If you're here for the wedding video, scroll to the bottom! I promised a post revealing ALL my wedding costs. I thought it would be helpful to do this because I really learned WHERE I could cut corners, where you need to splurge, what you can MAKE & what you don't actually need at all.
Let me start off, there are 4 types of wedding budgets.
No budget- Your family/families have money & at the end of the day, they are going to cough it up. Enjoy, you probably don't need this post. Lol
Flexible budget- Your parents will pitch in, but there is a cap. And if you don't spend money on the wedding, the money could go to something else. You could benefit from this post.
Spousal budget- You and spouse will be taking care of the wedding and your sweet parents will help wherever they can. This is where Justin & I fell into. You NEED this post.
TIGHT budget- You're on your own or parents don't have much to give, either way the budget is tight. You will benefit from this and save in areas I missed out on!
Wherever you fall, I think you could learn a thing or two from this wedding post. Unless you have no budget....then call me and I'm gonna charge you for my advice. Lol
For my wedding, I had some visions but I was flexible on most everything. The only things I really felt strongly about was a seating chart, a full dinner, and DANCING. I wanted it to be a fun party with food. It was a mormon wedding, but not a "mormon wedding". I grew up out of the church and about half of the people at our wedding were not LDS, so they expected food (as do I when I go to a wedding). LolI'll give more details as I break everything down.
DRESS $1100
I was not too picky about a dress. In a dream world, I would have spent A LOT LESS on my dress. But I did learn somethings.
1. You don't need to buy a "wedding dress".
I bought a dress from BHLDN (Anthropologie's bridal website) & it was an occasional dress. $450I brought it to a seamstress and I let her "bridal it up". It ended up being a little poofier than I desired but I still totally loved it. A lot of work went into the dress and she undercharged me a lot (I haggled.) $350 The dress on the website had a really beautiful belt that my mom INSISTED I had, I appreciated her generosity. $300.
2. Do what I did...... and then don't do what I did.
DO: Find a dress in an unlikely place. There are SO many options for a beautiful dress. Rent a dress. Get a "nontraditional" wedding dress. I got SO many compliments on my dress. If I could redo it, I would have just kept the original dress simpler and saved the dough.
DONT: Spend over $500 bucks. I really don't think its necessary. Shop around (ASOS, BHLDN, ect.) & budget for alterations (you DO want a good fit).Then call it a day.
FOOD $1180
One thing makes no sense about mormon weddings. You invite them to your reception at 6 or 7 at night, dinner time. &then you don't feed them DINNNNNNNNNNER.
Dinner was a must for us. I think if this isn't something for your budget, a time adjustment on the event is good. Or call it an open house & not a reception. But I digress.
We had a BIG wedding. We couldn't cut anyone. I even forgot to invite some people. Freak Im sorry. But anyways, we invited over 300 & had about 230 people at our wedding.
When I looked at having our reception at the Aliente hotel, they MAKE you use their catering (most places do.) The minimum was $65 a person. HAHAHAHA WHAT!!?? This was for their dinner (which I didn't even love the menu) and chips/salsa. I couldn't really customize anything. And I was looking at $15,000 just to FEED THE PEOPLE.
Do not pick a place where you cannot cater your self. They will charge you by the person and it adds up SO FAST. Here is what we did. We had POPEYES CHICKEN cater our wedding. It was the greatest thing I ever did. We love Popeyes. The guests loved it. And for 230 people it was only $950. Say WHAT!!!!!! They don't advertise their catering so their pricing isnt really set up for it. The manager helped me get the most bang for my buck and it really came together.
We did chicken, chicken tenders, rice/beans, mashed potatoes & biscuits from Popeyes. For 230 people. For $950. 4 bucks a person. Im still geeking out about it.
Next we did a salads. We bought all the supplies from costco (Two types of greens, raspberries, cranberries, almonds, and dressing). I don't eat salad but it was such a beautiful salad. Then everyone got a vegetable and the table had a vegetarian option. We spent about $100 on this. (We had 21 tables that needed a salad)
Lastly, a cake. We didn't have a cake. We did a GIANT donut wall (Pink Box) & the cutest Hersey milk chocolate (Costco). About $130.We got a giant donut for ourselves (Pink Box for $8). And I made the donut wall for literally like 10 dollars. See Decor below.
We didn't "cut the cake"...because it's boring and no one cares!!!!!! LOLOL. I'm sorry. I take it back. But I just wanted the whole day to be FUN. I didn't want to be tied down by traditions that people do, JUST because they have been done for years...WHY??!
STOP THE TRADITIONS IF THEY MEAN NOTHING TO YOU.
So that was our food. It was easy breezy.
