Yesterday I announced my new second blog, which means that I can get back to talking about all things WEDDING on Making Sense of Cents again. Okay, I really won't be talking about our wedding that much, but some is better than none, right? I haven't talked about the wedding in quite a while, but there are a lot of things that we need to start planning.
We have a wedding budget of less $20,000 for a couple hundred people, which isn't an easy task to do. We definitely want to stay on budget, and I do think that a budget of less than $20,000 is possible. And, I would prefer us to stay somewhere around $10,000 to $15,000…
We need to stick to our wedding budget checklist in order for this to happen. Having a wedding on a budget is very possible so don't let anyone tell you other wise.
We'll be paying for our wedding completely ourselves, so paying a super large amount just for one day doesn't appeal to us. I'd rather put money towards other things, but I still want an awesome day! Here is Part 1 of my wedding budget checklist:
Wedding Dress for my wedding on a budget.
The first part of my wedding budget checklist is the wedding dress, of course!
I finally have started planning some things, and let me tell you, it is hard to plan for something when it is so far away. I did make an appointment for wedding dress shopping for the last Saturday in June, and I'm really looking forward to that.
It's a really cute bridal shop in the historic part of town, and they said that their dresses usually average around $800 to $1,500. If I can find a dress in that range, I will be extremely happy. I really don't want to spend more than that on a dress that I only wear once. BUT, I also don't want to go cheap and buy something that I don't like, only because it is cheap.
I know what kind of dress that I want, but I don't know if it's possible. I want a sweetheart neckline with a low back, and some sparkle. Not sure if I want a mermaid style, a-line or anything else yet.
My tip would be to call and see what their average dress costs at the shop. Obviously if the average dress there cost over $5,000 and your budget is less than $1,000, you probably don't even want to step a foot in that bridal shop because you will most likely go over your budget by falling in love with something too expensive.
Attending bridal shows also helps. I've been to a couple, and you get so many coupons for making an appointment to try on dresses. While I didn't actually ever follow through with my appointment (I cancelled right after the bridal show for all of them), they do offer anywhere from $50 to 15% off at the places that I made appointments with.
Also, read reviews! I read reviews on a lot of bridal shops. One that I had my heart set on, had the worst reviews that I have ever read in my entire life.
Some of the numerous reviews? They cut out all the tags and brand labels from their dresses. They don't tell you the price until after you say “yes to the dress,” and they don't tell you the brand name until AFTER you buy.
They do this so that you are committed and cannot look around at other stores, and they are then able to charge much more than other places because you don't know what you are looking at. I would say this would just be a couple unlucky customers, but this place has over 100 bad reviews that are all similar, and only a couple of good reviews (which sound like they are from the owners). Save time and money in this instance. I also read some reviews where the owner yelled at the brides for asking for the label tag. UGH sounds like a horrible experience.
There are of course many, many other ways to save on your wedding dress so that you can have your dream wedding on a budget:
- Buy used. There are so many websites out there that offer a used wedding dress marketplace. I've been browsing these just to look at dresses and see real pictures of girls wearing dresses. I don't see myself ever buying one, and that is only because I am very indecisive and already know that I will try on many, many dresses before I like one.
- Wear a family hand-me-down and alter it! This is a great option. You can keep the dress in the family and it'll be very sentimental.
- Buy a basic dress and have it altered. My friend bought a very pretty dress for around $500 and did all sorts of things to alter it. She switched it to a sweetheart neckline, added buttons going down the back, and did more, all for under $150 I believe. It looks awesome, and very expensive! Much more expensive than you would guess.
- Look for sample sales. Every now and then, stores will have sample sales and sell their dresses for super cheap. You might be able to find your dream dress for much, much cheaper. Also, some stores have a “returned dress” rack. Some might think that this is “bad luck” but I personally don't believe that. Usually these dresses are heavily discounted.
Have you done any of these? Tell us all! I'm sure other readers would love to hear about it.
Photographer for my wedding on a budget.
We have already paid for our photographer, and she is my DREAM photographer. I love her style and I am so happy that I was able to get such a good deal with her.
