plan the wedding, seems kinda foolish IMO...not trying to offend you or anything, but i would rather see a couple who has a proven relationship and thats been together for a few years win...the divorce rate is so high right now, and with such a fresh relationship, it almosts seems like it would be a waste if it didnt go to a couple who have better "odds" of staying together

 

I agree no offense to anyone thats just what I believe. Either way Jason, I know you personally and voted for you. Good luck with everything better catch up !some couples are in the 400 votes.

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maybe im the odd-man out...but im sure theres a ton of couples on that site trying to win a free wedding...if the info page is correct, you proposed after 5 months...kinda makes me not want to vote for you...after 5 months the relationship isnt even hardly began yet, so to make a commitment like that and already actually start to plan the wedding, seems kinda foolish IMO...not trying to offend you or anything, but i would rather see a couple who has a proven relationship and thats been together for a few years win...the divorce rate is so high right now, and with such a fresh relationship, it almosts seems like it would be a waste if it didnt go to a couple who have better "odds" of staying together

 

First off you don't know me so to say that my odds are not as good as someone who has been together longer is pretty ignorant. Most of those couples too are already living together and have kids before even being married, what do that stats based on that typically say about divorce rate? It's about a good foundation which we have. We might not have been together that long but I can say we have what quite a bit of people don't experience. It's quality not quantity

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How did i spend too much when i got more for my money than you did?

No booze (which was one of our most expensive things). Married on a Sunday. Married in Lancaster (looks like a nice place from the pics, but I'm sure cost a lot less). No church/chapel. I'm betting you didn't buy the dresse and tuxes for everyone in your party. I'm betting your photographer was less expensive.

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First off you don't know me so to say that my odds are not as good as someone who has been together longer is pretty ignorant. Most of those couples too are already living together and have kids before even being married, what do that stats based on that typically say about divorce rate? It's about a good foundation which we have. We might not have been together that long but I can say we have what quite a bit of people don't experience. It's quality not quantity

 

Not necessarily true. I'm not going to talk about your relationship because that's not my place. I will say statistically speaking, the type of relationship you are in (duration) does not speak well for longevity. The same goes for the couples that are living together but not married, at least up to a point.

 

That being said, you don't have to be a statistic, as you well know. I wish you the best of luck.

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No booze (which was one of our most expensive things). Married on a Sunday. Married in Lancaster (looks like a nice place from the pics, but I'm sure cost a lot less). No church/chapel. I'm betting you didn't buy the dresse and tuxes for everyone in your party. I'm betting your photographer was less expensive.

 

You assume alot.. ;). No booze meant i could spend more money on photography, and locacation and my dress. We didnt rent a limo but we did rent a nice big lincoln town car for us to get around in. I did paynt pay for my partys dresses but i did pay for thier shoes, hair hotel while in town. Cheers was not cheep. But it was beautiful and had scenery so i didnt have to get fancy linens or seat covers or anything like that. We made our centerpeices from stuff from flower factory. We had 130 people easy, and that was just close friends, and aunts uncles grandparents on both sides( we are both blessed with huge familys)

My point is you have to know whats important and be logical about what you are spending and how.. Photography was so important to me that i spent the most on it.. Almost 1/4 of budget went to it alone. It was the first thing i searched for. http://Www.bankspix.com (which appears to be down, odd:confused:). I would hire thek again too they were worth it. But i skimped in other places i could care less about; like programs.. We bought some fancy craft paper from a paper store in short north and printed them at home. Cheap and pretty but i didnt care that i wasted 15 buck on paper i knew would be tbrown away. Its all about whats important and no one person say whats important to the next.

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Not necessarily true. I'm not going to talk about your relationship because that's not my place. I will say statistically speaking, the type of relationship you are in (duration) does not speak well for longevity. The same goes for the couples that are living together but not married, at least up to a point.

 

That being said, you don't have to be a statistic, as you well know. I wish you the best of luck.

I agee with Hal. Statistically it probably wont last forever. However realistically, I had a child with a women I new for a few weeks. 16 years and 3 kids later it couldnt have worked out any better. Good luck. Things that are meant to be find a way of working out.

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maybe im the odd-man out...but im sure theres a ton of couples on that site trying to win a free wedding...if the info page is correct, you proposed after 5 months...kinda makes me not want to vote for you...after 5 months the relationship isnt even hardly began yet, so to make a commitment like that and already actually start to plan the wedding, seems kinda foolish IMO...not trying to offend you or anything, but i would rather see a couple who has a proven relationship and thats been together for a few years win...the divorce rate is so high right now, and with such a fresh relationship, it almosts seems like it would be a waste if it didnt go to a couple who have better "odds" of staying together

 

Wow 5 months? I have been with my girl for 7..... you might want to think that out before you commit. Dont take advice from me though.

But i voted.

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The advice I have received was from couples that have been married 25+ years and never divorced. I will still be with my wife after 10 years and many more after that because I am committed and dedicated to have the best marriage I possibly can. Yes marriage takes a lot of work, you will only get what you put into it. That will never be an issue
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The advice I have received was from couples that have been married 25+ years and never divorced. I will still be with my wife after 10 years and many more after that because I am committed and dedicated to have the best marriage I possibly can. Yes marriage takes a lot of work, you will only get what you put into it. That will never be an issue

 

Make us proud!!!

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