Wasted money

lizandmark2014

What do you feel you wasted money on or did not need for your wedding?

libby2483

We got a really nice guest book with a fancy pen that cost like $60 total.  Not all the guests signed it, and we haven't looked at it since the wedding.  Our guest book filled with photo strips and messages from our guests is a far more treasured memento.  If I did it again, I would skip the traditional guest book, and just have the photo booth guest book.

MayDay513

lizandmark2014 said:

What do you feel you wasted money on or did not need for your wedding?

This was one of my favorite questions. I asked a lot of my married friends this one too. I felt like There wasn't anything that I wasted money on necessarily. We didn't go over budget.

However, if I needed to skimp, I would have skipped the programs, downsized centerpieces, skipped escort cards and done a seating chart. I would have skipped the bouquet toss and the toss bouquet.

Honestly, our photobooth was a lot of money, but our guest book is so awesome and the fact that our guests used it all night made it totally worth it.


Another question that could be asked is, what didn't you spend money on that you wish you spend more money on.

KatWAG

I bought a ton of flip flops, they werent a 'needs to have' but I could have done without them.

Oh and the basket of junk in the bathroom. Most people are responsible enough to bring their own hair tie and tampons.

heidirs731

We decided not to do flowers. They are pretty but not necessary. I have my bouquet ($9, fake flowers) and we're going to spend a few dollars on fake flowers to have on the walkway (silk). So all in all, about $15. 

We're also not doing center pieces or programs, so that will save a lot too.

The one thing I think we did spend too much money on was the veil. They cost hundreds of dollars! I think I should have looked around for an el-cheapo one or just not bothered.

WonderRed

I don't feel like I've wasted anything yet (well except the jars I ordered for the sand ceremony are WAY too small but that was only $7)  but I learned my lessons from my first wedding.  At that one I wasted money on lots of silly things that no one but me cared about.  The candle holder favors that hardly anyone took with them (doing edibles this time) and custom cocktail napkins that we used for three years after are the two the immediately come to mind. 

MayDay513

Oh yeah, FAVORS! You can skip favors if you don't have something you LOVE to give away.

Ajuliana

heidirs731 said:

We decided not to do flowers. They are pretty but not necessary. I have my bouquet ($9, fake flowers) and we're going to spend a few dollars on fake flowers to have on the walkway (silk). So all in all, about $15. 

We're also not doing center pieces or programs, so that will save a lot too.

The one thing I think we did spend too much money on was the veil. They cost hundreds of dollars! I think I should have looked around for an el-cheapo one or just not bothered.

No centerpiece at ALL? Are you doing colored or textured linens instead?

WonderRed

I'm on the fence on programs.  We are doing a nontraditional ceremony and guests might like to have something to look at to help them know where we are with things, but then, the programs aren't going to tell them what each thing means so I'm not sure it's worth it.  

Jessica41381

Our toasting flutes.. What a waste of money because we didn't even use them...

elizabetheleven

I don't own much jewelry, and other than my ering, I don't wear it. So I'm going to wear my grandmother's necklace and bracelet. I figure what's the point of spending tons of $ on jewelry that I'll never wear again.

heidirs731

Ajuliana said:

We're also not doing center pieces or programs, so that will save a lot too.

No centerpiece at ALL? Are you doing colored or textured linens instead?

The venue includes white table cloths and will have a white hurricane candle in the center. The very least we might do is tie a colored ribbon around the candle. Anything else, like specifically colored napkins or table cloths is just not cost effective. And in the end, I don't think anyone will care too much.

Ajuliana

Oh you're having hurricanes. That is a centerpiece. My SIL did hurricanes with one submerged lily in each it was simple and pretty. Just another low cost option

emeejeeayen

We decided the week before the wedding to extend the wedding from 5 hours (including ceremony and cocktail hour) to 6 hours. We had to pay more with the venue, the bar, the photographer, videographer, photobooth, dj and shuttle buses.

Sigh.

