So...FH and I have not planned a single thing because we are debating between having a destination wedding or a wedding here. We can not make as decision!! The reason is because of our budget...we are basically paying for the whole wedding ourselves. To top it off FH has a very large family. My question to you ladies is if I decide to get married on LI...how do I afford it? It's such a cash business I just don't know if we'll be able to save that much money in around a year's time. How do you budget??
Just Cindy
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Re: budget help???
What I did was set a reasonable amount of money you are able to save/spend on the wedding. Then there are basic calculators you use for the cost of RH, dress, limos, flowers, etc.
RH is usually 50% of the budget.
My budget is $26k w/ HM and I am actually still on budget. I prioritize the important items and sacrafice on things that arent as important to you.
I have a list of all the must haves and maybes and then as I find I have money left I will do the maybes.
Good Luck
egem523
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Re: budget help???
First how much do you think you can afford. Take into consideration your tax returns, bonuses, monthly saving plan etc....
2nd Consider your alternative like having your wedding during offpeak season or getting married on weekday. You maybe able to negotiate with vendors to get a lower price. I used the budget wedding calculators to estimate how much I should allocate to each vendor. I changed it around because some the numbers they gave me were high for certain vendors.
Hope this help.
ilonka020
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Re: budget help???
I think it really depends on what your budget is and how many people you are inviting. Like other girls have said you can always do it off peak months (Jan-March) or you can also do it on a Friday or Sunday which are usually cheeper. My budget is 20K and we are paying for everything ourselves, but our guest list is small(80pp).
dani20
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Re: budget help???
Thank you for your help...I really appreciate it. I'm assuming our budget is somewhere between 20-25K. If we get married in LI we are probably going to have to invite about 200 people. That's cutting out people too. FH has a very big fam.
Just Cindy
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Then you might want to have it on an off-day & off-peak month.
dani20
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When and where are you guys getting married?
Just Cindy
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9/12/09 Beckwith Pointe in New Rochelle
ilonka020
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Posted by dancoulon20
When and where are you guys getting married?
I'm doing a Sunday nigh at Westbury Manor FM me if you wnat more info.
egem523
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I am getting married in Apr on a Thursday. Maybe you could look at the months between Nov-Apr.
mandab
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I hear you on the budget thing!! I'm originally from Buffalo and the weddings there are about $30 a head!!! Big change when I moved to Long Island. FH is from here and there's nothing in Buffalo so we decided to make the move. Our wedding is going to be about $40K and the only reason we're able to afford it is because of my Mary Kay business. FH's parents are helping us out, but we still have to come up with some serious cash. We're also planning on buying a house in the next 6 months. I do MK on the side, as I also have a full time job. At an average appointment, which takes about 2-3 hours, I make about $200-300. I certainly don't know of any other job that would pay me that much!! If you need info, FM me...I'd be happy to help! Good Luck!!
bluekat16
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Re: budget help???
Posted by dancoulon20
Thank you for your help...I really appreciate it. I'm assuming our budget is somewhere between 20-25K. If we get married in LI we are probably going to have to invite about 200 people. That's cutting out people too. FH has a very big fam.
I feel your pain. I'm having about 175-200 people and that without inviting everybody.
We're each saving $1000/month since Jan. and more when we can. My parents are absoring the cost of Limos, Church and my dress which omes out to about $5K, which helps a lot.
We're using all the cash we save for places that require cash and we're using blance trasfer checks from our credit cards for the photographer and anyone that takes a credit card. We don't have a balance on our credit cards other than the photographer at the 0% interest, which works out since in my personal budget I have money allotted to pay to card outside of wedding budget.
What I'm trying to get at is that it is do=able but you might have to increse your budget a little and work with an off-peak time.
We really wanted a Sat. evening wedding and we're doing it right inbetween Christmas and New Years so we got a good price. But try a Thurs. Fri. Sun. and day instead of evening. Go out and get quotes from different places for all those times.
dani20
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Re: budget help???
