Wish you didn't spend money on...

blondbelle15

I am currently 99 days out! eeeeeeeeekkkk! However, I had all these grand ideas when we first got engaged and while I am still within budget I am having trouble trying to decide of some of my little "extras" are worth time and money. For example I was going to get ribbon and tie pretty bows around all the napkins. Not much money and maybe not many people will remember BUT I do think it will look pretty. So I was curious - after the fact there was anything you wouldn't do again due to money or the time it took to put together?
Thanks Ladies!!

bellebride116

Honestly, no. I felt like all the little details help make everything come together. 

Carla1019

I'm not married yet, but as a guest to many weddings I can tell you what I think went unnoticed.

1. If you are getting married in a beautiful venue you don't need that many flowers. In my opinion less is more.

2. Expensive programs. I normally like a beautiful invitation because it sets the stage of what to expect but an expensive program is usually in the trash by the time I get home.

3. If you have to cut out the favors I don't think too many people will mind.

futurepivko

nope, i am happy with everything

kara811

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-recap-withdrawal_wish-didnt-spend-money?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:12Discussion:2a4e5d7b-1331-476e-b0c6-b62a57e90543Post:839be89f-e1b0-4163-be24-4e36e358040f">Re: Wish you didn't spend money on...</a>:
[QUOTE]nope, i am happy with everything
Posted by futurepivko[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>Ditto. I honestly wouldn't change one bit of my wedding. </div>

portialoveschris

Whatever you want or think is necessary won't be a regret.  The overall cost is often a regret, because everyone usually thinks 'My goodness! How could it add up to that? We could've bought a house/car/paid off bills."  But that's a common regret, that is fleeting because when you think of the day and the memories, it evens out.  

Flipside, I have had brides wish they HAD paid for something and didn't spend the money.  I've heard that more often than the other way around.

Hope this helps! :-)  Good luck and congratulations.

ShakeUpTampa

I'm not married yet but because its a BBQ them buffet we are doing nice embossed paper dinner napkins that I got dirt cheap in bulk and rolling them around the cutlery and tying with a ribbon, that way no one forgets to grab those at the buffet and they are already there and picture pretty for at least the before photos of the reception hall.

brianabrad

I'm 41 days out and so far I don't regret anything. We have managed to stay in budget for the most part and everything we are doing at this point is things we want to do. We have cut out favors simply because we didn't want to spend the extra money. We are going the extra mile though and doing OOT bags for our guest at the hotel and activity bags for the kids at the reception. I think both of these are nice touches the guest will enjoy more than some cheap favor or 1/4 of a cup of M&M's in a little box.

As on PP said if you think its necessary than you won't regret it. I fully believe this!

Jenni83

I do not have one regret,Every penny was so worth it....

Girlie1030

I'll go the other direction...I do wish I had bought paper lanterns for the patio area of our venue (where the cocktail hour was). 

Otherwise, I don't regret any of the things I purchased.

phunluvin82

I am 4 days out and I am noticing how much I don't really give a crap about the tiny details anymore.  When there was still months of planning time, there were a lot of little things that I would agonize over.  At this point though, I'm realizing that most people would never notice if a lot of these little things were missing and some may not have been worth the time/money.  Therefore, I've ended up scrapping some ideas as not being worth the hassle. 

We've chosen to spend money on the things that are really important to us and that we feel will enhance the experience for out guests.  For example, we are doing OOT gift bags, but are not doing wedding programs.  We are spending a small fortune on awesome live music for both the ceremony and reception, but are not spending a lot on extra decor (our venue really doesn't need it).  I think you have to decide what you personally feel is an important touch...but also know that, in the end, some things are probably not worth breaking the bank and/or making yourself project-crazy over.

Gr8fulbrat

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-recap-withdrawal_wish-didnt-spend-money?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:12Discussion:2a4e5d7b-1331-476e-b0c6-b62a57e90543Post:1339b3ed-b7cf-4246-bbea-f4801c8dc5dc">Re: Wish you didn't spend money on...</a>:
[QUOTE]I do not have one regret,Every penny was so worth it....
Posted by Jenni83[/QUOTE]

This!

kbates85

If anything, there are a couple things I wish I would have spent more money on (namely my dress and the photographer). I was eyeballing a designer dress that was about $1500 over my budget and I still think about that dress. I also was obsessed with this one photographer but again he was about 2 grand over budget. My pictures came out really good but I still think about how they would have looked with the more expensive photographer. The only thing that ended up being a waste of money getting my hair and makeup professionally done but I think that's just a fluke. I HATED my hair and makeup and would have done a better job myself. I don't think that's typical.

Lizdc

I didnt spend a ton as far as a wedding goes. Probally 8 k. But there is nothing I think I overspent on. Only thing I wonder about is if I shoud have gotten a different dress but I do that with ever big event.
Honestly I was thinking about how much I wish I was back on the beach were the wedding was today. I loved the whole day. So does the hubby he has said so a number of times. He even told me he wished it was his groundhog day. That was the best comment ever.

amys325

I have been trying to figure out if there was anything at my actual wedding (not including my AHRs) that I wish I didn't spend money on.  And honestly, I think everything I spent money on was totally worth it!

Closer to the date of the wedding, I started to knix some things that I was going to put in the welcome bag.  But since I never spent the money in the first place, it's not relavant.

And sometimes the little things get lost closer to the date because you are worrying about the bigger things.  If you think the ribbons will look cute, do them.  If it's something that's not important, don't. 

michelle7102

I only spent 7k on my wedding.  I am so glad I shopped around and got my dress on sale and found a reasonable photographer. Everyone had a blast and no one could not tell they were attending a budget wedding. 

NOLAbridealmost

I regret having programs because the band goofed and played two of the wrong songs which would have been no biggie, but because the songs were written on programs it made the mistake more obvious.  I regret not buying sparklers or rose petals or something for our grand exit. 

shytownkelly

The key is to figure out what is important to YOU and your FI while planning and budgeting.  For some it is having to die for flowers, others it is the killer cake. 

But if you stay true to yourself then what you decide to spend your money on will be totally worth it. 

I think the only time you'll hear folks say they wish they hadn't spent the money on something, is when it wasn't something they really wanted but felt pressured to have.