When it was time for dancing the venue turned the lights down too low, and I didn't notice. An hour later, the videographers asked them to turn it up a bit because they couldn't film with it that dark. They turned it on ENTIRELY. Well, then all of our guests thought it was time to go so they all grabbed their bags and headed for the buses. It was quite upsetting.

MyNameIsNot

I wish we hadn't spent so much money on linens and chair sashes.  They were pretty and it didn't get cut out of the budget anywhere else, but I wish I'd just saved the money and put it toward our house or life in general.  I feel the same way about a lot of our decor.  It seemed so important at the time, but all anyone remembered was the food, music/dancing, and booze.  

Oh, and the limo.  

erinlin25

my programs were not expensive (printed them myself) but they were Time Consuming, and I think maybe 10 people took them...so I only wish I got that 4 hours back that I wasted   Other than that, while I would have been fine without cocktail napkins and favors, my mother insisted (her bill) and people actually commented on how much they loved them, so end of the day I guess it was worth it?  You just need to prioritize of what is more important.  If you want to cut corners, there are many things you can do without (favors, programs, certain type of linens or chairs, certain type of centerpiece, etc)-- just do not take away the comfort of your guests!

Beads921

We got cupcakes with a topper cake for cutting. The whole thing was a waste. We could have done 1/2 the amount of cupcakes (we had 1 for each person) and had enough, and I wouldn't have bothered cutting the topper cake (I would have kept it to enjoy on our anniversary). 

We did programs (total cost of $16) and favours, and both were well received, so no regrets there.

laylasaurus

While I know this is something people are totally fine with spending a ton of money on, I decided right from the beginning that I wasn't going to have an expensive wedding dress.  It seemed unnecessary to spend thousands of dollars on a dress I will wear once.  I ended up getting mine used for under $200, plus its a beautiful, unique, vintage dress.  It is in perfect shape and will probably end up being a family heirloom.  I think I perhaps spent more time than I should have on my invitations though.  I hand made them and while they only cost pennies each, they took FOREVER.  Wouldn't do it again, or would go with a simpler design.  They looked really beautiful and expensive, but considering most people will just throw them away later (my mother, MIL, and grandmother are keeping them as mementos) ...not really worth it.  

Jessica41381

@laylasaurus, I didn't want to spend a lot on my dress either, of the dresses I tried on my favorite was $99. It was originally $600 and just so happened it was on sale and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I'm a true believer that a dress doesn't need to cost thousands to be beautiful!

laylasaurus

That is awesome! As long as you love it, it totally doesn't matter that it wasn't $2,000..or more.  I tried on a few at a pricey boutique with my mom because she insisted that I look around and was offering to pay for it.  All the dresses there seemed like variations on the same 3 styles, and none really grabbed me.  Why pay a ton for something that you can find a similar version of for waaay less expensive- especially when you factor in things going on sale.

4n6chick

huynhette said:

Another question that could be asked is, what didn't you spend money on that you wish you spend more money on.

For me, I wish we had spent money on a videographer.  I thought "oh we have soooooo many people with video cameras" and even though I spoke with most of them before the wedding, none of them came through.  One of my friends filmed most of the wedding on her camera, but our church had really ridiculous rules about where a tripod could be so for the most part it's a recording of the back of one of my bridesmaids, and an audio of the wedding.

I can't really think of anything I spent money on that I wish I hadn't. 

SBmini

WonderRed said:

I'm on the fence on programs.  We are doing a nontraditional ceremony and guests might like to have something to look at to help them know where we are with things, but then, the programs aren't going to tell them what each thing means so I'm not sure it's worth it.  

Me too- it's the only reason why we are doing programs. We're having a multicultural wedding that is going to have elements that are new for everyone there. I want people to know what to expect.

Pepper6

I spent a lot of time on here prior to really planning my wedding, so I had a good idea of what to not waste my money on, so I'm glad to say that I was really happy with everything we did.  We skipped a lot of unnecessary expenses like programs, favors, any guest extras (ie bathroom baskets, flip flops, etc).  