Photography is one thing that I do not want to skimp on at all, and it is something that I researched like crazy. I always hear about how some brides thought that they didn't care about photography, so they went cheap. Then after they get their photos back, they are extremely sad about going cheap with what could be the main way to remember your wedding.
I've been searching for the perfect photographer for quite some time, and after some very extreme unprofessionalism and rudeness from my original “dream” photographer (I have been wanting to use this lady for YEARS now), I decided to just take her out of the running.
Then, all of a sudden I found another dream photographer with a very similar style. This girl was HALF the price of the other. I was about to book her, but I wanted to keep looking at her photos that she had taken in the past to make sure. Then the very next day she announced that she would give $500 off to anyone who booked that day. Well, you can guess what happened next. I BOOKED IMMEDIATELY. $2,000 for an awesome photographer is definitely a deal/steal.
I have numerous tips for photographer shopping:
- Ask around. See who your friends or family like. Maybe you can get a recommendation for a photographer and have an idea for what everything could potentially cost.
- Determine what type of style you like. This will help you cut out a lot of photographers if you know what style you are going for.
- See if you can get a lower price for fewer services. If you're having a short wedding, and only want a couple of hours photographed, see if your dream photographer could possibly lower their price.
Also, you can risk it and wait for an awesome sale like I did. A lot of photographers will offer some sort of discount, you just have to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, etc. in order to see what they are offering. We booked our photographer over a year ahead of time, so we were able to wait for any deals that came up.
How much was your wedding dress? How much did you spend on photography?
What was your total wedding cost? What was your original wedding budget?
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Sara says
June 11, 2013 at 5:46 amI love these wedding posts! I ended up buying my dress for $1800 which I think is a good deal
in NY. After my wedding I learned of a charity that accepts wedding dresses and resells them.
It’s called Brides Against Breast Cancer. They have a two day pop up sale in most major cities.
I ended up donating my wedding dress along with some bridesmaid dresses to them. It’s a good option for those on a budget.
I am in total agreement that you can’t skimp on your photographer. It’s the only thing that
you have to remember the wedding.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 7:19 am$1,800 isn’t bad still. I just don’t see how girls spend $10,000 or more on a dress!
Thomas says
June 11, 2013 at 5:51 amI know you said paying a super large amount for one day doesnt appeal but $20k for one day is a lot. LOL. My wifey and I went to the court house, she didn’t buy a dress, we got married, and went to a nice restaurant with friends. Total cost = less then $500 but it was priceless. As for the dress I say look for sales or hopefully you have that family hand me down those are great choices.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 7:20 amHaha well $20K for a couple hundred people isn’t as bad. We want to stay more towards $10K or $15K. And we would just go to the courthouse, but I really want an awesome party! 🙂
Kylie Ofiu says
July 15, 2013 at 4:00 amI did my wedding for under $10k including overseas honeymoon. I was surprised when shopping for a dress. First shop $300, next shop $700, last shop $1,000. Same street, 3 shops, exact same dress. I bought from the first shop! Actually, I wanted my mums dress, which was her cousins, but it wasn’t located until last minute so I wore that for the ceremony and mine for the reception.
Good luck finding your dress.
Jordann @ My Alternate Life says
June 11, 2013 at 6:25 amAhh this is so exciting! For my wedding dress, I went to a local shop that had good reviews from people that I’d talked to. I told them my price range right away, and they only showed me dresses that were in that range. I had some fun with it and tried on a huge variety of styles, and eventually I settled on a dress that was $970 taxes in, which was perfect because my budget was $1000. I did go over budget though, because I forgot about alterations, which were $150. Don’t forget that you will probably need to get it hemmed/cups added/bustle added and those things cost money!
For a photographer, I really didn’t want to spend the money, because our whole wedding budget was under $5k and most photographers are around $2k. But, I’m a huge photography buff so I was really worried about not ending up with good photos. My compromise? My fiance’s step brother has an amazing camera and is an amateur photographer. I’ve seen his work and it’s pretty good. He’s going to shoot our wedding in RAW file format and I’m going to do the editing myself. On top of that, we’re doing a photography “I Spy” game for the guests, and asking them to upload their photos onto a Facebook group. We should end up with thousands of photos to choose from by turning our guests into a couple hundred mini photographers!
