How did you afford your wedding?

[mumofcaleb]

Just curious to find out how you all afforded to get married?
We would love to do the deed but just cannot afford it as we have so many other things we want first i.e. buy a house and have more children.

[Ashleigh<3]

Well, so far we haven't saved a penny for ours. lol There are to many things we need to worry about for the time being.
We would like to keep our wedding budget around $4k-$5k mark.
It is possible to have a cheaper wedding, but then again, you'd have to be very tight with your budgeting.
We're planning to have ours later in the year now, possibly our anniversary next year.
:)

[Niki]

we saved abit each week in a seperate account

[oleander]

My dad paid for the lot. Was over $30K I feel so guilty about it now.

[Eleroo]

My dad paid for the lot. Was over $30K I feel so guilty about it now.

OMG:eek: that must have been one huge **** wedding

I saved during the year and a half before the wedding, and brought things for the wedding here and there,

[oleander]

OMG:eek: that must have been one huge **** wedding


Was reasonably big. around 190 people at the reception. My dress alone was $4000:o I don't even know what to do with it now. Anyone want a wedding dress?

[Ashleigh<3]

haha, aw think of it as an experience :)

$4000 holy shmokes!:eek:

I found mine on ebay- valued $750. I was the only bidder so I got it for $120-starting bid.
WAHOOO! :yes:

[Becteria]

We kept ours under 10k in total for everything including honeymoon (2k) etc, had 115 guests.

Everything happened crazy for us - we found out i was pg 2 weeks prior to the weedding, bought a house 2 months before and then moved in to the house 2 weeks after the wedding. Can you spell hectic! Ha ah aha

We had the wedding at my in laws property; had cocktail food and a grazing table as we were more focused on the party aspect then a sit down... so saved money on seating also. made our flowers up out of locally grown flowers, cost me 100. got our friends to email us all the pics they took rather than pay crazy photographer prices. have some great shots, too! My mum paid for the catering. Dh parents paid for the grog. bought my dress on ebay for 200. didnt have fancy cars. pre progrmmed our ipods with the music we wanted to hear rather than the djs selections.

most of the money went on food and grog! the way we wanted it. our guests travelled from all over australia (mainly sydney) so we wanted to make sure it was a great party!

pick a date, find out what you want and see if you can make it happen - everyone will wnat to help you as thats what weddings are about!!!!!!!!!

[shed]

We have a separate account and there is already 6K in there. I dunno what it will end up. The wedding is in May.

I want a simple wedding but it still won't necessarily be cheap. I always thought it was a waste of money for just one day, but after my baby was born I realised that 'just one day' can be a very special day that you think about alot. The day my baby was born is just one day but I have thought about it every day since. And I want my wedding to be like that too.

I don't think my dress will cost much. I don't want a boofy one, just a simple one, but I do want to get it made, so I dunno. $700 maybe? We will have 60-70 guests but I want a buffet, and that is cheaper.

There are a lot of things I could probably have but I don't actually want. So I don't know what its going to end up costing.

[Kylles]

We eloped. A very cheap wedding but the most beautiful day of my life - aside from having my 2 children that is!

[BlessedWithBlue]

Ours cost about $5k all up.
Dh's dad gave us $1500, my grandparents paid for the catering which cost $2000 and dh and i got an advance on the credit card for the rest:o

[damien's mum]

We saved for months and months, before we even set the date! And then just kept saving until everything had to be paid! Also, my mum helped us out alot with it aswell! Yay for mum :yelclap:

[poodysmum]

We paid off bits and pieces as we went along. We only had 40 people for a cocktail reception, and we asked our parents to pay for the people that they wanted to invite. My grandparents paid for our cake as one of our presents, and my parents paid for our flowers. Everything else we paid for ourselves, as we wanted to have complete control over the event. Plus, we didnt want to put my parents out by making them pay for it. It was an awesome day.:D

Alli

[FourAngelKisses]

Registry office - $130!! Best thing I ever did, wouldn't change a thing.

[MilkOnTap]

We wrote down what was important to each of us and worked from there. Funnily enough things like alcohol was not as important as having family around; and a wedding cake and flowers were less important than a beautiful location.

So, we paid for accommodation for our guests (since we were asking them to go to the Blue Mountains); and asked for them to pay for their own meals INSTEAD of buying us gifts. We already had our house set up and wanted their company more than anything else.

I bought a simple dress off the rack from Harts ($350 including alterations) and organised flowers with a local florist ($150 total). I also didnt have a bridal party - which saved money on a dress, accessories and extra flowers. We asked a family friend to drive us in their car - which was of course free :)

Dont be afraid to tell people that your on a budget either - and dont exceed a price just for them. By doing this I was able to get our guests meals for $45pp (3 course) and they threw in HEAPS of canapes for free (every one was full after the canapes!) I was also able to budget and 'negotiate' our wedding cake price by keeping it as a simple two tier mudcake - dark chocolate on the bottom; white chocolate on top with the traditional white sugar icing ($120).

