Comments on: So How Much Will All This Cost? http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/ Manolo Loves the Brides! Tue, 22 May 2012 18:25:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: The Manolo Week in Review » Manolo's Shoe Blog http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-159572 The Manolo Week in Review » Manolo's Shoe Blog Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:22:30 +0000 http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/#comment-159572 [...] Twistie… I’m a great believer in the concept that a wedding will cost precisely what you are willing to spend on it. [...] [...] Twistie… I’m a great believer in the concept that a wedding will cost precisely what you are willing to spend on it. [...]

]]> By: Twistie http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-159135 Twistie Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:18:05 +0000 http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/#comment-159135 Leah, you and your gracious bride friend are clearly ladies after my own heart! That's a lovely story. And yes! add me to the chorus saying it doesn't have to cost that much. It costs what you are willing to spend. I'm so used to thinking that averages in cases like this are more interesting trivia than requirement that I sometimes forget there are people who think that's actually how much you have to spend to have a wedding. Leah, you and your gracious bride friend are clearly ladies after my own heart! That’s a lovely story.

And yes! add me to the chorus saying it doesn’t have to cost that much. It costs what you are willing to spend. I’m so used to thinking that averages in cases like this are more interesting trivia than requirement that I sometimes forget there are people who think that’s actually how much you have to spend to have a wedding.

]]> By: Never teh Bride http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-159124 Never teh Bride Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:42:25 +0000 http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/#comment-159124 That's awesome, Dianasaur -- now I feel twice as good about that fact that pretty much all of our wedding leftovers (platters, decorations, etc.) went to the Goodwill after the wedding! That’s awesome, Dianasaur — now I feel twice as good about that fact that pretty much all of our wedding leftovers (platters, decorations, etc.) went to the Goodwill after the wedding!

]]> By: Dianasaur http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-159083 Dianasaur Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:54:26 +0000 http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/#comment-159083 Wow, I apparently save $15000! I totally agree about the location, that helped us save a ton of money on decorations. I got most decorations and serving trays, etc and goodwill or ebay. I also made my own invitations which was a big help. Since my mom made my dress it was only about $100. I did a lot of bargaining to have a gorgeous wedding for about $6000 Wow, I apparently save $15000! I totally agree about the location, that helped us save a ton of money on decorations. I got most decorations and serving trays, etc and goodwill or ebay. I also made my own invitations which was a big help. Since my mom made my dress it was only about $100. I did a lot of bargaining to have a gorgeous wedding for about $6000

]]> By: C* http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-159079 C* Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:43:16 +0000 http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/#comment-159079 Those are all great ideas, Twistie. I agree NtB that the assumption that you have to shell out upwards of 30K for a nice wedding is absurd. We spend just under $20K for a 125 guest wedding in central PA (according to the calculator average wedding cost: $36,290), 5 star honeymoon in Mexico, AND an open house for 100 back in Salt Lake where we live. We cut costs by only serving wine instead of having a full bar, having a luncheon reception, DIYing all our paper goods (invites, programs, place cards etc.), and by doing all the food/beverages ourselves for the open house. Those are all great ideas, Twistie. I agree NtB that the assumption that you have to shell out upwards of 30K for a nice wedding is absurd. We spend just under $20K for a 125 guest wedding in central PA (according to the calculator average wedding cost: $36,290), 5 star honeymoon in Mexico, AND an open house for 100 back in Salt Lake where we live.

We cut costs by only serving wine instead of having a full bar, having a luncheon reception, DIYing all our paper goods (invites, programs, place cards etc.), and by doing all the food/beverages ourselves for the open house.

