how expensive is a wedding??

[Mila]

Good luck. I rather ellope and have a nice honeymoon. But then again I'm ginger who is going to ask anyway
The nicest wedding I have attended was done with a judge(at her home) and a small partyof 20 at a restaurant the bride wore a nice dress and the groom was smart casual. Oh it was a nice restaurant with an Ito ate vibe. Not the Boston barbecue or spur.

 

[VioletF]

A friend of mine only invited immediate family (was about 20 ppl I think) and went to Kirstenbosch. They also considered Table Mountain, but apparently it was too foggy that day. The dominee was about R350, entry fee R37 per adult and afterwards everyone went to a restaurant with a set menu. Their honeymoon was a roadtrip.

I also don't understand why most people feel they have to spend such a lot of money on their wedding and honeymoon.

(Especially since it may not turn out be their first and last wedding, ever. Yes, I'm a little cynical. )

 

[cerebus]

Our wedding was really not showy or anything but it was very nice. The key to keeping costs down is limiting the number of guests to close friends and family. A big reception will kill you. We had a home affairs certificate signing, and then a dinner/wedding reception for about 15 people at a wine farm. I think it came out under 10,000 for the whole wedding.

 

[stevengzn]

I was hesitant on posting this thread because of this kind of response. Did you not read that I'm an average earner?

R50k for a honeymoon is totally uncalled for. Its not necessary at all unless you really trying to make up for a lack of something else (love?) OR you got money falling out your bumhole OR your love language is gifts or something

There was an article in Getaway magazine about 2-3 months ago about Awesome Honeymoons for under R10k. Try see if you can find that article online somewhere perhaps?

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Here's a few Mauritius holidays for under R10k. You shouldn't expect things like a sea-facing room though.

http://www.computravel.co.za/search...ilter_arg=5&filter_countries=5&orderby=recent

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

We are currently working on 70 people for about R35000-R40000 excluding honeymoon and rings. Getting married in October. A nice site that helped us was www.Perdekoop.co.za as they have sample budgets and categories so you can work out your budget.

No harm in cutting corners where you can to reduce the budget. Face it, its one friggn day in your life!!! But for the wife the memory is eternal. The most important thing when using someone cheaper is that their quality of work must not reflect the price you pay but rather the price you would have paid someone else.

Our flowers where done by my boss's wife - it was not cheap but was cheaper than our preferred florist who anyway would not have done it. Only a select few know how much we paid and are still not convinced it was so cheap.

We also had a string quartet that gave the most amazing atmosphere to the wedding - cost us only R3K but could have cost R10K.

We got our venue for R17K but was valued at R40K - we booked and paid for way in advance.

For our guests, our wedding was valued in rands about 3 times more than what we actually paid.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

@nic777

Very important lesson we learn't was to use the wedding photographer before the big day. We had a photo shoot done and ended up being 200% happy. For the video, um, we left till the day and 4yrs later we are still waiting for it - did not help that the cameraman was my boet he was drunk before the wedding (we had a breakfast wedding)

 

[3p1c]

pheweee expensive stuffs this

 

[Lupus]

Honestly don't know why people put so much into weddings, it's one day for the rest of your life, it's not the be all and end all. My wife wanted a big wedding and eventually after a lot of expenses etc I managed to get my way and had a court wedding and a nice little honeymoon break. The key is being with the person for the rest of your life, not getting yourself into debt.

 

[EtienneK]

Ours was R60 000 for 110 guests. And that included everything, except the booze and honeymoon.

 

[ebendl]

Honestly don't know why people put so much into weddings, it's one day for the rest of your life, it's not the be all and end all. My wife wanted a big wedding and eventually after a lot of expenses etc I managed to get my way and had a court wedding and a nice little honeymoon break. The key is being with the person for the rest of your life, not getting yourself into debt.

If you're making debt for your wedding / honeymoon, you're being stupid! I would never do that either....
.... fact is, most ladies dream about their wedding ever since they are small. It is the closest they will ever get to be a "princess" - so even though it might not be that important for you, you should at least consider your wife's needs as well. Money is important - living below your means, not making debt, planning ahead etc. - but the fact is, a wedding IS important to most women and she will probably remember it for the rest of her life!

 

[ebendl]

@nic777

Very important lesson we learn't was to use the wedding photographer before the big day. We had a photo shoot done and ended up being 200% happy. For the video, um, we left till the day and 4yrs later we are still waiting for it - did not help that the cameraman was my boet he was drunk before the wedding (we had a breakfast wedding)

While I can appreciate saving costs, I actually did not want my family to do anything at my wedding - they were supposed to be guests! The only thing I "did" to them was ask them to be best men / bride's maid / MC / do a toast. My cousin on the other hand used family for everything - so they ended up running around, stressing on the couple's behalf and spending a lot of personal time for his wedding.

