Okay, I wanted to share some information on one of the most talked about subjects... the budget! If any of you are like my fiance' and I, we wanted to foot the bill of our wedding. So... this is how we came up with a desired budget and stuck with it.
Our venue cost $1, 495.00... and included everything. Our venue is an all inclusive package that consists of:
Day-of wedding coordinator
Minister for wedding ceremony
Use of Sanctuary including candelabras, unity table, and LED candles
Use of Reception Hall OR Garden including seating for up to 50 guests (chairs, tables, table linens)
Two-tier wedding cake
One 6? buffet table for beverage station
One cake table
One draped guest sign-in and gift table
Clear plates and utensils; napkins
Choice of 2 beverages; iced tea, fruit punch or coffee (water also included)
Use of decorative beverage urns, cake display stand, and cake cutting utensils
Use of sound system (client to provide music)
Staff for set-up, tear-down and cake cutting
The only downfall to the amazing price is that it wasn't in the evening and we could only have 50 guests. The limit of guest was perfect for us because we wanted something small and intimate. This package is generally offered any day during the week and a morning option for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She actually broke a little rule and allowed us to change the time of the event to 11:00AM until 2:00PM.
Our catering is $300.00, which is also provided by the facility. Since it is a brunch ceremony. They have provided us with platters of sandwiches, fruit and cheese platters.
My dress was $100.00... yep! I caught the David's Bridal Semi-Annual Sale. The dress was regularly $900.00. Due to medical reasons, once I purchased my dress, I gained weight so I had to have alterations done. One done with alterations, the total price of my dress came to be $212.00 (sorry, which also included my birdcage veil.
My shoes, were already purchased from another event that we attended and I have only worn once and went perfect with my dress. So shoes... $0.00!
The groomsmen and bridesmaids all purchased their own tux and dresses. The only bill that we had to foot was for the groom's tux and the ring bearer's because he is our son. The groom's tux was discounted because of the size of our party so the groom's tux was only $50.00 and our son's tux was $100.00 due to his size for his age. The price for their tux included everything except their underwear! LOL. The total for the groom is $150.00.
My day of preparations... My hair will be done by ME for FREE. The cost of my extentions will be about $30.00 due to the awesome discount I receive for being a cosmetology student. We will head to the spa the day before for nails, toes and eyebrows which will total about $50.00. My make-up will be done by one of the students at my school and she will charge me $25.00 for the service. This will be a total of $105.00!
Bouquets! This will be FREE! Yep... I said it, FREE! My best friend's mother offered to handle all floral designs for free. With that she also purchased the toasting flutes as well.
The ring bearer pillow and unity candle... FREE! These were a gift from the maid of honor.
Flower Girl Baskets were $5.00 and I bought flowers from Dollar Tree for about $6.00 and used my hot glue gun to attach those and the petals were purchased from Hobby Lobby for 10.00 a box. Since I have two girls, this totaled $42.00.
The Invitations were purchsed from Vista Print for $35.00 for the 50 invitations that we needed.
Our venue did not include centerpieces so I purchased bird cages from Michaels. I bought about 6 of these for a total of $50.00. The birds, pearls, lace and other accessories to create these were bought from Hobby Lobby which probably totaled less than $100.00 for all 5 centerpieces and the favor cage which has lollipops that say thank you. For two boxes of these that consisted of 25 each were about $20.00 total. This is a total of $170.00.
Since the venue has an amazing audio system, we do not have to pay for a DJ. We are able to create three disk for pre-ceremony, ceremony and reception... So! NO DJ service fees.
Photography... FREE! My fiance's cousin's wife is a photographer and gave us a huge discount for a package that included our memory book, the disk of all photos, coverage for the entire event, and 12 sheets of pictures. The small fee that was charged was a wedding gift from the fiance's parents.
We have two flower girls (me neices) who already had their dresses from a previous wedding that never happened. Our daughters will be carrying the sign - Here Comes The Bride - that I purchased from Party City for $5.00 on sale. Their dresses were purchased from Marshalls for $15.00 a piece. Total for flower girls is $35.00!
Groom's prep fees will be $20.00. His barber will be handling all of his grooming. Since he is a frequent customer, he will only charge him $20.00 total.
HONEYMOON - We decided that we wanted to wait until our year anniversary and take a cruise since we have children and FH is unable to take off from work at this time. However, at the bridal shower, our parents have something up their sleeves that they won't share but I'm sure it is something good.
The total for everything came to be $2,579.00!! So yes... a BUDGET wedding is possible!!
AND YES... 6 MORE DAYS!!!