I’ll let you know how that photography plan works out – only 11 days to go!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 7:21 amoooh I can’t wait until you show pictures of your dress! I bet it is so pretty.
And that is an awesome idea for your photos! 🙂
Liz S says
June 11, 2013 at 4:56 pmAnother thing you can do is leave disposable cameras on every table at the reception, and have people use them up and then leave them for you. 😛
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:52 amYes, great idea Liz 🙂 Thanks! I definitely want to do that.
MomofTwoPreciousGirls says
June 12, 2013 at 8:00 pmI did this, and its amusing, but the quality was awful and sadly my brother in law was 8 at the time and he took every picture, with his finger covering the flash!
Photography and the food were our two most important pieces of the budget. We wanted to concentrate as much as we could there. Our photographer was an Emmy award winning journalistic style guy. We loved the idea of capturing the moments and candid shots.
I was searching online one day at dresses and fell in love with one so much I cried looking at it. I was certain there was no way we could afford it. The pricing was not listed, but I was directed to a bridal shop local to my job. When I walked in one of my clients was the owner. I showed her what I wanted, she looked it up while I held my breath. She then told me it was just $400! I was so happy. I just had her measure me and order it…I didn’t try on any other dresses!
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:50 pmWow $400 is awesome!
Holly@ClubThrifty says
June 11, 2013 at 6:27 amI bought my wedding dress off the rack for $250. If I had to do it again, I would probably try craigslist. There are a ton of beautiful dresses on there all the time!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 7:21 amThat’s definitely a great deal! Hopefully I can find something for super cheap like that.
Brian says
June 11, 2013 at 7:05 amWe spent $12k and had close to 300 people show up to our wedding. We saved a ton of money because we got married in the off season and on a Friday (2/29/08 – yes that’s right I convinced my wife to get married on leap day).
As far as the dress my wife found one she liked and then order it from Pearl’s Place and saved a ton of money going that route.
In the end our real budget buster was food. We kept our choices very moderate and geared towards comfort food, but when close to 300 people show up it gets expensive! Of course you can crush a food budget if you go “open bar” but that wasn’t going to happen because my in laws aren’t big drinkers, so we chose a venue that had a great bar and Beer Garden
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 7:26 amThat’s awesome! We are getting married at W’s grandparents. They have a really pretty home on a lot of land, and there are a couple of weddings there every year. Having an “estate” wedding can be expensive though. We need to rent a huge tent, tables, chairs and “luxurious bathrooms” and these definitely add up!
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer says
June 11, 2013 at 7:30 amSounds like you’re doing great with your planning, Michelle! My mom made my dress (yes, she’s awesome 🙂 ) so I don’t know that we spent more than $300 on it. Regarding photographers, we went with a great one, but he said he would be sending one of his employees, who it turned out, was not nearly as great, although we were promised he would be. To this day I regret not standing firm about wanting the actual owner, and I hate our wedding pics. A good photographer is so important!!!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 8:24 amThat’s awesome that your mom made your dress! 🙂
And oh no, that really stinks about the photos!
DC @ Young Adult Money says
June 11, 2013 at 7:32 am$2k for a solid photographer is great. I read on another blog (not mentioning names) that it’s impossible to book a good photographer for less than $3k. That is absolutely ridiculous. We had an amazing photographer (PLUS second shooter) for $1.5k. After our wedding a few friends saw our photos and went with her. We also have friends who regretted NOT going with her. The funny thing is both of those couples (the ones who did not go with her but regretted it and the ones who booked her) said they “didn’t like her style” yet once they saw our photos they were sold. There are tons of talented photographers who are $2k or less!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 8:25 amIn St. Louis, I think most photographers are relatively cheap. Usually $2K to $3K is the norm here thankfully!
