Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Wedding Details Breakdown & Prices

So I was answering a forum about wedding spending, and here is my specific info:

"Since my fiance and I are paying for our own wedding almost completely by ourselves, we wanted to stick to a $5000 budget originally, but it looks like it's creeping up to $10,000. We're having a beach wedding and we live in South Florida. To keep costs down I'm doing a blend of DIY & hiring vendors
I bought my dress, lingerie, shoes (bride flip-flops $15 @ David's Bridal) for $357.
Flowers I'm saving by doing arrangements myself. I will buy bulk from a store like http://www.fiftyflowers.com/ & pay up to $300 total on flowers & supplies to make the bouquets, bouttenniers, etc...I found instructions online.
I found a local photographer who does fabulous work part-time. Her starter package is $700 (5 hours of coverage & a CD of all the edited pics which we're free to reproduce) and she already did an engagement session for $100 (3 hours & a great time).
The most expensive part of our wedding is of course the reception. Because most of our guests are out-of-town, we secured a great group room rate ($75/night) which we don't have to pay for, but we also decided to have the festivities in the hotel's main ballroom. Food is $45 / person and have a special arrangement for drinks (access the whole time to two favorites which will be an additional $1000 or so.
My hubbie-to-be is renting his tux (although I wish he'd buy a linen suit better for the beach conditions) for under $150.
For entertainment, we're considering alternative options to hiring a DJ. My fiance would love it but it's too expensive. My cousin is a comedian, and we're considering asking him to be the main event. Then of course, making our own playlist.
My dad is a licensed minister and we're considering asking him to marry us. That would also save money.
For transportation from the hotel to the beach for our out-of-town-guests, we're renting a Trolley! $100/hour with a 3-hour minimum. It will be fun, unique & memorable.
The guest list is creeping up to 100+, but because most of them live out-of-town and we're in a depression, it's unlikely they will all (or most) come."

Sure, costs should be discreet, but I am glad things are coming together and people who want a reference for pricing on their own wedding should know if they want to. I don't mind.

We still need to finalize a few things:
decorations
entertainment/music
We need to book our honeymoon,
I need to make appointments for tast testings, test makeup applications, cake tastings, and more.
And my mother needs help with her dress. She has one but I think it is too casual and not appropriate. It's an informal wedding but I feel she is taking that too seriously (or perhaps not seriously enough?). I'm about to just buy her a dress.

But most importantly, Mario and I REALLY love each other and are so happy together, and can't wait for the wedding and to see everyone!