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Holy Moly!!

Katy LanzaKaty Lanza member
First Comment
in Texas-Dallas and Ft. Worth

Where did all of those taxes and  service charges come from?!!? I had to catch my breath when I saw the numbers! I mean, silly me to not realistically budget for that, but SERIOUSLY!

Side note: we are in the process of signing contracts for our ceremony and reception venue.

My idea of $7500 quickly shot up to $10,000. $10,000 doesn't even include my dress, the DJ, the cake, the photographer or the videographer (which I think we might cut out now).  It makes me sad to have to type all of those zeros, and I must say that I honestly don't even want to know the final number of what we spent on our wedding when all is said and done. It's not that we can't make this price work, but I cant stop thinking that this is what we are paying for just one day.

I'm beginning to think that eloping would be so much easier. Just the two of us on a beach in Caribbean.. ahhh it just sounds so much simpler. But then I think maybe we should just spoil ourselves and our guests and have the wedding we dream of... but is the price tag that it comes with worth it?

Did anyone else seriously consider eloping after getting the bill? And how did you cope with all of those zero's!?

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Re: Holy Moly!!

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    AmberMarieTXAmberMarieTX
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    It is rough... We feel like we are scrimping for the wedding and with honeymoon and rings, it will easily reach 15000 I think. That's still pretty low. We got a great deal on a phenomenal photographer, went overbudget on the DJ (still only 800), splurged on my make-up and hair (around 350), I think food will be less than 2000, venue was less than 3000. After those big checks, I literally did my best to save with everything else. Vistaprint STDs and invites. Invites accented with paper that I bought on sale at JoAnn for 6 for a dollar. Hobbly Lobby- coupons or sale items only!

    After all of that, I never considered eloping. My family would have KILLED me!
    Disclaimer: Please excuse the above comment. I'm probably freaking out because there is less than one month to go. Thank you.
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    fallbride1109fallbride1109 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Yeah, many of us have experienced sticker shock after booking our venue.  For us, we increased the budget by $10k when the venue took almost all of our original budget.

    But just remember that the venue, food and beverage is the bulk of the cost.  We can all give suggestions on how to save in other areas.

    And yes, I wanted a DW on the beach also.  I think we all did at some point!  But his parents wanted to give us the wedding and I wouldn't trade that day for anything now.  I think of how my DH saw his relatives he hadn't seen in 20 years, my grandmother out on the dance floor--just so many memories we would never have had otherwise.
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    courtski2004courtski2004 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011

    Many times I have uttered "Forget it, lets just go to Vegas. This would be a great house down payment!"

    But then I can't wait to have the feeling that Stephie has, that she wouldn't trade that day for anything.

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    NMac2010NMac2010
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    edited December 2011
    Yes, I wanted to go to the JP but DH wanted the big wedding. I hated spending all that money on one day. 

    But, in hindsight, I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was our day, and we made a ton of memories that we will remember for the rest of our lives. We made it our own. I thank DH all the time for forcing me to have the big wedding! 

    But, we've all been there. In the planning process, all you think is "holy crap, this is a lot of money to spend on one day." 

    Don't worry, you'll look back and realize it was all worth it. 
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    MLandCJMLandCJ member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Yeah, it's like a swift kick in the gut isn't it :(
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    llc2011llc2011
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    edited December 2011
    Yeah it was a little bit of a reality check but I'm sure our day will be wonderful.  

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    MarieSDMarieSD
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    That's pretty much the way I feel. We doubled our original (pretty low) budget and I don't love that fact. Although we can afford it, I didn't actually expect to spend it. I often wish we could go back and plan it differently, but at the same time ... I know what we picked is going to be amazing, so I can't really regret what we chose to do.
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    Katy LanzaKaty Lanza member
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    edited December 2011
    Stephie - We are also feeling like we are going to have to add $10k to the budget. It's nerve wracking to think we are going to be spending twice what we initially wanted too!
     
    It's good to hear all of this encouragement! I'm glad that no on is coming back and saying that they should have eloped. We really don't want too, but at times it just feels like an easy way out.

    FH is really encouraging me to have a big wedding and not to skimp on anything. He really wants this day to be as big and special as it can be, which I'm sure I will be grateful for when all is said and done.
    I look forward to those memories that no price could ever be put on, but the moment I saw the bill, it felt like an elephant stomped on my stomach!

    Thank you so much for all of the encouragement ladies! It's comforting to know that many of you felt this same way at one point and yet everything turned out wonderfully.
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    fallbride1109fallbride1109 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Yeah, we've all been there!  It's totally worth it in the end, I promise!  Be sure and let us know which venue you pick.  :)
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    holi108holi108
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Tell me about it! I walked into the paper store to choose the Thank you card to go with our invites, knew exactly what I wanted and they wanted to charge me $500 for 50 flat cards and envelopes! So I had to ask how much all the rest of the paper will cost in the end and she said the min. would be $3,000! HA! Needless to say I turned around and walked out. But like most have already said, we have almost more than doubled our budget!

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    BanannaPBanannaP member
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    edited December 2011
    The way I saw it was, when else in your life do you have the opportunity to have all the people you love together in one place for such a happy occasion? That, truly, is priceless.
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    angelsong21angelsong21 member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I know this feeling all too well!  I started planning our wedding after we picked out an e-ring over a month ago, and there is definitely BIG sticker shock, especially when it came to the venue and catering.  We are doing ours at a place that will host our ceremony and reception, along with providing the food, alcohol, waitstaff, tables, chairs, etc.  I thought, "WOW, a facility rental fee of $1295 and a catering/alcohol fee of $3900... this is GREAT!!!! ... wait a second...how is this $7200?!?!"  My original hope had been to do a wedding for around $5k because my parents unfortunately are not well-off and I'm in college finishing a second degree...but that's gone up to $10k now.  I never would have imagined weddings were SO expensive.  Until two weeks ago, I couldn't find a photographer below $2500, or at least not one that took better pictures than I could (and I'm not that great at it), but I never would have thought people paid sometimes up to $8000 or more for pictures on their big day (no offense to anyone - if you have the money, go for it!!!). 

    Sorry you had that experience too, but I'd say just make sure you're 100 percent happy with the venue and what it has to offer and if that's the case, then cut back elsewhere.  I'm cutting back in photography ($600), cakes, invitations, guest favors (sorry guests, no favors!), programs (there will be none), and flowers.  Good luck! :)
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