wedding date fiasco

[John the Engineer]

I live in Michigan. Our families helped out with food, so we didn't have to hire a caterer. We had a family friend DJ (for free), so we didn't have to pay for that. We had a MORNING wedding, which means we didn't have any alcohol, or a huge meal. There are a LOT of ways you can save $$$. We didn't get expensive flowers. My bridesmaids carried single yellow roses; not huge grandiose bouquets. The guys found discount tuxes so my husband's tux was $100. My dress was $100, my shoes were $5. We didn't have to pay for a church, and our hall was only $300. We got invitations from a discount wholesaler for $300. There are SO many ways to cut costs with a wedding. And then we had almost $2500 to spend on our honeymoon! We had the best time, and it was MUCH more memorable than the 5 hours of our wedding that FLEW by!

Tons of ways to save money on it. These are all great! I think people get all caught up in the idea of the fact that weddings have to cost, and this is an excellent example of the fact that you don't have to pay huge amounts of money for a GREAT wedding! And another thing is that you have to remember that friends, or family friends, don't always have a lot of money for wedding presents, so if you ask a friend who's a photographer to take your wedding pictures as their wedding present, you've saved money right there! It saves a lot of pressure on your friends who have other things to offer.

Also, you can print your own invitations, or if you know someone who has a really nice printer (Uhmm, I have a few myself ) then you can get something nice and fancy made that way. OR you can go to a print shop and have it professionally printed on paper of your choice for really cheap. I mean, my Uncle spent $9 a wedding invitation to send out these scrolls to several hundred guests. Yes it's nice, but how many people kept them or would've cared had it just been a $0.10 invitation printed by a good print shop instead? Probably nobody.

As for parents and all, I think it's unfortunate that parents hand over large lists of friends who need to be invited (a lot of which the people getting married don't know) and then don't offer the help or financial means. I have seen this a few times and it's just plain wrong. You can't expect the burden of planning and all to be on just the couple. Either that or you can't expect to have what you want.

 

[William Nunn]

Also, you can print your own invitations, or if you know someone who has a really nice printer (Uhmm, I have a few myself ) then you can get something nice and fancy made that way. OR you can go to a print shop and have it professionally printed on paper of your choice for really cheap. I mean, my Uncle spent $9 a wedding invitation to send out these scrolls to several hundred guests. Yes it's nice, but how many people kept them or would've cared had it just been a $0.10 invitation printed by a good print shop instead? Probably nobody.

Yeah, my finacee made our invitations, and they looked AWESOME. And she did it for MUCH cheaper than it would've been if they were done professionally.

 

[John the Engineer]

Yeah, my finacee made our invitations, and they looked AWESOME. And she did it for MUCH cheaper than it would've been if they were done professionally.

Your fiance? Let me guess, she's the computer one J/k, sorta. My girlfriend has this old old old computer and doesn't know how to do much on it. I'm the computer one so I know I'd end up doing all that. She's the one who would come up with all the ways to save in all the other ways. But computer stuff, that's me!

Also, some women actually find it nice to wear their Mom's old wedding dress, especially if it's been in the family and well preserved. I know my grandma and my Mom both used the same wedding dress. Of course my parents were really poor back then so it would probably be a cost saver too, that's why. But still.

 

[stubbornkelly]

Oy. Basically, if the parents want a lot of people, they should pay for them. The couple should pay for what they want, not what their parents want.

And no, weddings need not be expensive.

I'm curious about the first year being financially hard. Are we talking about adults who are already living on their own, or people just out of school with no job, no home and no savings? If they're living at home and have no expenses, of course the first year out will be hard - it is for everyone just starting on their own. If, on the other hand, they're already on their own, it should cost them less to live as a couple, assuming they'll have the same salaries as they had when they were single. It costs less to cook for two (although you wouldn't think so at first), you can usually save on health insurance (employee plus one coverage is a lot cheaper than two individuals), and you can knock out one whole rent or mortgage payment. Unless they're carrying wedding debt (which, as has been said, isn't necessary), being married shouldn't make life more expensive.

 

[John the Engineer]

Oy. Basically, if the parents want a lot of people, they should pay for them. The couple should pay for what they want, not what their parents want.

And no, weddings need not be expensive.

I'm curious about the first year being financially hard. Are we talking about adults who are already living on their own, or people just out of school with no job, no home and no savings? If they're living at home and have no expenses, of course the first year out will be hard - it is for everyone just starting on their own. If, on the other hand, they're already on their own, it should cost them less to live as a couple, assuming they'll have the same salaries as they had when they were single. It costs less to cook for two (although you wouldn't think so at first), you can usually save on health insurance (employee plus one coverage is a lot cheaper than two individuals), and you can knock out one whole rent or mortgage payment. Unless they're carrying wedding debt (which, as has been said, isn't necessary), being married shouldn't make life more expensive.

Not to mention car insurance is cheaper, one appartment (or house) is cheaper than two, etc etc etc. A lot of things are cheaper for married couples.