SHAMELESS PLUG: My husband is a chef (got his Bachelors in France, where he attended culinary school:). He caters weddings and is SO affordable. If he wasn't the groom, he would have done the food. Email me if you want info! kelsieishappy@yahoo.com
VENUE $0
If you are on a budget, why are you paying for a venue? There are SO MANY OPTIONS. Backyards (could be your parents, friends, bishops, ANYTHING). His parents ward has this community garden and they let us use it for free. PRAISE HANDS.
(I paid $100 for the cellist. I wanted music for the ceremony, I think it was nice.)
I had a lot of eyes to help me see what you make the space work. And I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.
Not because it was the most beautiful of all time, but because all the people I loved were there.
DECOR less than $1000
I don't have exact numbers on this. But here is what we bought. Greenery from Michaels (ALWAYS on sale) $400 & then the sister & mother in law made EVERYTHING.
Rented Chairs (we had 80 so we rented 130ish) About $200.
We had tables & tables cloths from family members (USE YOUR FAMILY FRIENDS AND OTHER, they want to help...let them)
We bought lattice & wood for signage. We bought the donut board supplies.
I won't rmake a DIY because the link I used is so easy, no bother redoing it. http://ohhappyday.com/2016/06/diy-donut-pegboard-3/
We bought glow sticks for the kids (kind of fun). We bought sparklers for the send off (must have, cheap from Amazon).
We bought disposable cameras for the guests to take pictures (waste of money, no one develops them anymore LOLOL).
The best money saver was our center pieces. My sister & brother in law made ALL OF THEM!
Then we bought loose leaf eucalyptus & babies breath to fill it (the cost of my floral included this). The candle holders were borrowed and the candles were at the dollar store.
Lastly, we got all of our plates, salad bowls, tongs and pitchers from the dollar store.I actually thought they looked just fine. It's like the plastic glass looking.
Most of these things I still have, let me know if you ever need anything!
FLOWERS $400
My florist was an ANGEL, I loved every second with her.
She totally worked with my budget and made everything beautiful.There was a flub the day of the wedding but it wasn't a big deal and she made up for it TIMES TEN!
Bonnies Floral Boutique in Henderson. (She delivers).
I got 17 bridesmaids bouquets (with succulents in them!!), 14 boutonnières, a groomsmen boutonniere, 10 sister/mom corsages and a bridal bouquets. Oh, and all the loose leaf greens and babies breath for the centerpieces. I did greenery for them because my bridesmaid were wearing ivory and I love greenery.
As far as flowers go, set a budget & stick with it. One thing I really liked in an article I read about new trends, is ditching bouquets. I say, DITCH THEM.
We did a ring ceremony AND the temple, so I feel like they were necessary. But if not? Ditch them.
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO $1450 & $950
This is where you put your money. You want pictures of the big day!
My photos and video are so precious to me.
My photos included my engagements, travel charges, and my photos at the temple and reception. My video included temple/reception coverage, as well as travel. A long video, as well as a short one for IG.
I highly recommend my people. They guided me and ran the show the day of. You do NOT want a newbie. You just don't. When you book my photographer, you get a discount on the videographer she recommends. So glad I used her, she was wonderful. http://www.alyssaencephotography.com/https://agreendesign.com/about/
DJ $400
Three words. GET. A. DJ. Three more important words.
DITCH. THE. DANCEFLOOR.
A dj is a must. They bring mikes so that you can make announcements. Plus we needed one for the ring ceremony. They keep the show going. They bring fun lighting. I picked EVERY song and he just kept them rolling the whole night. (If you want my wedding playlist message me, it was the bomb lol)
I was getting stressed a week before the wedding about a dance floor. I didn't want to spend one more dollar and then I get a $600 quote on a dance floor. I decided against it and it was the BEST DECISION EVER. You literally DO NOT NEED ONE. People will dance anywhere. SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!
I bought some lattice so that people knew the boundaries of the dance floor. And it was a party the whole night.
The wedding was a total party. We had the absolute best time ever.
We spent more than I wanted to but nothing where I cannot forgive myself over.
(A guy I know with a wealthy family said he spent 50 GRAND on his wedding...WHAT THE HELL. Buy a freaking house with that down payment lol. He says he regrets it terribly, they are living in an apartment...makes no sense.)
The best wedding advice I received was from Justin's groomsmen & my friend, Brock."The only thing that matter is that you you two get married."
I kept that with me every single day. I never had a bridezilla moment because of that I think. If it didn't fall into place, I just let it go.
I got the man of my dreams, everything else was a bonus.
Without further delay, OUR WEDDING VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!! (Couldn't add it to the blog, too big of a file)
https://vimeo.com/231639335
PS If you need any ADVICE, recommendations, or want to use any of our stuff (I kept it all), email me! kelsieishappy@yahoo.com
Saturday, December 2, 2017