Altogether our wedding cost just under $6K and all our guests LOVED IT! More importantly, we were able to get married when we wanted to :)

[missie_mack]

Yeah we did a similar thing to above. My flowers for all of my wedding party (1 bridesmaid 1 flower girl bride, groom, best man, ring bearer, 2 x mums, 1 x dad, 1x walker of the bride, 1 x stepfather, 1 x nanna, 1 x brother... whew!) and flowers for the church were about $250. But this was because I chose something simple- daisies (which looked great IMO) I bought my bridesmaids dress on ebay for $40 and her shoes in the january sales for $10. We bought DH and his best mans shirts from Hong Kong for $30 each custom made to the same design of a shirt I liked in David Jones. We bought their dress pants on sale for about $60 each. My dress was a expense but I wouldnt give it up for the world. It was made by couture designer. But it was cheaper in the long run than what I would have bought in a shop as I didnt have to pay for alterations or anything. My reception was only $50 a head and the food was devine- because I drive a hard bargain and I really did my research. I had a very formal wedding with cars and everything you could list and didnt really skimp on anything I can think of and we did it for about $7k. If I could change anything it wouldnt be the day or the money we spent just some nuisence relatives (which are DHs anyhow :D ) and we both agree on that.

[Mum&bubs]

We are saving 20 grand for our wedding. So we are saving each week & putting money into a different account. We don't plan on getting married until 2009 or 2010 though so plenty of time to save :yes:

[Tls5431]

We originally were going to have our wedding in August 07. It was originally going to cost around 24 thousand including the honeymoon...

We move the wedding forward to March and decided to cut down the cost...

Found a photographer that has just started doing wedding photo's. She only gives us the DVD and does not do albums. Found a florist that works from home, so there is no overhead cost. A friend is a printer and giving us the wedding invitations etc as our wedding present. We are not having a band or DJ for the wedding... Just playing MP's through the sound system at the venue...

We did a lot of hunting around and managed to keep the cost down without really compromising on a lot... Try looking at people who have just started out on the wedding scene... Also depending on the size of the wedding, there are packages for a couple of thousand for weddings at daydream island etc... You would just need to hunt aroud and decide on what type of wedding you are after

[Jenko]

We only had 7 guests. Parents, siblings and close friends. We got married on the beach and had a seafood buffet lunch at a hotel restaurant.

All up with rings, celebrant, lunch, dress and accessories it cost about $2500.

[MissSparkle]

I feel so guilty! My parents are paying for my entire wedding. It was origionally scheduled for 3rd June this year however I'l be 8months preg and I didnt want that so we're postponing till March 08.

I wasn't given a budget I just run everything by my dad first. We're having a big wedding 180 people an the reception alone is costing a little over $15 000. My dress was $4000 and flowers are $1000. Our wedding in total is going to cost about $45- 50 000.

If DF and I had to pay for it ourselves.....we'd get married totally budget because we've already bought our house so we have a motgage and 1 child with one on the way with a single income.!!

[Lirael]

We are saving 20 grand for our wedding. So we are saving each week & putting money into a different account. We don't plan on getting married until 2009 or 2010 though so plenty of time to save :yes:

wouldnt you much rather use that 20 grand on a house deposit??(lol Im assuming ur renting sorry if Im wrong)


I dont understand how people can spend soooo much money on one day.

[benji's_mum]

We eloped to Hamilton Island, wedding and honeymoon rolled into one. It all cost about 4K. It was perfect and I don't regret a thing. No drama from family and friends!

[FourAngelKisses]

I dont understand how people can spend soooo much money on one day.

Me either. :no:

[~Emmylou~]

My dad paid for our reception, and we had a very long engagement (almost 2 years) which allowed us to take our time organising things so we could pay cash as we did it.
We put about $1000 on credit card, which wasn't too bad considering the whole thing was about $15k.

[Mum&bubs]

wouldnt you much rather use that 20 grand on a house deposit??(lol Im assuming ur renting sorry if Im wrong)


I dont understand how people can spend soooo much money on one day.

because it only happens once a lifetime! (unless u get married several times of course ;) ) and yes we are renting but saving for a house deposit as well & we just about have that one done.

[Mamaduke]

My parents and IL's paid for everything.
DH lived at his parent's home and I with my parents.
I remember contemplating moving in with DH before the actual wedding day and was told in no uncertain terms that the chequebook would be closed quick smart if I chose to go down that road before being married!
"I'm not giving you away if you've already gone" were my Dad's words...so I stayed. :o

[mm85]

our budget is 30,000 and mu parents are paying half and df's father is paying the other half. i dont think we could do it any other way. thank god for them. i have a massive european family so reception is costing so so much. :o

[~mia&ryan~]

We are getting married in September and we have been putting money aside each week for a year or more. We have also been buying things as we go. Our wedding is costing around $10 000 (close to $20 000 if you include our honeymoon), our families are contributing a little bit but we are paying for the most part of it. We are having approx 120 people and its exactly how we want it.