I'm def gonna have to do a Friday or Sunday or holiday. I can't afford a reg Sat. night. I'm gonna try and get some quotes this weekend. We both have full time jobs but we live together in an appt...and rent is not cheap these days. It's so hard to save. We're gonna open an account just for the wedding and save as much as possible. I think my mom will buy my dress also so that helps. Any suggestions on RH's that are a little less expensive?
michesq
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Re: budget help???
budget first for what you can afford and stick to that- that's what we did - not budget acocrding to what an avergae or what a LI weddign was. try and stay within budget- you can have a wonderful wedding and not have a million extras.
we also put all extra money like bonus, tac return and second job earnigns right into the weddign fund
CMS
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We're doing a Saturday morning brunch instead of a traditional wedding.
FuTuRe MrS MaZz
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1. have your wedding in an off time of year/time of day... that right there helps tremendously
2. prioritize what is important to you and spend accordingly
3. it may seem impossble, but you can find cheaper photogs/dj's etc etc... remember the vendors mentioned over n over on this site arent the be all end all of wedding planning... do your homework!!!
4. negotiate with everyone on anything... the worst they can do is say no...
and lastly....
5. do not in the least bit let yourself be pressured by having a wedding that may be like others on this site... lots of girls here go waaaaaay overboard... so just remember that and do what YOU feel you can spend... you dont have to live up to anyone's expectations except your own and FH's of course
Mici n KC
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Re: budget help???
There are plenty of beautiful places that are inexpensive. Having on a Friday or Sunday night is cheaper. Sunday afternoons are even cheaper. Negotiate everything. Only get one limo (a big one). Shop around for your dress. Get flowers that are in season. Do low CPs or something other than flowers. Do not to any of the other extras (slipper baskets, petal cones, cry packs, etc.). Do you live together right now? Are there things you can cut back on right now? How often do you go out to eat? Bring your breakfast/lunch/dinner to work with you. Don't be tempted to buy something just because you have a few bucks in your pocket. Put it away. Every little bit helps!
michesq
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Re: budget help???
Posted by Mici n KC
There are plenty of beautiful places that are inexpensive. Having on a Friday or Sunday night is cheaper. Sunday afternoons are even cheaper. Negotiate everything. Only get one limo (a big one). Shop around for your dress. Get flowers that are in season. Do low CPs or something other than flowers. Do not to any of the other extras (slipper baskets, petal cones, cry packs, etc.). Do you live together right now? Are there things you can cut back on right now? How often do you go out to eat? Bring your breakfast/lunch/dinner to work with you. Don't be tempted to buy something just because you have a few bucks in your pocket. Put it away. Every little bit helps!
every little bit does help and you will be surprised how it adds up- $40 here, $75, etc so save even a little bit every week or if you get a money gift for bay or holiday save most of it or even 1/2
CNC4eva3402
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Re: budget help???
Well I was in the same situation as you. Everytime we got excited about the wedding, we'd go over the budget and were like ok this is completely impossible. We'd get all happy, look at the budget and get depressed..it was a vicious cycle!!
First I'd come up with a budget. How much can you save each month? Like someone else mentioned, remember to include taxes, this is helping FH and I tremedously. Our budget is around $21,000, including honeymoon, passports and rehearsal dinner.
Then deciede what means the most to you. Theres a few vendors that you need. Reception Hall, Photographer, Florist, DJ...etc.. What means the most to you? When your on a budget you have to find ways to adjust things to get the most for your money. For me, the reception hall and the photographer were the most important so thats where the majority of my budget went. I am planning on doing my own centerpieces and getting the most basic plan with my DJ.
The biggest way I found to save money was by having my Wedding on a Thursday. The RHs are willing to work with you a lot more on pricing. Thursdays are becoming a lot more popular also! My RH only had 3dates available for Thurs in summer of 09.
If you need any help or any price quotes..FM me..I went to a TON of places!!