Carolyn says
June 11, 2013 at 10:34 amI’m looking for a good St. Louis photographer (not wedding planning yet, but it’s fun to look!) Would you be willing to share the name of the photographer you went with or email me?
Thanks!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 11:11 amYes of course! I am using http://www.harperandbrothersimages.com/index2.php
Daisy @ Prairie Eco Thrifter says
June 11, 2013 at 7:53 amYou must be so excited! I don’t think that just because the dress is less expensive it will be cheap looking. It depends on where you buy it from. You never know, there may be a sale!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 8:26 amThanks Daisy! And I know, I probably should have worded that better. I meant that I didn’t want to buy something of a lesser price just because it is cheap. My cheapness can get the best of me sometimes!
debtperception says
June 11, 2013 at 8:07 amTotal wedding cost: $65 for the dress and the marriage license. I got married at the courthouse. My dress was on sale for $30 at Burlington Coat Factory. Very simple white dress that I can wear again and I plan on dyeing a light blue color. My photographers were free, my family. My 12 year old niece got some interesting shots on her disposable camera. 🙂 My mom brought a cake and my dad treated us all to Red Lobster.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 8:27 amSounds nice! 🙂 We would just get married at the courthouse (would have done that a long time ago), but I’ve always wanted a big wedding since I have no family.
Matt Becker says
June 11, 2013 at 8:14 amMy wife wore her mom’s wedding dress and it was beautiful (and cost effective!). A photographer is something I wish we hadn’t skimped on. We had a family member in charge and he took some great pictures, just not very many of them. I wish we had more candid shots from the reception.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 8:28 amThat’s awesome! I wish I had the option of wearing a family members’ dress.
Savvy Financial Latina says
June 11, 2013 at 9:12 amI really can’t comment on this. I didn’t have my dream wedding. We had a small ceremony. We said at the time, we would have a small ceremony, and then have a big party later on. We were really poor college students, and didn’t have money to pay for a wedding. Not sure if we will ever have the big party. We’ll probably go renew our vows on an awesome vacation destination.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 11:22 amStill sounds great! For us, we already live/act as though we are married, so the wedding for us is just a reason to have an awesome party and get everyone together. Also, I love planning stuff haha
Jake @ Common Cents Wealth says
June 11, 2013 at 9:18 amThese are awesome tips. My wife and I got married almost 2 years ago now and had a fabulous wedding for 150 people for less than $20k, so it’s definitely doable. I completely agree that the photographer is a huge part. We found a great one (also a little spendy) and ended up with almost 1,000 high quality photos. Our family and friends loved them. Also, we got the original rights to the photos so we can do with them what we want. I know it’s only one day, but you don’t want to look too cheap.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 11:12 amThanks Jake!
Rachel says
June 11, 2013 at 9:47 amAlong with the “buy used” tip, I recommend looking at wedding dresses in consignment shops. You’d be amazed at how many new with tags still attached dresses are there because a bride fell in love with another dress or a wedding got canceled. I got my wedding dress with Alfred Angelo and set an attire budget of $1,000. I found a $900 dress and since the seasons were switching over, I got it for $500. A friend of mine actually bought a bridesmaid dress in off white instead of a “bridal gown” so shopping the other sections (like bridesmaid dress, formal wear and prom) is also a great way to save.
We got in with a great photographer last minute after our original photographer flakes out on us. Joni was new to the business and had low prices, quick turnaround and really “got” the point of marriage (our other actually didn’t). We looked for a package that gave us permission to print our own pictures and negotiated a nice wedding album since we already had engagement photos (free) from the flakey photographer. I think our package was in the neighborhood of $900… two years later the same package is about twice that because she’s in high demand since establishing herself.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 11:12 amSounds like a lot of great deals and tips!
anna says
June 11, 2013 at 9:59 amWe have a similar mindset on the budget, as well as the dress though I might go lower. Awesome tips about reading reviews! I completely agree about the photographer – the memories of the food fades, but pictures are forever!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 11:12 amI would definitely like to go lower on the dress also.
