Wedding Recap and Withdrawal

for those who already tied the knot



Is there something you feel that you overpaid that  really wasn't worth it? Like spending 1,000 on just invitations? If you could go back what would you skip?

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Re: for those who already tied the knot

  • vsgalvsgal member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Everything that we paid for was worth it.  I say that because we, hubby and I, hemmed and hawed over every decision and did a lot of research to find the best deal that we could.  We did not spend money on "fluff" items.  No flowers, no favors, no large wedding party-we each had one member.  We made 99% of  everything that we used. 

    Our wedding was out of this world and almost a year later, people still talk about as the best one they had been to.

    That being said, there was no way we would spend $1000 on invitations.
    ROCK IS KING!!
  • Don't know if this will answer your question, but maybe it will help.  At first I decided to go online for my invitations because they were cheaper.  They were so hard to deal with, though, that I called a local stationer and found out they price - matched!  Worked out great to have someone local, especially when I wanted to add people at the last minute.  The customer service was incredible!  They even laser printed the addresses right on the envelope, stuffed and mailed them within 24 hours (I provided the stamps).  Hope that helps.
  • My biggest regret was out of our hands, We had 17 people not show up, and at $33.50 per head for a total of $570 out the window.
    But besides that we spent $600 on a cake we got to look at just a few times before cutting and barely got to eat. It was a beautiful cake, but if I could go back I would have gotten a cheaper cake and put that money towards inviting more people.

  • Honestly, I can say that everything we purchased was worth it, but we were also really strict about our budget and sticking with it. My advice is each of you pick one element, then pick a shared element that is important to you, then take a "whatever" approach to the rest. That's what we did and it came together beautifully.

    With that said, there were a few things we decided were definitely worth it: the photographer, the dinner entrees, and open bar all night.
    imageimage
  • Honestly i have no regrets,i dont think i over paid for anything,everything i purchased no matter how much it cost was b/c i wanted it,right now if i was handed  a million dollars and told to replan my dream wedding i wouldnt change a thing i would plan my exac wedding right down to every last detail.
  • edited June 2010
    ONE thing that wasn''t "worth it" after the fact to me: Our florist because she delivered a poor quality product. Looking back, I could've done what she did and it wouldn't have been browning and wilted... and would've been much cheaper. There is no way I could've known that would happen though, so no use in fretting over it.

    Two things that were TOTALLY worth it were the photographer and bar. Our pictures are amazing and our guests kept raving about how great the drinks were. We thought about a DIY bar option for a while but I am so glad we went with an alcohol caterer.

    Like a PP though, we didn't spend frivolously on things so every dollar was carefully thought out.

    PS We got our invitation suite custom designed on Etsy.com for just $40 and had them printed at a local printer. Postage included, the invites came out to just $1/piece and were completely customized and we got so many compliments on them!
  • the thing i regret was our programs. i got them printed at a copy shop down the block from my office. the printing of 200 programs on nice paper was $200. i asked if they could fold them and she said yes...not realizing that that was going to cost me another $200! i felt really dumb then. i would have totally folded programs for 2 hours to have my $200 back.

    other than that i woudl say we got good value for everything. other than the venue, which included catering and cake, the photographer was the most expensive part. totally worth it. everyone has been saying our photos are the best they have every seen, and it's not because my DH and i are such lookers.
  • Looking back, I would say the flowers.  We budgeted for $1,000 and paid a little over $800 so we were happy and the arrangements were beautiful.  However, if I lived closer to where I had my wedding, I would have tried a DIY and saved $$.
    Life's a beach!
  • We had no regrets - having a detailed budget, and sticking to the schedule made the trivial things fly right out the window! Only two peopled didn't show up, and we had a blast! 300+ guests!

    Like some of the previous posters stated, our guests after a year later still talk about our wedding as one of the best ones they went to :)

    "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." ~ Miss K ~
  • The expenses I hemmed and hawed over actually turned out to be totally worth it.  For instance, I couldn't decide whether I should pay my hair and makeup person to come to my hotel room for a touchup before the wedding, since we were doing all our portraits beforehand in 100 degree heat.  Well, THANK GOD I did because by the time our portraits were over I looked like a bedraggled wet dog, covered in sweat and with almost no makeup left on my face!  It cost a lot, but it was worth it to look nice at the ceremony.

    One expense I could have saved on was the invitation, although I loved what we got.  I wanted letterpress and our wedding was small enough (only 60 invitations) that it fit into the budget.  However, we had our programs printed by Papel Vivo, who has handmade paper and embossing.  They were SO much cheaper than the invitations, and they were so gorgeous that I sort of wish we had used that vendor for everything.

    The resort also nickel-and-dimed us by asking if we wanted things, not telling us how much it cost, and then charging an arm and a leg after the fact.  I wish we had asked!

    All of that said, we stayed in budget, so that is the most important thing.  The good thing about a destination wedding is that only our closest friends and family came, so we saved by keeping it small (I get overwhelmed by big crowds, so I wanted a small wedding from the start).
  • We did our flowers, cake, and ordered invites online. I was not impressed with the cost of wedding dresses. I had to work hard to bargain that down. Generally I was very happy with our decisions and refused to pay the over priced items, instead opting to do them ouselves or shopped around A LOT to find people with reasonable prices.
  • What I regret  ( a little) is the money and time I spent on welcome bags for those who stayed in the hotel....It was really not necessary...and I wish I ahd the time and stress back from this...and the money as well.

    We did provide shuttles and breakfast and could have typed this up on a sheet and provided a water bottle with it...that's all I needed to do...didn't need a bag of snacks that nobody is really going to eat anywya...and even if they did eat them, I am sure they coudl have done without it!

  • Kitcat106Kitcat106 member
    First Comment
    edited July 2010
    The 3 things I regret:

    1. Having the bridal shop where I bought my gown do the alterations. They charged me almost $500(!!!) for the alterations, which was about $200 more than they quoted me when I bought the gown. I should have taken it elsewhere for alterations.

    2. Favors--the biggest waste of my time and $. So many people didn't take them home, so we had a lot of leftovers.

    3. Using crappy disposable wedding cameras for the reception tables. Hardly any of the pictures turned out. The lighting in the reception venue was dim, and it really affected the quality of the pictures. I bought my cameras from AC Moore. I suggest getting better quality cameras, or not doing this at all. Waste of $.
  • We didn't do a budget at all.  We promised not to overspend on anything and research everything but how at the beginning of planning can you plan on spending x% on flowers when you might have a different vision than everybody else.   I know it might not work for everybody but it worked great for us.

    To answer the question - the only thing I regret are the things I bought early in the process and then changed my mind on as we got closer.  I have stuff sitting in the basement brand new.
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