[mum2bubba]

wouldnt you much rather use that 20 grand on a house deposit??(lol Im assuming ur renting sorry if Im wrong)


I dont understand how people can spend soooo much money on one day.

Neither can I but each to their own I guess.
My sister goes on about this all the time (shes not engaged or anything btw) she says "oh, you HAVE to have a big wedding, you have to wear white etc" drives me insane

[missie_mack]

you have to wear white etc" drives me insane
:wave:
I cant believe how many people think it is proper to wear white. I look ill in white! Everybody was horrified when I told them I wasnt wearing white ( I wore a pale gold) they all loved it on the day though. Do as you please let her do as she pleases when its her wedding!

[mumofcaleb]

wouldnt you much rather use that 20 grand on a house deposit??(lol Im assuming ur renting sorry if Im wrong)


I dont understand how people can spend soooo much money on one day.


Me either!

[shed]

I will be wearing white. I didn't get my teeth bleached for nothing :laughing:

Besides which, I am a virgin so its appropriate.

Okay, skip the jokes - I think I will wear ivory or off white. I'm more worried about my shoes than my dress. I want sexy, expensive, spunky shoes.

We went to a wedding recently where the bride wore teal. Teal veil and everything. She looked absolutely stunning.

DP reckons he's not wearing a suit. I really want him to wear one.

Place your bets on what Shed's DP will be wearing on their wedding day folks...:D

[library-laksa]

we got married 2 weeks ago and spent about 10k including doing up the garden as it was a backyard wedding.
we refinanced earlier this year and got an extra 10k for the wedding but in the end we paid for things over 5-6 months beforehand and were given nearly 5000 by our combined parents so we didnt have to use the other money at all!
(now we might spend it on furniture heheh)

we didnt want to spend too much so we did the same as other people have written, worked out our priorities and what wasnt so important. and i loved my $400 dress as much as my friend loved her $4000 wedding dress :)

[TJ]

Hubby and i took out a personal loan - well no actually we added more money to our existing personal loan.

We basically upped and ran away and got married, family were more than welcome to come, but due to the distance, we knew many wouldn't.
So it was very small, only 9 of us in total, we would have been happy with it just the 2 of us, but im now glad the ppl who came did, it made it that little bit more special considering they are the ones we love and care for the most

[MonkeyMum05]

We had ours on the beach... had cake and champagne afterwards... went for a swim... had a friend take photos, I made the invitations...
it was a great day, and didn't cost much at all.

[susiehomemaker]

Im not sure how much our wedding ended up costing... We spread the cost fairly evenly by buying a bit per week. I think all up it was around $8-9k. I did the bouquets myself (I used to be a florist- very handy!) with gorgeous silk flowers, my wedding dress was only $350, made all the bonboniers myself (lol however you spell it) Shoes where bought on sale, DH's Aunty is a hairdresser/beautician so she did my hair & makeup as a wedding present (lol- I could not have found anyone better than her a for any amount of money anyway!) LMAO my wedding band only cost $25, it was the only one that suited my engagement ring. The engagement ring was free (DH's grandmothers eternity ring) from DH's Mum. DH's parents paid for the alchohol & the cake, one of his mum's old friends makes wedding cakes etc. It was gorgeous! Mum and Dad paid for the reception. I only had one bridesmaid, we got her dress from rockmans in the end (it was lovely) and I think she already had the shoes.... cant remember. Mum bought me a pendant to match my engagement ring... Dad hired a statesman for the day and drove us (myself and my bridesmaid) The biggest cost was the reception- Mum & Dad did not skimp:laughing: It was a glorious meal. lol- lucky the food and wine was so good, everyone was having such a good time the DJ was overlooked! the DJ was ****! The guy I spoke to when booking it was great, but the person he sent.... sheesh! late- played the worst music ever. basically everything I crossed out she played. lmao- our celebrant got our vows around the wrong way (mine for dh & dh's for mine...) but she did read shakespear very well:D

[susiehomemaker]

:wave:
I cant believe how many people think it is proper to wear white. I look ill in white! Everybody was horrified when I told them I wasnt wearing white ( I wore a pale gold) they all loved it on the day though. Do as you please let her do as she pleases when its her wedding!

lol- no one was horrified as no one (apart from my Mum & my bridesmaid) saw the dress before the day! I had a pale gold dress too- love it! The colour suited me much better than white :barf:

[mum2bubba]

:wave:
I cant believe how many people think it is proper to wear white. I look ill in white! Everybody was horrified when I told them I wasnt wearing white ( I wore a pale gold) they all loved it on the day though. Do as you please let her do as she pleases when its her wedding!

Yeah I have pale skin and unless I wear fake tan I prefer darker colours. I want to maybe wear a light pastel pink or something like that OR pastel green, but who knows, I mean if I find a dress thats white that I love then I'll wear it but it doesn't HAVE to be white iykwim.