Wedding Update for August
VENUE
FREE. His parents' backyard.
TABLES & CHAIRS
His mother made the reservation, and put down a deposit. I have no idea what she agreed to pay, but I estimated $600. Hope I was right.
TENT
FREE. His parents own a tent, and a friend is also letting us borrow one.
PARKING
FREE. Street parking. The lot we wanted was unavailable.
OFFICIANT
The minister never got back to me. My boyfriend's cousin volunteered to become ordained and do the ceremony for free. We agreed, but are giving him a $300 Visa gift card as a thank-you. We were willing to pay that to a stranger, after all, and you don't screw family.
Using my Schwab Visa, I got $6 off the gift card which also happened to be the amount of the activation fee.
LICENSE
Picked it up in a jiff. $60.
INVITATIONS AND ANNOUCEMENTS
Custom made! Ended up costing $670 (including postage) when HE needed more for his friends. Originally budgeted at $300, but these were really important to me, so I decided it was worth it to spend more.
DRESS
FREE. Using a dress I already own!
FLOWERS
None.
CENTERPIECES
Floating candles in mason jars. Originally budgeted the centerpieces for $200, but the total came to $138.
FAVORS
None.
CATERING
We're using a family friend's restaurant. It costs $8/person. We had $1,080 budgeted, but more people accepted our invitations than we originally thought! Looks like the total will be closer to $1,300.
CAKE
Sheet cake from Costco. Two kinds! Can't imagine it will be more than $200, probably less. Again, although we're paying for it, his mother is making all the arrangements, and hasn't told me what she's spent.
WEDDING PARTY
None.
MAKEUP/HAIR
The hair trial at Carissima of Italy was $70, and I tipped her 20%, so the total should be $168. I'd estimated $200. I'm doing my own makeup.
RINGS
FREE.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Our maximum was $750. The professional photographer wanted $1,200 for the lowest package, and that was WITH a $200 discount because my boyfriend does business with him. He was willing to take $750 up front, and the rest when we'd saved up. Uh, no thanks.
We went with my boyfriend's cousin, a former professional photographer with 10 years experience. She's charging us $500 for the labor and a CD or jump drive with the pics, and she's throwing in one blown-up print.
BRIDAL SHOWER
Organized and paid for by my very generous mother-in-law. We received around $2,700 in cash and merchandise! That's HUGE! Way more than we expected! People are truly great.
ALCOHOL
My father-in-law bought wine and cases of beer from Costco. I have $1,000 budgeted, but am hoping it will end up at $700-ish.
MISCELLANY
We expect $320 in ice, tablecloths, plastic cups, etc.
CONTINGENCY
10% or $500. Just in case I've forgotten something. Just in case there's a delivery fee I didn't notice. Just in case my mother-in-law agreed to a higher price on the chairs & tables than I budgeted.
TOTAL: $5,800. So far. The food and alcohol are still big unknowns, and could kill our expectations. Then again, I read that the average wedding in America costs an obscene $27,000! Are people really paying that much for a wedding?
FREE. His parents' backyard.
TABLES & CHAIRS
His mother made the reservation, and put down a deposit. I have no idea what she agreed to pay, but I estimated $600. Hope I was right.
TENT
FREE. His parents own a tent, and a friend is also letting us borrow one.
PARKING
FREE. Street parking. The lot we wanted was unavailable.
OFFICIANT
The minister never got back to me. My boyfriend's cousin volunteered to become ordained and do the ceremony for free. We agreed, but are giving him a $300 Visa gift card as a thank-you. We were willing to pay that to a stranger, after all, and you don't screw family.
Using my Schwab Visa, I got $6 off the gift card which also happened to be the amount of the activation fee.
LICENSE
Picked it up in a jiff. $60.
INVITATIONS AND ANNOUCEMENTS
Custom made! Ended up costing $670 (including postage) when HE needed more for his friends. Originally budgeted at $300, but these were really important to me, so I decided it was worth it to spend more.
DRESS
FREE. Using a dress I already own!
FLOWERS
None.
CENTERPIECES
Floating candles in mason jars. Originally budgeted the centerpieces for $200, but the total came to $138.
FAVORS
None.
CATERING
We're using a family friend's restaurant. It costs $8/person. We had $1,080 budgeted, but more people accepted our invitations than we originally thought! Looks like the total will be closer to $1,300.
CAKE
Sheet cake from Costco. Two kinds! Can't imagine it will be more than $200, probably less. Again, although we're paying for it, his mother is making all the arrangements, and hasn't told me what she's spent.
WEDDING PARTY
None.
MAKEUP/HAIR
The hair trial at Carissima of Italy was $70, and I tipped her 20%, so the total should be $168. I'd estimated $200. I'm doing my own makeup.
RINGS
FREE.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Our maximum was $750. The professional photographer wanted $1,200 for the lowest package, and that was WITH a $200 discount because my boyfriend does business with him. He was willing to take $750 up front, and the rest when we'd saved up. Uh, no thanks.
We went with my boyfriend's cousin, a former professional photographer with 10 years experience. She's charging us $500 for the labor and a CD or jump drive with the pics, and she's throwing in one blown-up print.
BRIDAL SHOWER
Organized and paid for by my very generous mother-in-law. We received around $2,700 in cash and merchandise! That's HUGE! Way more than we expected! People are truly great.
ALCOHOL
My father-in-law bought wine and cases of beer from Costco. I have $1,000 budgeted, but am hoping it will end up at $700-ish.
MISCELLANY
We expect $320 in ice, tablecloths, plastic cups, etc.
CONTINGENCY
10% or $500. Just in case I've forgotten something. Just in case there's a delivery fee I didn't notice. Just in case my mother-in-law agreed to a higher price on the chairs & tables than I budgeted.
TOTAL: $5,800. So far. The food and alcohol are still big unknowns, and could kill our expectations. Then again, I read that the average wedding in America costs an obscene $27,000! Are people really paying that much for a wedding?
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