Wedding Update for May
Posted by Christine Talley at 5/23/2011 3:32 PM 
Categories: All Things Food, How To - For Less, Wedding
Categories: All Things Food, How To - For Less, Wedding
VENUE
After lengthy discussions, we are officially having our wedding at his parents' home at the end of August. His aunt offered to host our wedding and pay for the tent, tables & chairs, but she had some non-negotiable ideas that we could neither accept nor afford: ice sculpture, fancy DJ/lighting/dance floor package, etc.
His parents' home has advantages and disadvantages.
PROS:
I've asked one minister and have picked out a second choice, too. I hear this should run us around $300. P.S. Do I really have to give the officiant a thank-you gift? Isn't that what the payment is for?
INVITATIONS
Called a girlfriend who designs paper products and got the ball rolling on invitations and announcements. Waiting for estimates from her. We'll have around 60 invitations and 40 announcements, which I'm hoping won't be more than $300 including postage. Prices for these types of items run a wide range, so my estimate is really a shot in the dark.
DRESS
Using a dress I already have and LOVE. Hooray!
FLOWERS
Nope.
CENTERPIECES
Mother in law is strong-arming me into doing centerpieces. I'm hoping to get them for $400.
FAVORS
No. His mom really wants them, but I'm putting my foot down.
BRIDESMAIDS, GROOMSMEN, FLOWER GIRL, RING BEARER
Nope.
MAKEUP/HAIR
I have an acquaintance who is a professional makeup artist, and plan to use my own hairstylist. I know my hair won't run more than $150, and if the makeup runs more than that, I'll just do it myself.
PHOTOGRAPHER
My boyfriend has a friend and also a cousin who take pics, so he's running down those leads first. Meanwhile, I found a great photog who has a basic wedding package at $2,500. However, we'd only use less than half of what's listed in that package, so I'm hoping we could get him down to $750. That's certainly the maximum we could afford.
BRIDAL SHOWER
His mother is all over it.
ALCOHOL
We're doing beer and wine. His mother is looking into Costco and Binny's. The calculators tell me this will run around $700.
WEDDING REGISTRY
After initially being a curmudgeon about this, the boyfriend and I got into the swing of things, and picked out a lot of items. The trick for both of us was not to consider what we need RIGHT NOW (which is very little), but what we will need when we're regularly cooking for kids, and what we might need to host his extended family at holiday dinners.
I read that you're supposed to have twice the amount of gifts as guests at the wedding. Assuming we have 115 folks attending, that would be 230 gifts. Frankly, we had a hard time getting to 119 items, and I think we're going to stop there. We registered at Williams-Sonoma, Amazon, and Pottery Barn and Target through The Wedding Channel.
What do you think? Are my dollar estimates way off? How did things work at your wedding?
After lengthy discussions, we are officially having our wedding at his parents' home at the end of August. His aunt offered to host our wedding and pay for the tent, tables & chairs, but she had some non-negotiable ideas that we could neither accept nor afford: ice sculpture, fancy DJ/lighting/dance floor package, etc.
His parents' home has advantages and disadvantages.
PROS:
- Free.
- Withing reasonable cab distance from O'Hare, so we don't have to worry about the out-of-town guests. (Saving around $300 in van rentals.)
- They already own a tent.
- Smaller.
- Parking is cramped, so we will rent a nearby parking lot provided it's no more than $300.
- We now have to rent tables & chairs. ($400 methinks)
I've asked one minister and have picked out a second choice, too. I hear this should run us around $300. P.S. Do I really have to give the officiant a thank-you gift? Isn't that what the payment is for?
INVITATIONS
Called a girlfriend who designs paper products and got the ball rolling on invitations and announcements. Waiting for estimates from her. We'll have around 60 invitations and 40 announcements, which I'm hoping won't be more than $300 including postage. Prices for these types of items run a wide range, so my estimate is really a shot in the dark.
DRESS
Using a dress I already have and LOVE. Hooray!
FLOWERS
Nope.
CENTERPIECES
Mother in law is strong-arming me into doing centerpieces. I'm hoping to get them for $400.
FAVORS
No. His mom really wants them, but I'm putting my foot down.
BRIDESMAIDS, GROOMSMEN, FLOWER GIRL, RING BEARER
Nope.
MAKEUP/HAIR
I have an acquaintance who is a professional makeup artist, and plan to use my own hairstylist. I know my hair won't run more than $150, and if the makeup runs more than that, I'll just do it myself.
PHOTOGRAPHER
My boyfriend has a friend and also a cousin who take pics, so he's running down those leads first. Meanwhile, I found a great photog who has a basic wedding package at $2,500. However, we'd only use less than half of what's listed in that package, so I'm hoping we could get him down to $750. That's certainly the maximum we could afford.
BRIDAL SHOWER
His mother is all over it.
ALCOHOL
We're doing beer and wine. His mother is looking into Costco and Binny's. The calculators tell me this will run around $700.
WEDDING REGISTRY
After initially being a curmudgeon about this, the boyfriend and I got into the swing of things, and picked out a lot of items. The trick for both of us was not to consider what we need RIGHT NOW (which is very little), but what we will need when we're regularly cooking for kids, and what we might need to host his extended family at holiday dinners.
I read that you're supposed to have twice the amount of gifts as guests at the wedding. Assuming we have 115 folks attending, that would be 230 gifts. Frankly, we had a hard time getting to 119 items, and I think we're going to stop there. We registered at Williams-Sonoma, Amazon, and Pottery Barn and Target through The Wedding Channel.
What do you think? Are my dollar estimates way off? How did things work at your wedding?
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