Holy Shiznit...

calindi

I was just updating my budget to reflect the actual invoice for my dress and veil, and the caterer, florist, and videographer costs since I booked all of those this week officially...

And I realized that 75% of my budget is now contractually gone (we haven't paid it all yet, but we have signed contracts which require that portion of the money when you combine them all).  In reality, only about 12% has actually been spent out of pocket. I'm not scared because we're still on track to come in under or just around budget, but that's really overwhelming to realize that we've already committed so much money!!! 

Anyone who has gone through this felt like that before?  Like, "Wow, that's a lot of money and I won't have anything to show for it for many months still!"  I'm paying for all these services that I won't even get to enjoy until next year!  It feels like an awful lot of money to just sign away with nothing tangibly given in return.  It's not like I'm buying a car and can drive it off the lot - instant gratification. 

Ember01

YES! This is exactly how I feel! I sometimes think, really? We're spending how much for one evening of dinner and dancing for 300?

Also, since I have had one failed engagement in my past, I constantly look at it as, if something were to happen, and we broke off the engagement tomorrow, how much money would we lose in our deposits? FI is constantly reassuring me that he has no intention of breaking off the engagement, but once you have one broken engagement, it alwys seems to be in the back of the mind that it could happen again. 

calindi

Haha, yeah I just said to FI, "It's just scary to think we've committed all that money!  What if something happened and we didn't get married?"  And he said, "You know I'm marrying you.  Of course we're getting married!"  And I said, "Well, even if you change your mind, at this point I'll have to make you!"  Tee hee... only half kidding!

Ember01

Lol... Yeah, my mom half jokingly told my FI a few weeks ago that she ordered her MOB dress, so he couldn't turn back now.

And trust me, it SUCKS to call off a wedding. Some vendors are super nice (especially since you are calling off a wedding, not just trying to go with some other vendor), and others were awful! I had one vendor tell me I still had to pay the entire contracted amount. My dad told this guy (it was our DJ), that it was fine, he'd pay the entire amount, but that the guy would be dejaying in my parents garage. And he better have all the songs my dad requested. And no one would be there, except him and my dad. Then he said to the guy, or you can take our deposit, book another wedding, and actually come out ahead. And you know, if he would have been nice about it, I would have recommended him to other friends...

Anyways... It's so funny you asked about my bridesmaid dresses! I have gotten so many PMs about them! Everyone seems to love them. They are Mori Lee #266. My girls paid $150 per dress (a little more for plus sizes). I have found them for as cheap as $119 online, but I didn't want to risk ordering them online and neither did my BMs. It was the one dress everyone could agree on and actually liked.

calindi

Ember, I kind of have a crush on your Dad now.  That's freaking hilarious!

Ember01

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_holy-shiznit?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:8ab135b2-919c-4c4d-8fb4-bf8bb17f1f01Post:2d991ea8-8c6e-49b8-b292-3837f6555669">Re: Holy Shiznit...</a>:
[QUOTE]Ember, I kind of have a crush on your Dad now.  That's freaking hilarious!
Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]

Lol... I know, right? He said he would just sit in the garage, smoke a cigar, and stare at the DJ all night. And, my dad was a dj, so he knows thousands of unknown songs that the DJ would have NEVER had.

Ember01

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_holy-shiznit?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:8ab135b2-919c-4c4d-8fb4-bf8bb17f1f01Post:42956782-06c5-4628-8209-ee8c9365dd85">Re: Holy Shiznit...</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks, Ember! I just emailed them to my friend...I think she's going to love them! They look like they'd be really flattering on a lot of body types.
Posted by LivLeighton[/QUOTE]

That is what we thought also. I have BMs in every size from a 0 to a 28. And this dress flatters everyone. It has a nice full skirt, so we don't have to worry about hips and butts. And it comes up high enough that it covers anyone who has a tummy problem.

The only problem with the dress is that it has a plunging neckline. It looks extremely low on the picture, but my BMs didn't look that low. Just in case, we are going to build a little bit more into the v-neck (with the fabric cut off from the bottom). So, it'll still be a v-neck, but a more modest v-neck. The store wanted to just slap in a panel, but I thought it lost the effect of the v-neck. That was when I asked if they could build on to it. And, it has some pleats in the bust, so you won't even be able to tell that it has been altered!

Ember01

That is awesome! I'm so glad I could help! And they come in such a large selection of colors. My BMs told me absolutely NO taffeta... LOL! And then they picked out taffeta dresses themselves. I think they imagined the 1980's horrible prom dress look of taffeta.

becunning2

I LOVE the story about your dad and the DJ. That's hilarious. 

Hazel_B

Cate, to be honest, that is me everytime I look at the wedding budget. Which reminds me, I should stop ignoring making wedding decisions.

MLekathLEEN

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_holy-shiznit?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:8ab135b2-919c-4c4d-8fb4-bf8bb17f1f01Post:30cabf45-bb76-4c6b-8eba-faee8da41ca9">Re: Holy Shiznit...</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Holy Shiznit... : Lol... I know, right? He said he would just sit in the garage, smoke a cigar, and stare at the DJ all night. And, my dad was a dj, so he knows thousands of unknown songs that the DJ would have NEVER had.
Posted by Ember01[/QUOTE]

You're dad sounds just like FFIL. He has turned their garage into a convertible cigar club. He has a lift for his car so since FI sold his Mustang, the porch chairs and table sit under the lift and FMIL can still park in the garage when the "club" is closed. He put an exhaust fan in and a heater so they can smoke out there ALL YEAR and not get cigar smoke all over the house.

PaigeMcC

Sometimes I wonder where all the money went....and how it went so quickly but it's a passing thing.   The first shock of "ZOMG HOW MUCH?!" Is sometimes hard though! LOL

calindi

I think I've come to grips with the total amount, and my parents seem very happy to spend it - they keep offering more, but I know that I don't need it.  What's really shocking to me is that it's June 10th, and my wedding isn't for another 1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks, and 1 day (according to my ticker) and yet I have 75% of my budget spent already!