We also cut our necessary, but unimportant expenses like invites (used a pre-made kit from Target for $30, which we actually got a lot of compliments on), we used everything we could that our venue provided like the cake cutting tools, champagne flutes, centerpieces (we used their glass and rocks, then provided single roses that we bought in bulk from Costco and floating candles I bought from Amazon to do a submerged centerpiece...they looked beautiful and only cost us about $5 per table).

I also cut expenses on my attire by buying my dress from DB, bought my veil from valuveil for $20, shoes from Amazon for $25, jewelry from eBay for $8.  Although my BMs paid for their own attire, I still wanted to keep that as low cost as possible, so we used dresses that we found on clearance at JCP for $35.

The only expense we had that was 100% frivolous and we could have skipped was chair covers.  We originally were going to skip these, but had money in our budget from declines and ended up finding a great deal, so we splurged.  I'm happy we did this since it really dressed up the room since the chairs were pretty ugly, but it was definitely only since we had enough declines to cover the cost. 

cborries

Ditto to PP about the dress. I went to David's and found a dress I kind of liked for over $1,000. After years of watching wedding tv shows, I was trying to convince myself that $1,000 wasn't actually that bad- but I just did not like the dress. So then I bumped my dress budget up to $2,000 thinking that I just needed to spend more money. SO NOT TRUE!! I saw a gorgeous dress online, tried it on at a local salon, and was floored when the price tag said $500! (I will admit, I almost bought it in pink too... But maybe if I won the lottery.)

ashleyep

libby2483 said:

We got a really nice guest book with a fancy pen that cost like $60 total.  Not all the guests signed it, and we haven't looked at it since the wedding.  Our guest book filled with photo strips and messages from our guests is a far more treasured memento.  If I did it again, I would skip the traditional guest book, and just have the photo booth guest book.

I'm glad you said this. I'm doing the photo booth guest book too, but was worried that not everyone would sign it because we won't have it until later in the evening. Looks like I'll be skipping the traditional guest book then

aimes8609

This has nothing to do with the topic but I absolutely love your gif...lmao.

aimes8609

lizandmark2014 said:

What do you feel you wasted money on or did not need for your wedding?

Even though the wedding hasn't happened yet, I'd say the alcohol.  Way too much of it but my Fiance insisted on having a variety so here we are!

aimes8609

laylasaurus said:

While I know this is something people are totally fine with spending a ton of money on, I decided right from the beginning that I wasn't going to have an expensive wedding dress.  It seemed unnecessary to spend thousands of dollars on a dress I will wear once.  I ended up getting mine used for under $200, plus its a beautiful, unique, vintage dress.  It is in perfect shape and will probably end up being a family heirloom.  I think I perhaps spent more time than I should have on my invitations though.  I hand made them and while they only cost pennies each, they took FOREVER.  Wouldn't do it again, or would go with a simpler design.  They looked really beautiful and expensive, but considering most people will just throw them away later (my mother, MIL, and grandmother are keeping them as mementos) ...not really worth it.  

Jessica41381 said:

@laylasaurus, I didn't want to spend a lot on my dress either, of the dresses I tried on my favorite was $99. It was originally $600 and just so happened it was on sale and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I'm a true believer that a dress doesn't need to cost thousands to be beautiful!

I felt the same way.  I only spent $250 on mine.  I never understood paying thousands of dollars for a dress you're only going to wear once.  Yeah I get the whole saving it for your daughter deal but what is the possibility that the dress will be in style when and if you're daughter gets married?

laylasaurus

Yeah, I know enough people that have family dresses that no one has been able to wear since that first generation.  One girl has a beautiful dress that belonged to her great great grandmother, but no one since her great grandmother has been able to fit into it. 

I don't judge brides that do spend a ton of money on their dresses, if the money is there and it is that important to you..go for it.  There were definitely some designer gowns I saw that if I were rich, not gonna lie probably would have shelled out for.  However, as far as trying to have a practical wedding on a budget, I think the dress is one of the easiest things to save serious cash on and still be totally satisfied.