How much would/did you spend on a wedding?

I really like small and simple weddings; mine cost easily under $2,000. However, that doesn’t seem to be the way most people do it these days.

My 1st wedding was about $5000. not including wedding clothes, rings, pre wedding dinners or the honeymoon. My upcoming 2nd wedding is going to be less, in every way. Our focus is to have a fabulous honeymoon and of course, all will be paid up ahead of time.

We might be a rarity but we aren’t expecting gifts. It seemed rude to add into our invitations the “no gifts please” because it smacks of passive-aggressive pandering for cash.

First marriage, nothing – my Mother In Law paid for the license, and we were married in the courthouse by the clerk. I wore a dress the MIL gave me, and the County Clerk gave us some flowers she had sitting on her desk.

Second marriage – I gave the minister, my Uncle, $100, and my dress cost around $25.00. The flowers I carried cost around $15.00. My parents took the wedding party of eight people out to dinner at Luby’s Cafeteria.

Third marriage – zero. My husband and I married each other in the woods, accompanied by some deer, butterflies, and flowers.

We later bought a license and had a house party, where our minister/friend signed, and a few friends shared the cake we bought, probably a total expenditure of $75.00.

I’m all about keeping costs down. My mom said that back when she got married, most people would serve cake and punch at their reception and everyone was happy and fine with that. I don’t like huge decadent displays (especially ones where kids are not allowed, we have a huge family and the little ones are always part of the joy of the occasion). One of my cousins threw one of the best weddings ever on a budget. She got a beautiful dress, on sale, at David’s bridal for $99. She had one of her friends, who was going to culinary school cater her reception (3 kinds of pasta, 3 kinds of sauce, vegetables salad and bread) which was delicious. She had another friend make her beautiful wedding cake, with a set of extra cup cakes set up on those tiered pastry stands that she found at the thrift store. She and some of my other cousins did all of the centerpieces and bouquets themselves, they also made music CD’s so no need for a DJ. It was a December wedding, so she used clear glass vases (probably from Smart and Final or the 99 Cent store) with evergreen sprigs, red holly-like berries, and red and white roses and tea lights on all of the tables. The hall, was on the military base where one of their friends was able to help them rent it for a decent price. My cousins also put together fun goody bags with small toys, games and coloring books and crayons and candy for all of the little kids, to keep them occupied and happy. I was so pleased and impressed at what she was able to accomplish.

@YARNLADY That’s so awesome that you guys went to Luby’s! That is my kind of reception. Everybody gets what they want, no fuss no muss. But I also like your forest wedding. : )

I’m one of those that wasn’t surprised by the average. The thing is, that once the final bill is tallied, it seems like a staggering amount. Most expensive weddings grow out of the details versus sticking to a budget. For a handful, they have the money to burn. For some, it is their dream. And then there are those that feel the need to follow a tradition, even if it puts them in debt. So be it. It is their choice.

I’m engaged, and it will be the first marriage for both of us. We will probably spend ~$1000 on the civil ceremony certificate, rings, a simple dress for me, and an Indian takeaway dinner for his parents and us who will be the only ones attending. There will be no formal announcements, nor a registration for gifts. We could afford to have an expensive wedding, but our personal choice is to spend our money in other ways. Send us a ‘congratulations’ notice when the day finally comes, and that will make our day.

My dad paid for my wedding, so I don’t know the exact cost. I know that it was in the ballpark, but under $1,500…. and it was perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I don’t know exactly, my father footed the bill, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t cost more than $1500. My dress was only $100, my BIL’s band played the music, and we were married at a state park. I always wanted to be married outside. We only had 75 guests.

If I could do it over again I would have less people and just get married on the south shore of Lake Superior, barefoot, in shorts and a hoodie.

I think about $1000. And $500 of that was cash my dad gave us.

How much would I spend on our wedding if I could? I’d increase the current guest list to include all of my friends and a few family members and treat everyone to the train ride in the mountains where my sweetie and I first felt like we were falling in love with the idea of each other. I’d treat them all to a fabulous sit down dinner in the hotel where we originally stayed, put them all up in rooms overnight and then host a mid morning brunch. It would run about the $20K estimated to be average in the other post.

Between my wife’s gown, renting the estate, catering for 40 people (including bacon-wrapped scallops), the JP, and all that, it was under $1,000.

@jerv Any rings or a honeymoon involved?

We had a buffet because our wedding theme was “cheap.” It was in my brother-in-law’s backyard, and my sister-in-law did the cooking as our gift. The food was in a wide variety of scrounged up and loaned crock pots in her kitchen; drinks in ice in a kiddie pool. Mr. Laureth homebrewed the mead and beer. People ate outside in whatever they saw fit to wear, from a suit to a sarong. People said they had fun, and the cost was probably $1000, including the dress I wore and our plain gold bands from an antique shop. Make it $1500 if you include the honeymoon (camping at a festival one state away).

@Pied_Pfeffer Rings were about $100 for the pair, and we got a good deal on a two-night stay at the honeymoon suite overlooking Lake Placid.

@jerv Correction- it was a three night stay at the honeymoon suite and the rings were $75. (I found a good deal at our local jewelry shop) :)

We had a fairly simple service in the garden at a lovely estate. Because it was late spring and the place was rather plush, we didn’t need to buy a ton of flowers for ambiance. And because the wedding took place mid afternoon, the rental price was cheaper than if we had opted to do it earlier or later.

The estate took care of the catering and my grandmother made a three tier spice cake with buttercream frosting (she had been a cake decorator and this was her wedding gift to us). The dress was sewn by a local seamstress, my uncle handled the photography and the JP was the same one who married @jerv ‘s parents. All in all, it was a simple but elegant ceremony.

@jerv is slightly mistaken about the grand total though. When was all was said and done, it was just under $1500 (I know because I handled the bookkeeping)

I spent 15 dollars and it still was the one of most amazing day of my life.
We just got married at the court house. I wore a beautiful red dress and my husband wore his dress blues.

Man. I feel ripped off after hearing your stories. My daughters got 20K and anything more they paid, anything less they kept.

We had a budget of $100 for food and $100 for flowers. We spent about $400 on our rings. I bought a dress off the rack for about $120, and we gave $50 to the minister. Our friends brought food and champagne to our house. That was it.

No parents were taxed in the making of this wedding.

Whatever it costs to get married in Vegas!

@Judi 20K for a wedding???

Afterthought: our budget reflected both our extremely limited resources and the fact that we wanted to spend the most on the things that would last the longest. The food was gone the same day, and the flowers lasted about a week. I wore the gown one other time (it was ivory and didn’t look particularly bridal), to a banquet, and so it cost $60 per wearing. The rings are still solid—and shiny—33 years later.