So many couples have this idea of the perfect wedding. The big church, the holy choir, the princess gown etc...then the real life kicks in.
Chelle, a pretty bride who is wise beyond her years told me her story: " To give you some background, we started out with the plan to do a big church wedding, but I got a little overwhelmed by it all and decided to do something smaller at a location away from everybody. I figured those that wanted to be there would then make the effort to be a part of our day. You have no idea how many people will try to help you plan your wedding, even telling you who you should invite! I chose a destination wedding to keep it neutral...so that both my family and my husband's family would have equal opportunity to attend."
How did she do with the moola: Awesome for 100 people. Here are her stats: "Invitations: I did my own, purchasing one of those kits from a paper supply store and printing them on my home computer. It took a lot of time, but saved us a considerable amount of money. Invites, ink, postage all cost around $300.
Flowers:I really wanted real flowers at my wedding, so this was probably my biggest expense aside from lodging and feeding everyone. I think I spent around $600 on flowers.Officiant: We were married by the Justice of the Peace for the county in which we were being married. We paid him $100 for his service.
Ceremony: Everyone stood for the ceremony, except for the grandparents, who sat on benches on the observation deck. The only decorations we had were rose petals that had been strewn on the ground along the path and up the stairs of the observation deck.
The dress: I found my dress at a bridal shop on a clearance rack. It was originally $600 and had been marked down to $250. As I was looking through the dresses, the owner of the shop told me she was marking them all down to $99. So that was a lucky break, but many non-bridal stores have gorgeous bridal-looking dresses for a fraction of the cost. I did have to get the dress altered, which added another $75 to the total cost of the dress. We decided on only one attendant each and my maid of honor and I searched consignment stores for a dress suitable for her. We found one for $26 (color was not something I was too concerned about...this dress was navy and looked great.) My husband rented a tux to match the dressiness of my dress and his brother as best man, wore a suit that he already owned. Guests wore dressy but comfortable clothing and in the invitations, I specified comfortable shoes for the hike up to the falls. You've already seen the white Nike's I wore under my dress!
The food: We chose to keep it as easy as possible, so we went ahead and paid for everyone to eat at the Lodge's buffet. I think it was $15 per person plus the cost of beverages, but you could easily skip this expense and bring your own food or have it catered. The Lodge was going to charge us an arm and a leg if we chose to have a catered reception, so I chose this avenue instead. Total cost was close to $2,000 for about 100 people to eat and drink (that included tip). They did give us our own room in which to eat, away from the rest of the Lodge's guests, at no extra charge.
The reception: We rented one of the meeting rooms to host the reception and my brother put together the music on a laptop, brought speakers, and played deejay for me for free. We decorated ourselves the morning of and had made the place settings and everything else ahead of time. We also purchased disposable cameras for the guests to use at the reception. I chose not to have a professional photographer and decided to do this instead. If there is one thing I would change, it would be to hire a professional photographer for the ceremony. The cake was purchased from a local bakery and we had beer, wine, tea and soda for the guests. The reception, including rental fee, cameras, drinks, decorations, and the cake, cost around $1000."
Congrats of Chelle & Dave! Thank you for your tips! Love ya!
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