Alexa says
June 11, 2013 at 10:34 amI think if you want a photographer at your wedding but don’t want to pay a lot of money you could use a new less experience photographer for cheap. A photography student may even do it for free in exchange for you feedback and pic for their portfolio.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 11:13 amVery true Alexa. Thanks!
Jules@Fat Guy,Skinny Wallet says
June 11, 2013 at 10:41 amGreat ideas! We spent about 3,000 on our wedding with 200 guests. We had a beautiful wedding! I paid 800$ for my dress and the photographer was just starting her own business, but she was great! We paid $800 for her also. We didnt get prints, but got a cd with rights to print so we could order when we wanted. I wouldnt have it any other way. My uncle is a videographer and did it all free. My mom in law decorates weddings all the time, and we had the reception in our church gym, and it was all decked out with lattice and lights. U are definately right not to skimp on pictures, they are the one thing that will be there after the wedding !
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 11:13 amWow that’s definitely a good deal for a 200 person wedding.
Erin @ Love, Fun & football says
June 11, 2013 at 11:26 amOur wedding cost around $10k total, for just at 200 guests. My dress + alterations cost around $800. Our photographer was about $1900! 🙂 Very happy with both!!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 12:22 pmAwesome! sounds like your wedding costs are pretty similar to ours.
Pauline says
June 11, 2013 at 11:31 amI think my sister’s dress was about $800 with adjustments and so on, I am torn on the subject, it IS a lot of money for something you wear once and yes you do want to have the time of your life… but they are freaking expensive!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 12:23 pmSo expensive! But I think it’ll be worth it 🙂
Catherine says
June 11, 2013 at 11:58 amI paid $600 off the rack (down from 2200) for my dress. It was too good of a price. My intention was to have it cut into a baptism gown but my family askes me to keep it intact in case Maria wants it when she’s older. ….
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 12:23 pmWow that is an awesome price!
Crystal says
June 11, 2013 at 12:09 pmMr. BFS and I got married in 2005 and had around 60 people at the wedding and reception. The total cost was around $3000 and was split about evenly 3 ways – we covered some, my parents covered some, and my in-laws covered some.
I didn’t have a dress budget in mind, but found it at David’s Bridal – it was on the discount rack because it was a bit on the short side for regular-sized women…luckily, I’m 5’2″ so the $125 was a perfect price for me. Our photographer was $500 and was amazing. My only regret was not having a videographer too.
You can see the total breakdown here – http://www.budgetinginthefunstuff.com/our-wedding-frugal-and-sooo-fun/. Good luck! I would suggest trying to stick to as low of a budget as possible (so that $10k or less range) – it was one of the reasons we were able to start life out so easily together and the money-to-perfect-day ratio sort of peters off after the basics are handled. You can have a gorgeous, fun day for less than $10k for sure. 🙂
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 12:27 pmThanks Crystal! We would like to spend less, but it’s hard since we need to rent a tent, tables, chairs, and bathrooms for everyone. That jacks up the price a lot.
Crystal says
June 13, 2013 at 10:59 amYou’re renting bathrooms? I must have missed your location for the event. Good luck!
Michelle says
June 13, 2013 at 1:09 pmYeah, since there are so many people coming, we thought it would be a good idea to do that. They are $1,500!
Cat Alford (@BudgetBlonde) says
June 11, 2013 at 12:09 pmYay! I’m so excited for you!!! I know you can definitely pull off an awesome day for under 20k! I wore my mom’s wedding dress. We bought new wedding lace off of ebay and basically just used the shell of her dress to make a new one. It was fun! You can see the before and after pics here: http://www.budgetblonde.com/2011/01/something-old-something-new.html
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 12:29 pmThanks Cat! 🙂
Kris says
June 11, 2013 at 12:29 pmMy dress cost $1,200. I found a tiny shop that had a bunch of basic styles that they custom made with additional embellishments of your choice – so in reality it was a custom-made dress. It was awesome and I love my dress. Love, love, love it.
Photos were $1,500? I think. I got a recommendation from a photographer that was amazing – which ended up being an up-and-coming amazing photographer. Now (5 years later) my photog is crazy expensive, but back then she was still working on her portfolio. I think getting a recommendation from an established photog for an up and coming one worked for us.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 3:11 pmThat sounds like a nice dress shop! Maybe I need to see if there are one of those around here.
