Biggest waste of money??

Lisa50

I have seen a lot of posts (on this and other boards) about all sort of wedding-related items that seem to be a huge waste of time, effort and -- most of all -- money.  It points to a wedding industrial complex that is out of control.  BUT ... brides are spending their money on this stuff, so I wonder "Is it just me?" who thinks the concept of Tears of Joy packets is a scam??  I mean, really, worrying about buying tissues, getting poems/sayings printed on the packets, etc.???? What am I missing?  My guests who are weepers will certainly bring their own tissues ...

What trends do you see that seem to be a waste of time, money, and/or effort?  Discuss ...

GJones27

My candidates.... transportation, save-the-dates, BM dresses, bouquets.... you don't really need any of that stuff for a wedding.  But they're really nice.  I have to admit... I've only been successful in eliminating the first from my budget and wedding.

Lisa50

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_dc_biggest-waste-of-money?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:57Discussion:fe9e002f-68c9-4724-946f-d29982fda429Post:7be0614a-f9ee-4ac3-bfde-a711d0f48f0d">Re: Biggest waste of money??</a>:
[QUOTE]My candidates.... transportation, save-the-dates, BM dresses, bouquets.... you don't really need any of that stuff for a wedding.  But they're really nice.  I have to admit... I've only been successful in eliminating the first from my budget and wedding.
Posted by GJones27[/QUOTE]

I think you hit the nail on the head.  We really don't need any of those things for a wedding.  Good for you on knocking out the transportation!  Baby steps, baby steps ...

Traceyd14

Chair covers or expensive rented chairs...when is the last time you went to a wedding where you noticed the chairs?

Lisa50

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_dc_biggest-waste-of-money?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:57Discussion:fe9e002f-68c9-4724-946f-d29982fda429Post:68a4884d-9831-405b-bf80-2eb8ca0b4cad">Re: Biggest waste of money??</a>:
[QUOTE]Chair covers or expensive rented chairs...when is the last time you went to a wedding where you noticed the chairs?
Posted by Traceyd14[/QUOTE]

That's a <u>good</u> one.  FI seems to be leaning toward the rented chairs.  *sigh*

Mary Susan and Chris

We eliminated teh chair covers and a lot of the flowers. I opted for potted daisies with the pot wrapped in blue with a ribbon. We alos did not do STD's. My understanding is that you only need them if the wedding is a year or more away. We planned only 8 months of an engagement.

sunshine_day_dreams

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_dc_biggest-waste-of-money?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:57Discussion:fe9e002f-68c9-4724-946f-d29982fda429Post:68a4884d-9831-405b-bf80-2eb8ca0b4cad">Re: Biggest waste of money??</a>:
[QUOTE]Chair covers or expensive rented chairs...when is the last time you went to a wedding where you noticed the chairs?
Posted by Traceyd14[/QUOTE]

Yes.  Times 1000.  We also eliminated a lot of cost by DIYing invitations and programs.  I'm sorry, but I just cannot justify spending more than about $0.50 each on a piece of paper that is going to be thrown in the trash.  We also DIYed flowers - picked them from a local farmer's market.  My bouquet cost me about $10 including the wire and ribbon.

jdavis69

I have to totally disagree about the chairs! That's the one thing I ALWAYS notice at a wedding reception, but am also probably one of the only ones that notices. ha!  I think flowers are a waste because they die and you can't re-sell them.  My goal is to just have flowers for the bridal party (we will see if this happens). Heck, its your wedding, it is once in a life time, don't go crazy but it should be what you want. As long as it is what YOU want and the day is about you and your new husband, nothing else matters!

MrsTarenceFowlkes

i agree. with you guys accept about the chairs i personally dont care about chairs and i loathe chair covers! but i feel like transportation is a waste of money and so are STD's even tho my wedding is more than a year away 12/21/2011 i will not be sending those out. Spending a fortune on invitations and place cards is out of the question they will definanltley be in the trash when its all said and done.

Alcyone1

Chair covers I can understand if they're truly ugly, rickety chairs, but my venue has beautiful chairs, thank goodness!  I've seen them set up for weddings with and without chair covers, and while the chair covers looked nice (albeit weird, as chair covers simply look strange to me), I couldn't really understand what the need for them was at this particular venue.
As for invitations and things like that, I was able to get some really nice DIY invitations from Michaels for a pretty inexpensive price, thanks to those great 40% off coupons!  I highly suggest printing out a bunch of those to any DIY brides--we got favors for maybe 60 cents apiece, and our invitations (including invites, ribbons, envelopes, RSVP cards and envelopes, and thank you cards and envelopes) ended up coming to about 80 cents per invitation set.

IAmLymelady

I was so confused by the abbreviation for save-the-date for a moment. 

I honestly thought the biggest waste for me was the cake; sure, it was pretty, but it was not pretty enough to justify so much money when a sheet cake tastes just as good.  Next time I will consider doing two small tiers at most and having the rest be a sheet cake.

Also, desserts in addition to the cake weren't really necessary; most people didn't even consider them.

Apparently I just revolve around sugar

Judith233

Tears of Joy packets are a waste of money I think.  I never even heard of them until I came on here.  I actually did a poll about them on my Month/Year page and almost everyone thought they were a waste of time, money, and life in general.  A ton of people didn't know what they were.

I'm with you about thinking I'm crazy for not drinking the wedding kool-aid on some things!

autumnbreeze26

I think that place cards are a big waste of money. It's not their first day in kindergarden, right? They're grown ups. Let them sit where they want. If Aunt Patty and Uncle Joe don't get along, you can believe that they naturally won't be sitting at the same table without you having to place them across the room from each other.

I think some favors are a waste of money, too, but it really depends on the favor.

malloryb56

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_dc_biggest-waste-of-money?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:57Discussion:fe9e002f-68c9-4724-946f-d29982fda429Post:7be0614a-f9ee-4ac3-bfde-a711d0f48f0d">Re: Biggest waste of money??</a>:
[QUOTE]My candidates.... transportation, save-the-dates, BM dresses, bouquets.... you don't really need any of that stuff for a wedding.  But they're really nice.  I have to admit... I've only been successful in eliminating the first from my budget and wedding.
Posted by GJones27[/QUOTE]

I completely agree with this! Transportation is stupid in my opinion. I don't see why I need to provide people with transportation. Just like any other night out, there needs to be responsible people there. Wedding receptions are not bars, therefore you should NOT have to provide people with a ride. Not to mention how I feel like that kind of endorses that it's okay for people to get super drunk at your wedding. Definitely not paying for that!

Bridesmaids dresses should also be paid for by the bridesmaids. If you accept to be in someone's wedding, then you need to know that you're going to have to pay a little bit for the dress and stuff.

Pickle2183

Favors ! I seriously don't get it. A small packet of chocolates doesn't say "thank you" to guests : a THANK YOU CARD does ! Taking the time to write a nice thoughtful note after the day is so much more meaningful to all concerned. Over the years, I have kept the thank you cards I have received, but forgot about the chocolates (at the last wedding we attended my FI even found the favors of the previous wedding in his suit pocket!).

Traceyd14

I went to a wedding where the groom was a guitar player so they did favors that were guitar picks that says R picks P and P picks R with their names.  They were cute, but I know we left ours on the table and I'm sure lots of others did too.  It was cute for them, but I think the money could have been better spent, especially since it was a cash bar!