Sure, if they offer to do something specifically, let them be, but I would never approach my family and ask them for anything major (Such as photographs) - for one, if there are problems later with say the album or photos, you can't really hold them to a contract or service agreement!

With photographers - look for people just starting out but with good quality photos - they are usually a lot cheaper as they don't have name yet.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

If you're making debt for your wedding / honeymoon, you're being stupid! I would never do that either....
.... fact is, most ladies dream about their wedding ever since they are small. It is the closest they will ever get to be a "princess" - so even though it might not be that important for you, you should at least consider your wife's needs as well. Money is important - living below your means, not making debt, planning ahead etc. - but the fact is, a wedding IS important to most women and she will probably remember it for the rest of her life!

A point that many guys seem to forget - even if their future wife says that they don't expect a big wedding, they do (and have always) dream of being treated like a princess for the day. The wedding day, despite it being for both of you, is more for her.

The key to make it happen is to plan your finances properly. Don't start planning your wedding while you're still staying home with your folks or living in a bachelor pad. Get a house for both of you, furnish it, and then start saving up for the wedding.

 

[ichigo]

If I have a wedding I'll probably keep the guests to below 40 if possible (Including Grandparents, Parents & My Brothers/wife/children) which leaves about 32 spaces for my wifes family, rest of my relatives and my close friends.

Going to be very casual pizzafest party, cause I don't like the formal wedding stuff with fancy dresses and suits. So hopefully when I find the right girlfriend she will agree with me .

Food and drinks should be cheap. Just pizza and Cooldrinks/Fruit Juice. Then ring/cameraman (both free since I know my brother's friend who can melt gold/silver and make me rings from old rings we have. Also my good friend does very good wedding pictures for people's weddings)

So if I'm right that is like R50 - R100 per person = R2000 - R4000. So can get away with under R10000 wedding with R6000 - R8000 or more honeymoon trip to mauritius or something.

If people want to use the bar they have to pay for their drinks

Imagine if we had to invite all the people on MyBB to our weddings

 

[Paul_S]

I rather have a low budget wedding and be happy than spend R500k (even though I cant) and end up getting divorced

With that sort of attitude it's no wonder divorce is so popular.
Why make a commitment if you haven't got the faith and guts to stick to your decision?

 

[techead]

With that sort of attitude it's no wonder divorce is so popular.
Why make a commitment if you haven't got the faith and guts to stick to your decision?

excuse me? :wtf:

 

[Paul_S]

excuse me? :wtf:

You said you'd rather have a low budget wedding in case you end up getting divorced.
That's like competing in a race and saying that you're not going to run as fast as you can because there's a chance you're going to lose.
Sorry, I know I come across very harsh but marriage isn't a game. If you go into it without a winning attitude then rather not bother.
Just my opinion of course.

 

[techead]

You said you'd rather have a low budget wedding in case you end up getting divorced.
That's like competing in a race and saying that you're not going to run as fast as you can because there's a chance you're going to lose.
Sorry, I know I come across very harsh but marriage isn't a game. If you go into it without a winning attitude then rather not bother.
Just my opinion of course.

haha well thats what you READ, not what I MEANT

What I meant was, I would be happy to spend a little on a wedding and spend a life of happiness with my wife.

Spending an insane amount of money doesnt secure happiness at all

oh, and I like your attitude

 

[Paul_S]

What I meant was, I would be happy to spend a little on a wedding and spend a life of happiness with my wife.
Spending an insane amount of money doesnt secure happiness at all

Okay in that case I agree.

In response to the OP:
My wedding cost about R130K (including honeymoon, rings, etc.)
The single largest expense was the food.
120 guests @ R270 for a plated menu = R32400

It's all the small things that add up fast.
Cake, photographer, table decorations, flowers, etc. and it adds up faster than you can say boo.

 

[GreGorGy]

My wedding cost R4200:

Two x peace workers to clean up house = R200
Spit Braai for 60 people (in 2002) = R1000
Booze: R3000

60 hammered, well-fed, happy friends. R4200 later. It can still be done for under 10K, provided extravagance and reality play a role:

Dress: get something nice, something she can wear again as evening wear. My wife already had something.
Photos: In this day and age, tbh, the amounts being charged vs the value is ridiculous. In the old days, you could cut up the prints and burn the negatives when you got divorced. Now, you gotta hit facebook and go delete crazy and undo the internet to get rid of the damn things. So rather get a friend with a decent digicam to take a few pics - pics you will not, really, linger over in moments of nostalgia.
Venue: even if your own place is too small or not suited to the event, there are several places that can be secured for R5K.
Food: spit braai and two vegetarian lasagnes has every single guest happy and well fed. Trust me on this.


Oh, and the video? Again, in my day we got value for money: I could record three episodes of South Park over it and actually enjoy it. Now, you get a DVD that you will never watch again. Ever. But you have to store it, ere your betrothed thinks ill of you.