Budget's Got Me Down :-(

jriverton

I'm curious what married knotties set their budget at and how much they went over or under if at all? (If you don't want to share the exact budget amount, just the amount over, under or match is fine) And if you went over or under, what was the item or cost that put you there?

I had a budget in mind ($20,000), but as I am from NC and planning my wedding in MD (the DMV area is the FI and I live -- sort of a midway location between his family and mine) I am finding it more and more difficult to find reasonable prices for anything here. It's like vendors hear the word "wedding" and prices skyrocket by 100%. 

Any venue (ceremony&reception combo places) , caterer, or DJ suggestions would be greatly appreciated but please don't suggest them if you don't know what they normally charge. I am not shy about discussing money (even though it is a socially "taboo" subject) and really just need to be aggressive about finding the best deals out there. I don't want our wedding to leave us in a financial hole. 

Thanks in advance!

jerseychic24

for suggestions I would go to your local board.  They would be able to give you experiences and reccommendations.

When it's all said and done I think we will be about $3000 over budget.  I came up with my $15000 budget not really knowing what things costed (but knowing that we were going to be paying it all ourselves) 

CassietBella

We were originally planning to keep it at around $15,000, but decided on closer to $20,000 because there was a more expensive venue w/ lodging that I fell in love with. The wedding business definitely isn't cheap, and we've been cutting corners where we can. We're covering all of the costs ourselves including lodging for our out of state guests. I wish I could help on suggestions, but I'm on the other side of the country! 

Stina51286

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_october-2013-weddings_budgets-got-me-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:1925524f-fa8b-432f-a7b5-be486ce756efDiscussion:ad3f0043-6f97-4d75-9b7b-671aa145cb19Post:77c98737-0653-4a33-a817-85225b5b3f42">Budget's Got Me Down :-(</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>I'm curious what married knotties set their budget at and how much they went over or under if at all?</strong> (If you don't want to share the exact budget amount, just the amount over, under or match is fine) And if you went over or under, what was the item or cost that put you there? I had a budget in mind ($20,000), but as I am from NC and planning my wedding in MD (the DMV area is the FI and I live -- sort of a midway location between his family and mine) I am finding it more and more difficult to find reasonable prices for anything here. It's like vendors hear the word "wedding" and prices skyrocket by 100%.  Any venue (ceremony&reception combo places) , caterer, or DJ suggestions would be greatly appreciated but please don't suggest them if you don't know what they normally charge. I am not shy about discussing money (even though it is a socially "taboo" subject) and really just need to be aggressive about finding the best deals out there. I don't want our wedding to leave us in a financial hole.  Thanks in advance!
Posted by jriverton[/QUOTE]

You obviously have the wrong board since none of us are married yet.

EmilyTork

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_october-2013-weddings_budgets-got-me-down?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:1925524f-fa8b-432f-a7b5-be486ce756efDiscussion:ad3f0043-6f97-4d75-9b7b-671aa145cb19Post:374aa50b-a581-40a0-a46d-4b9137837a67">Re: Budget's Got Me Down :-(</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Budget's Got Me Down :-( : You obviously have the wrong board since none of us are married yet.
Posted by Stina51286[/QUOTE]

<div>Hah, Stina. I totally didn't notice that till you pointed it out....</div><div>
</div><div>For the OP (and others from that area), I can't believe that amount! I'm sure it is the norm, but here in MN, I think 20 is average, and we are sspending between 12-15. Dang!</div>

SewInLoveWithDMB

I live in NJ, where weddings can typically be very high.  I don't feel my overall budget is as high as some others, but possibly compared to other parts of the country, I'm sure my budget seems out of control.

I've found it isn't the food and drinks that are causing the numbers to rise - it's "other" stuff.

For example: I chose a Rivini gown, I'm adding a photobooth, hired an event painter to paint a one of a kind custom canvas of our day for us to keep after, and semi-splurged on a photographer. Not all of those things are necessary for a good wedding, but they were important to me and I budgeted them accordingly.

But you then have to balance it out - our location is not cheap, but is not the most expensive in all of NJ, our guest list is kept down to a number we can handle, our videographer is not the most expensive but does really nice work, our cake will be made by a relative at cost and then her gift to us (she owns a cake business/bakery), I'm wearing my sister's veil, probably doing my own makeup, honeymoon is not booked but I really doubt we will be doing something like Bora Bora that runs about $14,000 - will probably take a much smaller trip, etc.

When you budget, you should make a list of some things that you deem super important, and "splurge" on them. Then, on things that are not as important to you, work hard to find something that is less expensive.

And I also never thought of this really, but overall budget is hard to define. Including my engagement ring? Including our wedding rings? Including my dress? Including portions of the reception that are paid from (engagement/already recieved) gifts (not planning for future gifts....)? Including the honeymoon? The numbers can vary widely, depending on whether or not you include every detail, or just the "stuff" for the day of.

To answer your original question: according to my excel sheet, I'm over budget and embarassed to say by how much - IN PLANNING. Not everything is booked/paid for so this can vary widely from now until October.  Not sure if this means I had poor expectations of thinking what I could include or if in the end, I will not be that far over. (I chose a number as "the budget" then have a column for estimated costs based on some research. That "estimated" is what is over my chosen budget - not what is "Paid."  Many of the things I have already booked/purchased are UNDER the estimated cost. Here's hoping they ALL are)

SewInLoveWithDMB

Oh! I also wanted to say something like "money is fluid" it comes and goes. And I think when I originally made my budget spreadsheet, I was thinking "cost of all the major stuff" - not smaller things like guestbook, and favors, and the shoes I wear and candy bar  and flower girl gifts and all the little stuff (that adds up).

In general, (I don't mind talking about money and budgets either) I am pretty good at working a monthly budget and I understand what I can and can't spend each month (Taxes are/were due February 1st - sent that check, but then knew I couldn't go crazy shopping throughout January).

If my "going over" budget is small things that I am able to buy now and pay off (don't carry a credit card balance), to me, that isn't affecting "my overall budget." I mean - OF COURSE IT IS - but "my wedding fund" differs from "day to day expenses" and if I purchase some wedding related items in place of, say new shoes, then it raises my overall wedding budget, but not my entire financial life.

Does that make any sense?

So my advice is to find the absolute number that you cannot go over and stick to that. If you are fortunate to not have such a number, make smart decisions but don't freak if things are a bit more expensive than you originally planned. Use the next 9 (8???) months to make decisions and pay off the small-ish things as you go along. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE should you go into credit card debt for this event. And, peoples' budgets will vary depending on what they "include" in their budget.

And know that no matter what, you will not "make it all back" in gifts...

thejucheidea

We're aiming for about $9000. No clue how that will actually turn out. I'm not throwing honeymoon costs into that because we're delaying our honeymoon for a few months.

Ro041

We are also thinking of $9,000 for our budget.  No honeymoon yet - we are going to delay that for a while. 

SimplyME22

Our original "budget" was $10,000, we're currently about $1500 over that, just in estimates.  Our budget did not include honeymoon either.  My parents bought my dress and paid our venue rental fee, though, or we'd probably be closer to $20,000 in our budget.