Sean @ One Smart Dollar says
June 11, 2013 at 1:35 pmI am not sure about the total cost, but I believe it was about $8k. My wife’s dress was under $1k.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 3:11 pmThat’s awesome Sean!
Kathleen, Frugal Portland says
June 11, 2013 at 2:06 pmI LOVE wedding posts! I’m proud of you, sticking with a fairly low budget, given that you could pay for it in three months of blog income! 🙂
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 3:11 pmHaha thanks Kathleen 🙂
Lindsey @ Cents & Sensibility says
June 11, 2013 at 2:24 pmHey Michelle
Good job on finding a great photographer for such a great price! You’re right, $2000 is a good deal for a quality photographer.
I also think that your budget of $20,000 is perfect for a couple hundred people – you can throw a helluva party and still keep things reasonable. Not everyone is going to want a wedding at a courthouse or a backyard celebration so good for you for finding the middle ground.
Kijiji was my best friend for my wedding – I spent $500 on a photographer (the pictures were okay but I would have been happy to spend more on a higher caliber photographer).
I also bought my dress of Kijiji from a lady who sells new ones out of her home. I spent $300 on the dress and it was beautiful. However, I should have taken it to a seamstress to get some alterations so it fit better. It was fine on the day but it would have been perfect with a couple hundred in alterations.
Either way, you’re going to be beautiful and your wedding is going to be awesome!
Lindsey
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 3:12 pmThanks Lindsey! I can’t wait to share pictures with everyone 🙂
Allison says
June 11, 2013 at 2:27 pmI bought a used wedding dress. I could got a really nice brand from a consignment store. Loved it and it was less than 500 bucks.mplus, there was a little beading under the arm pit that came off. The store gave us a 10%discount and my mom can sew so she fixed it!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 3:12 pmThat’s awesome!
Elizabeth L says
June 11, 2013 at 2:58 pmI’m not married, but I’ve been a bridesmaid 10 times so I know what I’m talking about. 🙂
My wedding dress tips:
1. Figure out what type of dress looks good on you and what you want (or at least what you DON’T want) before you get serious with the shopping. I suggest going to David’s Bridal or another extra large wedding dress store where they mostly leave you alone. Try to go on a weeknight to avoid the crowds. You want to be able to try on LOTS of dresses with no stress. I’ve seen way too many brides fall apart because of the pushy sales people, the constrait of an appointment time, and the lack of knowing what they want. Go to your “real” appointments with a few things in mind…you’ll be so much better off and much more relaxed.
2. Try a bridal consignment store. A friend of mine found her dress at a local wedding dress consignment store for 60% off the original price. It had a few minor issues (lace slightly detached, missing buttons), but nothing a good seamstress can’t fix.
3. Find out the cost of the alterations upfront. At some places the alterations can cost almost as much as the dress! Be sure to factor that into your budget, especially if you’re petite and need a “hallow to hem” alteration (they have to remake the dress so you don’t lose any of the train or hemline elements). Shops are going to push you to use their seamstresses, but make sure you get a full estimate before you commit. Ask around and find out what other shops charge and what your friends paid. Alterations are important, but there is no reason to blow your budget on this one thing.
Can’t wait to read the rest of this series!
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 3:13 pmThanks so much for all of this! I read reviews on the place we are going to this month, and apparently the sales people aren’t pushy at all. They let you pretty much do your own thing, which is exactly what I want!
Tara says
June 11, 2013 at 4:42 pmMy dress came to $550 with everything (corset top, poofy underskirt, shoes, veil, dress) at David’s Bridal. I like it although I was hoping to be under that…
I got a steal on a photographer. My wedding is less than three months away but my sister in law is from a different country and has a friend here on a student visa that is trying to get her self established on a working visa as a photographer (so she needs to build her portfolio and our photos will be used for that). As such, she gave us a very affordable rate for her services ($600 plus tip for her assistant) for the digital images only along with paying for her cab ride to and from the ceremony (this is in NYC and the ceremony is on the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 15 min bus ride away from the subway). I assume we also got such a reduced rate because she is good friends with my sister-in-law. If you know a friend of a friend who is a budding photographer, they can be willing to take the photos at a discounted rate. I understand that you may be taking a chance on a less established photographer but if you are really in a bind, I suggest looking around in that way.
