Posted on 12/11/2009 10:51:24 AM PST by beefree
I need a reality check from other FReepers about what might be a reasonable amount to spend for a wedding. The cost seems outrageous to me so I would like to hear from parents who have recently paid for one. How much did you spend?
60 bucks
20 for the certificate, 40 for a nice dinner
lasted 17 years, then she left me and gave me my gov pension and two houses.
all is well that ends well,
now i have a cute chinese wife that doesn’t speak english-life doesn’t get better than this.
I suggest you look up the site Etiquette Hell (ehell) and start reading the discussion forum. What some people do when weddings are concerned - or don’t do- will water your eyes.
(PS: Congratulations!)
What dress? I don’t see a dress? There’s a balloon vendor, but no dress.
How much does a Wedding Cost????
The rest of your life.
That is one fugly necklace.
;)
Don't anyone poo-pooh Goodwill. I haven't bought a wedding gown there but they usually have several when we've gone there for cotillion and prom dresses. Those dresses still have store tags on them because the stores donate their end of season gowns. Goodwill prices them at $12 each. Can't go wrong with that and teen queen can get a different one for every event.
Gee, for another $12 she could have bought more than just the skirt...yikes.
The prices are outrageous, because people are willing to pay. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t pull off a very nice wedding affordably if you want to.
It is, to me, completely outrageous to spend as much as the median household income of a typical american household for a 1 day party.
Yes, its the bride’s day to shine, but the wedding lasts a day, the Marriage should last a lifetime! Focusing on the Wedding is silliness from the start.
For what is the average amount spent, which is an agredeous 20Kish for a wedding, you are better off promising them that for a downpayment on a house. And a smart young couple would prefer that arrangement as well.
I know when I got married in 1995, my wife and I paid for the whole thing, with the exception of the liquor (bought by my parents in advance) which was probably $300-$500 bucks, and spent just over $3k for the entire thing, including her dress, and we had 125ish guests. That was about 20% of the “average” cost at that time.
Now with that said, I will tell you, because we did everything ourselves, it was basically like general contracting your own home build.. so spending something to have someone else have those headaches, is worth some $$ in my book.
20Kish though for a one day party, unless you are incredibly wealthy, that’s a complete waste.
I love my daughter dearly, and I hope she has a wonderful wedding day whenever that day comes, but if she comes up to me and expects me to pick up a tab that is 1/2 the median household income in the united states for 1 day.. I’ll politely tell her she’s on crack. If I am going to spend that amount of money on my daughter, it would be a downpayment on a nice starter home for her and her husband close to ours.. not so close to step on, but close enough that we can spoil her kids rotten then send them home for her to deal with :)
Fortunately, my wife thought those ideas were as foolish as I did when we got married.
Good for me, I was overseas with a hazardous location pay and paid for 84 hours a week.
We bought a beach house for cash instead.
What necklace?
A wedding should cost no more than you can afford to spend. It will be wonderful anyway because it is a celebration of love and money can not buy that spirit.
we had ours last Feb at a winery near Houston—the ceremony and reception. About 150 guests, pasta bar, beer and win—about $10 grand all told.
It was a blast.
I’ve been to many more expensive weddings (30K or so) that wasn’t even close in terms of unusualness and fun
Whenever works best for you AND you’ll be best man! ;)
Pretax, in my sad case.
I have noticed that the amount spent on the ceremony often appears to have an inverse relationship with the amount of time spent in the marriage.
Moral of the story: don’t spend so much it becomes all about the wedding and not much about the marriage.
Don’t feed the Bridezillas!
Marriage license: $50
Justice o’ the Peace: $75
Peace of Mind: priceless
Have the wedding you can afford.
A classy small living room wedding for twentyfive can bring a lifetime of memories.
A simple suit and corsage at the minister’s is very nice with a luncheon afterwards for twenty at the local resturaunt.
A barefoot beach or lake wedding with a catered bbq can be fun and memorable.
These extravaganzas that take place these days are tasteless, and not affordable
Justice of the Piece $50
Was that intentional?
Which one is the groom?
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