What's your number?

kiyamurph

My parents are paying for the wedding (thank God!), but my mom had no clue whatsoever how much weddings cost at first.  For some reason I always thought my mom was saving up for my wedding and boy did I get a rude awakening!  We originally budgeted for $15,000, but I think realistically it'll be about $18,000 for 130 people.  Thankfully, my aunt is paying for the photographers, which is $2500 and the open bar.  We're doing an open bar until a certain price is met (I'm thinking about $1500) and then it'll switch to cash.  So my aunt paying for those things has helped immensely.  Of course most of the money ($10000) went to the venue and the next most expensive thing was my dress ($1500). 
One place where I'm going to cut corners is with the paper.  My brother's a graphic artist, so he's going to design the invitations, save the dates, menu cards, etc. and I'll get everything printed at Kinkos.  FI works for Pfizer and has a corporate account with Kinkos, so it'll be dirt cheap to get everything printed.  My dad is also an artist and he and my brother are going to do the calligraphy for the invitations.  Because of these connections, we're saving at least $1000 for all of the paper.  I'm not really crafty or artsy (didn't get the gene) so I haven't done a lot of diy stuff, but I'm doing my first project when my cake topper comes in from Crafty Eddy.

sadou02

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_whats-number?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:014d7ea0-3eee-40cf-b442-85e9f0b74375Post:43eec777-cf93-4b01-87c9-3a5432127278">Re: What's your number?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: What's your number? : THIS! Girl, I was scared to throw my budget out here with all these balla budgets! lol. I originally said $10k, but now that we're married I don't really care anymore.... I found a place where I know we can do everything for under $5k, and that's good with me! We have bigger things to take care of financially. We're at the point where we need to focus on our MARRIAGE instead of a WEDDING. {Oww, I sound like I real 21 year old grown up! lol}
Posted by tyboyd[/QUOTE]

Girl!! Props to all those that can!. I wish I could get it for under 5K but  venue cost about that much so I had to bump it up! I love my number and am proud to admit it! LOL! Can't wait to be married like you! You sound so happy everytime you mention it. I feel the glow through the words.

krimson19

our budget was $3500 for 80 people.  it was total DIY.  DH did invites & programs.  my cousin (MOH), my friend (DOC) and i did the flowers and decorations.  we got a friend to help with food .  DH bartered with the videographer and photographers.  he's doing framing work for them in exchange.  if we had to pay cash for those, the budget would have been about $5000.

banks69

I think we came under $8K but we decided from the beginning that we weren't going to spend more than $10K for about 200 guests.  A large portion of the costs went toward the reception (venue, food - no alcohol, DJ, security) which was about $3K alone.  The rest included the cake, photographer, dress, DH's suit,etc., and I also did so many DIY projects I've lost count (STDs, invites, centerpieces, favors, bouquets, etc.) which reduced the costs tremendously. I also did a barter with my DOC, which was a tremendous help!

Oh, yea, my MIL gifted us with a videographer.  The lady is starting her business so we are just happy that we will have a video of our ceremony since that was one of the things we had to cut from our budget!  Hopefully she caught the bride/MOH mixup on tape!

prettymami2

Ours is about the same as the others. We are closer to the $15,000.00 with all things included.

ficatiermaria

ours i think total is less then 5k and thats including my dress,hair,everything else.i dont care for all the all going out and putting myself in debt for one day,i know its suppose to be your big day,but if i could do it all over and not lose any money i would just go to the jop and come home and celebrate with my family and friends.we still have to buy a house!