If you do go the friend of a friend route for a photographer, I CAN NOT emphasize enough the importance of a contract!!! Create your own if they don’t have one. We had to create a contract for our DJ that stipulated everything in case of issues. It’s great to get a good deal on your photographer/dj/photobooth, but if the guy/gal doesn’t show up on the day and you don’t have anything in your contract regarding that situation, you have no one to blame but yourself not putting some protections in the contract for that type of worst case scenario.
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 6:43 pmSounds like you definitely found some good deals. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Jenny @ Frugal Guru Guide says
June 11, 2013 at 6:33 pmIf you have contacts in China, you can get a spectacular wedding dress for around $300. 🙂 (My dh is Chinese.)
Michelle says
June 11, 2013 at 6:43 pmGood to know 🙂
cara says
June 11, 2013 at 6:50 pmI bought y wedding dress for $1800 (retail $8000), Kenneth Pool, purchased at Saks sample sale in NYC. I lucked out b/c my dress was a runway dress that never made it to production. Every sequin and bead was in place.
Wedding photography was $2000
total wedding budget was $25,000 but we spent close to $40,000 🙁
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:43 amAh $40K is so much! But all the power to you 🙂 I’m sure it was a gorgeous wedding.
Chris @ Stumble Forward says
June 11, 2013 at 8:35 pmWedding cost for my wife and I were around $10,000 from the hall to the honeymoon. On top of that our parents helped cover some of the cost so we didn’t have start our life out together in debt.
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:48 amThat’s awesome Chris!
Amanda @ the giraffe life says
June 11, 2013 at 9:05 pmI’m selling my wedding dress. 😉 Our total costs were roughly $7k for 65 guests, and I was very happy with that figure. We were a little stressed about money at certain points ($500 for a cake, what?!) but it all worked out in the end!
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:49 amIt might just be my computer, but the link to your dress isn’t working. Try leaving the link again 🙂 I want to see!
$7K is great!
Amanda @ the giraffe life says
June 12, 2013 at 12:05 pmI guess that’s what happens when I try to get fancy with html, heh . . here’s the link the old-fashioned way:
http://www.tradesy.com/weddings/wedding-dresses/justin-alexander-8502-wedding-dress-86501
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 1:36 pmOoooh so pretty! I love that!
Christine says
June 11, 2013 at 9:29 pmMy dress was like $450. I got really lucky and found my DREAM DRESS at the first shop for that price. I did spend a little money ($100?) on adding a sash to the dress to give it a little extra flair. We did splurge on the photographer (around $2000) and that was a big deal for us. Not only are wedding pictures SO IMPORTANT to us but my husband is something of an amateur photographer and we didn’t want to hire someone who we’d be able to pick out the flaws in their photos. I think total wedding was $15000-ish. Our reception venue was expensive but included EVERYTHING except cake. Seriously, it included DJ, food, tables, chairs, waiters, etc, etc, etc. It was great!!! I can’t wait to hear more about the wedding!
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:50 amWow that is awesome!
American Debt Project says
June 11, 2013 at 11:40 pmWe set our date and booked the venue. That’s it so far (and our wedding is next June). So you are way ahead of the game!
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:50 amHaha I’m glad I’m ahead 🙂
Julie says
June 12, 2013 at 6:47 amCongrats on scoring the awesome (and discounted) photographer! It sounds like you have the mindset. When talking about weddings with friends, I never hear a single person say “I wish we spent more money.” It’s ALWAYS the opposite.
