How much did you spend on your wedding?

[kozlosap]

These postings give me hope! My DD and her very, very serious boyfriend (they are in their late 20’s), just attended a destination wedding in the Napa Valley this last weekend. The couple payed for everything themselves since they are in their early 30’s and have been together for five years. There were 80 guests. Half were from Southern California and the other half from Long Island. The costs included a day long wine tasting, rehearsal dinner, ceremony & reception then a brunch yesterday. The total cost was $85.000. I just about choked. My DD understands that I cannot afford that. I will buy her dress and hostess the rehearsal dinner, and that’s about all this retired, single mom can pony up. Both kids are Catholic and I pray that they will have a mass instead of doing the new idea of getting married in a field or on a beach then having their marriage blessed by a priest a few weeks later.

Thank you so much!! I will “mention” this to them!

 

[marymary1975]

My wedding was about 7 thousand dollars. We could have done for much less (about five) as neither one of us was interested in anything big but my husband’s’ family is big so the number of people was what took us over 5K, but a catholic wedding does not have to be expensive. My best friend got married in the small chapel, invited about 30 people and just had a cocktail after. She spent very little money so a catholic wedding can be really cheap as long as you stick to your budget and don’t let other people dictate what you will do at your wedding.

 

[Gordon_Sims]

You might get lucky. Not all gals dream of a big wedding and all the stress and drama that can come with it. I certainly never wanted a “real” wedding. I never wanted the stress, the annoying details, the bloopers, the horror of best laid plans going awry, etc. Serving as a Maid of Honor for a friends wedding totally confirmed my personal suspicion that “real” weddings are to be avoided other than as a supportive guest!

We have a lot more horror stories we can tell them when the time comes. One thing we conceded to in the negotiations with my in-laws was giving them veto power over guests once we reached a certain number. There were some close friends and a few family members who didn’t make the cut, a couple of whom never forgave us. My in-laws then turned around and invited people they hadn’t seen in twenty years and who my wife had never met. Some of what went on in our family/friends’ weddings we were in around the same time was even worse, like me almost inadvertently getting a wedding called off and the one where the father of the bride had to be restrained so he didn’t run out and get his gun. And those don’t include the drunken fights, alcohol-fueled crying/screaming fits or the one where the bride ran out and couldn’t be found for over an hour. It all makes a small, inexpensive, intimate wedding look so much better.

 

[Wackotrad]

It seems to me that if a couple isn’t planning to live as man and wife until after their Catholic wedding, what’s the point of having a civil wedding at all then?

I know several couples who have done this, all for immigration purposes. Church regulations require them to wait 6 months or longer after the foreign half of the couple arrives in the country, but it’s important to get immigration paperwork going as quickly as possible, hence the earlier civil marriage.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I know several couples who have done this, all for immigration purposes. Church regulations require them to wait 6 months or longer after the foreign half of the couple arrives in the country, but it’s important to get immigration paperwork going as quickly as possible, hence the earlier civil marriage.

My parents did this years ago. My dad arrived from Italy, and my mom sponsored him as her husband. They married in city hall, but did not consider themselves married. They didn’t cohabit, or anything. They married in the church a few months later.

This happened in the mid 1960’s.

 

[HouseArrest]

Barn weddings/receptions have become very big in our area……people are even building elaborate barns on their property for the sole intention of renting them out for weddings. It seems that the pendulum here has swung away from having receptions in fancy venues with fine linens, elaborate flower arrangements, sit-down dinners to the laid back, very minimalist, less formal, BBQ-style buffets. I’m hoping that style sticks around for 20 or so years until my girls are married

They are popular, but they are not inexpensive. I would say they do have a more casual décor but they are just as costly as a formal setting.

My husband and I both had good jobs out of college and paid for most of our wedding ourselves. It was big and it was a lot of fun. We spent a lot of money. We had a band which was expensive, and only cut the guest list as far as we needed to in order to fit in the venue. I have a very large family with whom I am very close and wanted them all there. I wanted all his high school/college/work friends there too.

I was not stressed any more than I would have been at a smaller wedding. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.

 

[slh3016]

They are popular, but they are not inexpensive. I would say they do have a more casual décor but they are just as costly as a formal setting.

My husband and I both had good jobs out of college and paid for most of our wedding ourselves. It was big and it was a lot of fun. We spent a lot of money. We had a band which was expensive, and only cut the guest list as far as we needed to in order to fit in the venue. I have a very large family with whom I am very close and wanted them all there. I wanted all his high school/college/work friends there too.

I was not stressed any more than I would have been at a smaller wedding. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Wow, I’ve never priced a barn wedding obviously, but I’d say that if a bride and her family are willing to fork over serious dough for picnic table style receptions and paper linens, then building a barn on our property for weddings might be a great money maker