I need your help newlyweds...

Everything was perfect - DH and don't regret anything about the day.

The only thing we wish could be different, was we wish we could have gone on a proper honeymoon right away. But things being as they were, he couldn't get the time off and we couldn't afford it. We're keeping our fingers crossed to save up for one this year if we can!

We splurged on some things and went the budget route on others, but I don't really have any regrets on any of it.

We splurged on some of our vendors but tried to keep upgrades and extras to a minimum.

We knew we needed a Saturday night and that we were going to have a lot of people, so we booked a less expensive season at our reception hall. We would have been WAY over budget if we had had the same wedding in June.

Some areas where we budgeted were invitations and my accessories. I chose a simple traditional invitation rather than something trendy. I wore jewelry that belonged to my mom and grandmothers. I bought a pretty veil and skipped the headpiece and my shoes were in the $40 range.

We splurged on getting a string quartet since we were getting married at the RH instead of in a church or temple and I loved them!

All in all, we just tried to focus on the things that were most important to us and targeted our budget accordingly.

Almost forgot.

The biggest splurge was getting the bus for the family, bridal party and OOT guests. Totally worth it, though. Nobody had to worry about getting lost or about driving home late on a rainy night after a few drinks.

Because we splurged on that, we went budget on the limos. Got basic drop off service to the RH only. (We went back on the bus with our guests at the end of the night. Had a blast, actually.)

i would've not used the hotel we wound up using....i wont go into it here....

they were sooo irresponsible & incompetant

Had an outdoor wedding and regret not spending the $$$ on a FULL floor. It rained two days bfr and I was stressed all day if the ground would dry up in time. I did luck out but you can't count on luck when your having this kind of event. If it did rain that day I would have been in trouble and my guests would have hated me for it!

I wanted what I wanted so i don't have regret about that, but my DH and I always say the Honeymoon was worth spending the money further instead things on the day of your wedding.
That is my best advise along w/spending the most on your photography! You can't get that day back ...

Honestly. when the day comes it will feel like 15 minutes for 5 hours!

There isnt a thing I would change, but then again I stayed with the norm and didnt do anything extra

No programs, no cry packs, no slippers, none of that DIY stuff. To me its a waste of money, people will say it was a great touch but how many people actually kept the program or actually used the cry packs, etc. Also, 95% of our guests brought their own slippers to change into.

If you have been a guest at a wedding it helps, i paid attention to every detail friends had at their weddings, whether I noticed this or that-and that helped my decision.

HTH

I don't regret losing a single penny that was spent. We had a beautiful wedding in exactly the way we dreamed.

My one regret is not having a list of must take photographs for our photographer. We didn't get posed photos with important people like our priest, and some of our family members. And when we were asked if there was anything or one else that we wanted a shot with, we were so hyped up we couldn't think properly. Not our photographer's fault or ours really, but we just didn't plan it properly.

I absolutely LOVED my wedding BUT yeas I often regret how much money we spent!! And there are DEF things I would've cut back on!!
Now that its over I think that:
*maybe I should've had low centerpeices- why did I spend an insane amount on flowers that DIED right after!
*Did I really need almost a $1000 in butterflies?? I prob could've cut down on that!
* I LOVE my photos BUT I see good photogs that are A LOT less!!! I could've saved there
* I should've only did the donation- I didn't need to add another favor on top of that
* The ceremony programs were a waste

I can go on BUT now that its all said and done I realize more than ever that its just one day in the rest of your life!! Now that DH and I are struggling financially I relaize how foolish it was!! I do have to say that when I was a bride-to-be that NO ONE could've told me anything else, that I was gonna do what I wanted but now in retrospect I realize!

---

Posted by curiousgeorge


I really did not feel the NEED to go overboard with silly DIY....Main focus was on US...I was marrying the most amazing man!!! I kept saying to myself I DONT NEED THIS... and we really didnt...Cry packs to me are so corny...its like telling everyone 'MY wedding is so beautiful your gonna HAVE to cry' lol Im sorry to those who did them....JMO

---

I feel the same way about cry packets

---

Posted by Brian and Marie

---

Posted by curiousgeorge


I really did not feel the NEED to go overboard with silly DIY....Main focus was on US...I was marrying the most amazing man!!! I kept saying to myself I DONT NEED THIS... and we really didnt...Cry packs to me are so corny...its like telling everyone 'MY wedding is so beautiful your gonna HAVE to cry' lol Im sorry to those who did them....JMO

---

I feel the same way about cry packets

---

I KNEWWWW i wasnt alone with this one lol
Tear Tear 'SOMEONE GET ME A CUTE LITTLE CRY PACKET HURRYYYYY' Damn where are those little cute adorable cry packets when ya really need em??? Its a wedding...NOT a funeral!!! GEEEEZZZZZ

---

Posted by curiousgeorge

---

Posted by Brian and Marie

---

Posted by curiousgeorge


I really did not feel the NEED to go overboard with silly DIY....Main focus was on US...I was marrying the most amazing man!!! I kept saying to myself I DONT NEED THIS... and we really didnt...Cry packs to me are so corny...its like telling everyone 'MY wedding is so beautiful your gonna HAVE to cry' lol Im sorry to those who did them....JMO

---

I feel the same way about cry packets

---

I KNEWWWW i wasnt alone with this one lol
Tear Tear 'SOMEONE GET ME A CUTE LITTLE CRY PACKET HURRYYYYY' Damn where are those little cute adorable cry packets when ya really need em??? Its a wedding...NOT a funeral!!! GEEEEZZZZZ

---

EXACTLY!!!

But I BETTER get to work on those cry packets for my funeral!!! Just in case it happens anytime soon!! They'll DEF be needed there

Now that I look back I realize how happy I am with the decisions that I made to try and cut back on the costs. We were on our own to pay for the wedding. Instead of having flower centerpieces that would die the next day, my mom and I made mine. We used candles and hurricane glasses and we got so many compliments on them. I also did a lot of research to find the best prices on invitations. I don't see the point in spending a ton on something that ends up in the garbage in most cases.

I splurged a little more than I originally wanted to on my dress, hair, and makeup. To me these were all worth it and it was great to have them come to the house to help us get ready. I LOVED my dress and my hair and make up stayed perfect all night long. To me these were worth spending more on. We weren't planning on having a limo or staying at a hotel the night of. We were getting married at the RH and also have our own place, so both seemed to be a waste. We found a great deal on a limo pickup and drop off at the hotel. It was DH's first time in a limo and seeing his face light up was well worth it. The hotel was a nice touch too even though we were there for all of 9 hours.

Things that I wish I didn't end up buying...a pocketbook (didn't use), my getting ready sweatshirt (will never wear it again), and my fake fur wrap (didn't use at all). Although I made programs, they were a waste. Only a few people took one.

Things I wished I spent more on...photographer and videographer. Although I like my pictures and video, there is a lot missing and the quality is no where near what I have seen with a lot of other people's. We went with the cheapest place, I will always wonder what could have been had we just spent a little more. I also regret not having the wedding on a Saturday. Although it was Veteran's Day the next day and I thought some people would be off, a lot weren't and there were only 10-15 people left the last hour of my reception.