Wedding Budgets: You Don't Know Jack!

I, as many others, used to sit back while watching wedding shows and scoff at how brides couldn't spend within their budgets. Heck, I still do! I about lost it the other day while catching "Rich Bride, Poor Bride" when the couple had $40 or $50K to spend on the wedding, fought each other about what got cut and what didn't, and still went $24K over budget (and they shrugged it off as if it was nothing because daddy was paying)! My head about exploded.

It took me a while to wrap my head around spending a few thousand dollars on one day; family gathering, celebrating, etc. granted - I still couldn't rationalize spending, essentially a salary, on that one day. While I still would balk at even thinking about spending $20K, I could easily be talked into it.

Our budget is no where near those numbers, but it's a budget that makes us happy. We are not lavish people and we aren't foodies, so there really isn't much for us to spend our money on, right? Ha! We are quickly learning how fast vendors want to eat your entire budget. Tell them you have $x to spend on their service, and they fire back with proposals that come in at least $1K over your limit. That's without tips, unpredicted expenses, and unrealistic estimates on how much people will drink (yes, I'm talking about a caterer).

To be fair, we are just starting out with some of these conversations with vendors, so we have yet to see how willing they are to work within our budget and how well they listen to what we want. However, with the estimates for catering, I'm already trying to rack my brain for other, more cost-effective, options.

Money goes quick when you're planning a wedding. On paper, we already have expenses divided between "budgeted for" and "out of pocket" expenses. So our budget is more for day-of expenses and vendors: venue, officiant, food, beverage, cake. Even with limiting the money to the day-of vendors, we're still left trying to figure out creative ways to get around the expenses we can't fit into the budget, or may have to choose between: like photography and entertainment. Yes, photography, due to the size of the expense for just day-of shooting, is on the chopping block. *tear*

Just looking at our big picture budget right now (we haven't gotten into the details of out of town bags or decorations yet), it's very easy to see how couples go over budget for their wedding in just trying to provide the basics for themselves and their guests.

While we wait for the caterers to revise their proposal and be in denial about the $4/glass of soda expense ($480 for soda, tea, and water?!?!), we will distract ourselves by choosing the combinations of cake and icing that we'll be trying from three various bakers. *drool*

Even for Classic Coke in a glass bottle, $4 is a stretch!

Speaking of yummy cake - here is the inspiration for our current cake design idea. *evil grins*

Bond Cake, James Bond Cake