My husband and I eloped at Caneel Bay in St. John, 15 years ago. I spent $700 on the dress of my dreams that I had seen in a bridal magazine. We spent $8000 total and that included the 7 day honeymoon after the ceremony. For us, it was the best way to go. (We had no money and $50K in debt at the time.) Caneel Bay was way fancy, totally top-notch and still to this day thee nicest resort I ever stayed at. As for planning, we had 3 wedding packages to choose from. Pick one and you’re done. The toughest decision I had to make was what flavor cake I wanted. 🙂
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:51 amOoooh I LOVE Caneel Bay! So pretty. Me and W went there last year and loved it. We didn’t stay at the resort (it was too expensive for us), but we did go to the beach there.
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank says
June 12, 2013 at 7:18 amMy wife thought that she was going to try on hundreds of dresses before she was going to find the right one. Turns out that she did try on quite a few (probably not 100 though) over the coming weeks and ended up buying one she saw on the first day she went looking…
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:51 amHaha well I hope that happens to me! 🙂
SuburbanFinance says
June 12, 2013 at 8:21 amI don’t think I’d buy a used wedding dress, if only because white looks less fresh after even one wear, and the principle behind it, but I love the tips.
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:52 amThanks! 🙂
Taynia @ Fiscal Flamingo says
June 12, 2013 at 2:58 pmI bought 6 wedding dresses. Yes 6! They were all used and all bought on eBay. That was back in the day when eBay was all the rage. I took 2 with me to the island (we got married in St. Thomas) and flipped a coin to decide which one I was going to wear. I kept those 2 and resold the other 4. All in all – I made a profit of $200. It was awesome.
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 3:10 pmThat is awesome Taynia! May I ask where in St. Thomas you got married?
John@MoneyPrinciple says
June 12, 2013 at 3:25 pmThe dress and the photographs are the most important.
Of your $20k budget don’t feel too bad about using a fair bit up. It’s what you have afterwards are photographs – you can show memories.
Good luck!
Michelle says
June 12, 2013 at 8:56 pmThanks John! 🙂
Alex @ Searching for Happy says
June 12, 2013 at 9:16 pmI forget the exact dollar value, but we did the entire wedding and honeymoon for under 5 grand. We had a MUCH smaller guest list though!
Michelle says
June 14, 2013 at 2:05 pmThat is awesome!
Sarah Li cain says
June 13, 2013 at 7:41 amPeople still don’t believe me when I say this, but my dress cost $30 (it was new) AND it was the first dress I tried on. Ok, I lived in China and I bought it from a wholesaler that made export (as in send it to North America) dresses. Depending on how much “risk” you are willing to take, there are some BEAUTIFUL dresses on ebay/Chinese companies that sell dresses in the style you are looking for, for probably about $600 USD or less. I have known people who have ordered dresses that way and loved it.
Personally, as much as I loved my dress, I don’t think I could go do the appointment thing and do all that. If I had it my way, I would have eloped. But I’m pretty sure both my husband and my family would have literally killed us haha.
Michelle says
June 14, 2013 at 2:06 pm$30 is AMAZING! 🙂
Budget and the Beach says
June 13, 2013 at 8:33 amI think of all the things I’d want a good photographer. I don’t like the way I look in pics so if they can make me look good it would be well worth the money.
Michelle says
June 14, 2013 at 2:06 pmHaha I agree 🙂
taylor says
June 18, 2013 at 12:01 pmI love hearing about the wedding on a budget – can’t wait to hear more!~
http://itsthelittlethingsblog.blogspot.com
Michelle says
October 5, 2013 at 6:19 pmThanks!
Rachel says
July 9, 2013 at 5:39 pmTotal wedding cost $20,000. Wedding dress cost $1200. We had 150 guests. Wedding photographer $2500 (included full photo release). Most expensive part of the wedding was feeding everyone. We also had an open bar that did not end up being as expensive as I thought it would be. Do not regret hiring a professional photographer at all. We love our photos! If you’re spending so much on a wedding, don’t scrimp on the photographer. Try and cut back on other costs. I decorated our wedding for $700 by being thrifty. This included head table, decorations for the tables, entry.
Michelle says
July 9, 2013 at 6:14 pmI definitely do not regret spending money on our photographer. She is awesome!