Final Wedding Update
We're married! Everything went according to plan, and we had a good time. Here are the financial details:
VENUE
FREE. His parents' backyard.
TENT, TABLES & CHAIRS
I was told his parents had one, and a friend was letting us borrow one. NOT TRUE. Three were rented from a family friend as a package deal that included 19 tables and a multitude of chairs, all for $1,500. My father-in-law and his friends constructed the entire site. A few tables were also borrowed from neighbors.
PARKING
FREE. Street parking. The lot we wanted was unavailable.
OFFICIANT
My boyfriend's cousin became ordained and performed the ceremony for free. We gave him a $300 Visa gift card as a thank-you.
Using my Schwab Visa, I got $6 off the gift card which also happened to be the amount of the activation fee.
LICENSE
$60.
INVITATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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. Wore 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 used a family friend's restaurant. The quote was $8/person. We had $1,080 budgeted, but more people accepted our invitations than we originally anticipated. The total was $1,500. We put in an order for 140 people, the restaurant gave us enough for 160, and we still had to place an emergency order for more! People LOVED the food, some freely admitted they ate two or more times, and the servings were NOT small. If you plan to have a buffet, be prepared for people to over-serve themselves.
CAKE
Sheet cakes from Costco. Two kinds! His mother didn't tell me what she spent, but I imagine it was $200.
WEDDING PARTY
None.
MAKEUP/HAIR
The hair trial was $70 and so was my day-of appointment at Carissima of Italy. I tipped 20%, so the total was $168. I'd estimated $200. I did 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 charged us $500 for the labor and a CD or jump drive with the pics, and she's throwing in one enlarged 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. The total was $800, and there was plenty.
MISCELLANY
We spent $320 in ice, extra cups, etc.
CONTINGENCY
Gave us a margin of 10% ($500).
TOTAL SPENT: $5,486! Our original budget was $5,500, but, as the numbers came in, we'd prepared to spend up to $5,800.
We left with around $12,000 in cash from the wedding, and another $2,700 in merchandise from the shower. People were WAY more generous than we expected. Honestly, we thought we'd be lucky to break even! We spent around $1,500 ourselves, and expected to fully reimburse Hubs' parents for the rest. However, they only allowed us to reimburse them $2,500. So, we spent a total of $4,000, Hub's parents picked up the remaining $1,486, and, don't forget, they paid for the bridal shower as well.
With the $12,000, we plan to reimburse ourselves for the wedding expenses ($4,000), get some of the items left on our registry ($2,000), and take a small profit ($3,000 ea).
VENUE
FREE. His parents' backyard.
TENT, TABLES & CHAIRS
I was told his parents had one, and a friend was letting us borrow one. NOT TRUE. Three were rented from a family friend as a package deal that included 19 tables and a multitude of chairs, all for $1,500. My father-in-law and his friends constructed the entire site. A few tables were also borrowed from neighbors.
PARKING
FREE. Street parking. The lot we wanted was unavailable.
OFFICIANT
My boyfriend's cousin became ordained and performed the ceremony for free. We gave him a $300 Visa gift card as a thank-you.
Using my Schwab Visa, I got $6 off the gift card which also happened to be the amount of the activation fee.
LICENSE
$60.
INVITATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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. Wore 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 used a family friend's restaurant. The quote was $8/person. We had $1,080 budgeted, but more people accepted our invitations than we originally anticipated. The total was $1,500. We put in an order for 140 people, the restaurant gave us enough for 160, and we still had to place an emergency order for more! People LOVED the food, some freely admitted they ate two or more times, and the servings were NOT small. If you plan to have a buffet, be prepared for people to over-serve themselves.
CAKE
Sheet cakes from Costco. Two kinds! His mother didn't tell me what she spent, but I imagine it was $200.
WEDDING PARTY
None.
MAKEUP/HAIR
The hair trial was $70 and so was my day-of appointment at Carissima of Italy. I tipped 20%, so the total was $168. I'd estimated $200. I did 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 charged us $500 for the labor and a CD or jump drive with the pics, and she's throwing in one enlarged 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. The total was $800, and there was plenty.
MISCELLANY
We spent $320 in ice, extra cups, etc.
CONTINGENCY
Gave us a margin of 10% ($500).
TOTAL SPENT: $5,486! Our original budget was $5,500, but, as the numbers came in, we'd prepared to spend up to $5,800.
We left with around $12,000 in cash from the wedding, and another $2,700 in merchandise from the shower. People were WAY more generous than we expected. Honestly, we thought we'd be lucky to break even! We spent around $1,500 ourselves, and expected to fully reimburse Hubs' parents for the rest. However, they only allowed us to reimburse them $2,500. So, we spent a total of $4,000, Hub's parents picked up the remaining $1,486, and, don't forget, they paid for the bridal shower as well.
With the $12,000, we plan to reimburse ourselves for the wedding expenses ($4,000), get some of the items left on our registry ($2,000), and take a small profit ($3,000 ea).
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