I am a 20-something in the midwest, looking to plan a wedding that is beautiful and elegant, but does not go much over $5000.
Impossible, you say? Yes, even a brief time spent poring over webpages and sample budgets will tell you that weddings are regularly much, much more. In fact, there was lovely chart published recently about the cost of weddings in the United States (included at the bottom of this entry). First of all, the numbers made my blood run cold. Second of all, consider this quote from Carly Roney, who is editor in chief of The Knot Inc:
"Brides remain committed to planning a luxurious, memorable event and are willing to spend despite the state of the economy."
I could go on (and on, and on) about how I feel about the cost of weddings. But I won't, because it's probable that very few of you reading this blog are here for a discussion of economics, sociology, and psychology. You're probably here for the DIY and budget-y goodness. (And if you are here for the academic discussion, well, leave a comment and we can start an email chain!)
So! Wedding Budget: $5000. How much can I save by making things on my own? What can I make on my own? How can I save on venue, decorations, food? What about dresses? Flowers? Each entry will contain as much cost detail as I can find, to help you estimate how much I'm saving and how much I'm spending.
Let the games begin!
Oh, and because I promised this:
"I could go on (and on, and on) about how I feel about the cost of weddings."
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear it! I have a lot to say on the subject myself. :)
I'll send you an email! What's your email address?
DeleteHi! I followed the link to your blog from your APW post today. First of all, thanks for writing it ... my boyfriend is currently deployed as well, and reading your story really touched me. It's important to remember, as you wrote, that the 'beacons' of good things are coming to us ... eventually, haha.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the infographic (academic convo, begin ...), it's interesting to note that it's inherently misleading. Instead of publishing the average, they should be using the MEDIAN: the cost where 50% of weddings are more expensive, and 50% are less expensive. An average gets dragged higher by extreme outliers (those million dollar weddings you see on TV). Of course then your 'average' bride tries to meet the 'average' price, and the terrible rising trend continues.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to following your quest for the $5000 wedding. You can do it! ::big cheers:: And here's wishing for a quick end to the deployment! ::big hugs::
Eventually, indeed! I am glad you enjoyed the post - it's good to know that it helps a bit!
DeleteI'd quite agree about using the median. For a while I was trying to look up wedding data, but the data provided is expensive ($300 for a month of access, if I'm remembering correctly) and it is of course ALSO misleading - no way to know how many couples are buying things like cake without putting it down as a wedding cake, or having entirely DIY/DIT weddings. We see only the wedding data from people who have chosen to purchase their wedding items as such. Sigh...