]]> By: Leah http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-159045 Leah Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:00:44 +0000 http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/#comment-159045 This is all right on the money, pun only somewhat intended. A close friend of mine had her wedding for next to nothing, but she wouldn't have been able to do it without the love and support of those around her. Members of the church who normally played as a band during youth service volunteered to provide the music for the wedding and part of the reception for free, partially to make up for the fact that the church originally promised her the sanctuary for the date and then accidentally gave it to someone else so she had to rearrange the wedding into a local park with only a couple months notice. Family members and friends pitched in to make food, flower arrangements, decorations, and invitations, and to steam tablecloths, set up the whole wedding area, build a backdrop for the vows, and problem-solve all morning on the day of. Fortunately, she was the kind of bride that made it easy for us to help her out without any resentment. She was very easy-going, flexible, un-demanding, and most importantly, genuinely thankful for everyone who had chosen to spend that day with her and her husband. And she never lost sight of what was really important about that day--that she was marrying the love of her life. It is one of the few weddings that has ever made me cry, and I was so happy to have been a part of making it happen for her, even if my contribution was only a small one. If you can afford it, you can always buy the help you need. But for those of us smart enough not to mortgage the house for our wedding, we need to remember how valuable the help and support of our loved ones can be. Getting married should be the opposite of an excuse to take out your stress on everyone around you. If you focus on giving love and being thankful for what you have, not only will you get it back in spades in ways that will massively reduce your stress level, you will also be far less likely to be stressed out about those things in the first place. A wedding should be about love, not keeping up with the Jones or showing off or impressing anyone. It should be about sharing, thankfulness, and joy--and you can't buy any of those things. This is all right on the money, pun only somewhat intended. A close friend of mine had her wedding for next to nothing, but she wouldn’t have been able to do it without the love and support of those around her. Members of the church who normally played as a band during youth service volunteered to provide the music for the wedding and part of the reception for free, partially to make up for the fact that the church originally promised her the sanctuary for the date and then accidentally gave it to someone else so she had to rearrange the wedding into a local park with only a couple months notice. Family members and friends pitched in to make food, flower arrangements, decorations, and invitations, and to steam tablecloths, set up the whole wedding area, build a backdrop for the vows, and problem-solve all morning on the day of. Fortunately, she was the kind of bride that made it easy for us to help her out without any resentment. She was very easy-going, flexible, un-demanding, and most importantly, genuinely thankful for everyone who had chosen to spend that day with her and her husband. And she never lost sight of what was really important about that day–that she was marrying the love of her life. It is one of the few weddings that has ever made me cry, and I was so happy to have been a part of making it happen for her, even if my contribution was only a small one.

If you can afford it, you can always buy the help you need. But for those of us smart enough not to mortgage the house for our wedding, we need to remember how valuable the help and support of our loved ones can be. Getting married should be the opposite of an excuse to take out your stress on everyone around you. If you focus on giving love and being thankful for what you have, not only will you get it back in spades in ways that will massively reduce your stress level, you will also be far less likely to be stressed out about those things in the first place. A wedding should be about love, not keeping up with the Jones or showing off or impressing anyone. It should be about sharing, thankfulness, and joy–and you can’t buy any of those things.

]]> By: Never teh Bride http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-159041 Never teh Bride Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:05:26 +0000 http://manolobrides.com/2008/03/02/so-how-much-will-all-this-cost/#comment-159041 I love Cost of Wedding -- in fact it's one of the resources featured early on in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416578544/ref=cm_arms_pdp_dp" rel="nofollow">iDo</a><a>! The thing that irks me about those 'average cost' calculators is that they make people think it's impossible to have a wedding for less than, say, $30K. I spent far less than that in an area where house prices are in the high seven figures! It's important for people on a budget to remember that just because a lot of people are spending that much doesn't mean you can't have a beautiful, elegant wedding for less. It really is the small choices you make -- one thing that saved The Beard and me a bunch of cash was that we chose to serve a cold buffet rather than a hot sit-down meal. Because the buffet wasn't warmed, no one needed to monitor things like chafing dishes...and in the Florida heat no one really missed having a hot meal. And not having to pay for on-site staff meant HUGE SAVINGS.</a> I love Cost of Wedding — in fact it’s one of the resources featured early on in iDo! The thing that irks me about those ‘average cost’ calculators is that they make people think it’s impossible to have a wedding for less than, say, $30K. I spent far less than that in an area where house prices are in the high seven figures! It’s important for people on a budget to remember that just because a lot of people are spending that much doesn’t mean you can’t have a beautiful, elegant wedding for less.

It really is the small choices you make — one thing that saved The Beard and me a bunch of cash was that we chose to serve a cold buffet rather than a hot sit-down meal. Because the buffet wasn’t warmed, no one needed to monitor things like chafing dishes…and in the Florida heat no one really missed having a hot meal. And not having to pay for on-site staff meant HUGE SAVINGS.

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