Wedding budget?

[TipsyTart]

Ours cost about 15k for 50 people...church asked for a donation, we had a spit braai which included the salads, hired tables etc and had reception in a friends garden, one of my friends made a huge pot of Malay chicken curry, we had cheeses and variety of breads, snacks etc and buckets of beer every where you looked.it was very informal and relaxed and one of the best days I will remember. Hehehe, we went on honeymoon to the buffalo rally, not even bikers but a memorable weekend nonetheless.

 

[Zyzzyva]

Changing how you view the whole thing would save you a lot of money. I don't get the point of the average middle class couple blowing 50-100K for only one day of fun. Most people who attend weddings would rather be somewhere else, and are really just fulfilling their social obligations. Spare them and spare yourselves the extra expense by having a small intimate wedding for less money.

The money could be better spent somewhere else.

 

[TJ99]

Changing how you view the whole thing would save you a lot of money. I don't get the point of the average middle class couple blowing 50-100K for only one day of fun. Most people who attend weddings would rather be somewhere else, and are just fulfilling their social obligations. Spare them and spare yourselves the extra expense by having a small intimate wedding for less money.

The money could be better spent somewhere else.

+1. Rather spend it on the honeymoon.

 

[Zyzzyva]

+1. Rather spend it on the honeymoon.

Yip, the whole thing only matters because people decide that it matters.

And this notion that it has to be socially done is also kind of ridiculous. Most intelligent friends would agree with your decision to not blow 100K. They would probably welcome it and silently respect your prudence.

95% of your friends wake up the morning of the wedding and give a short sigh once the realization of the day hits them. They'd rather be doing something else.

 

[Voicy]

Busy saving as we speak. The rings are out the way, now we have to save for honeymoon and wedding. More than likely the wedding will cost 40k-50k for 48 people (lol most of family in Australia so don't have to cater for them). But add the rings and you sitting on atleast R60k

That's actually not bad going.

+1. Rather spend it on the honeymoon.

I've always imagined this to be the better option too. Have an intimate but tasteful wedding, get a ring for its looks, not its price. (iow not overpriced catalogue rings) & then don't be prudish when it comes to enjoying the honeymoon together - also because it'll be the last proper holiday both of you will have for quite some time, what with work and loans and all that looming.

I also figured instead of blowing R200k on a wedding, it would be FAR cooler to use that towards a deposit on your first home.

 

[Sly21C]

It's ridiculous if you really think about it that couples spend R100 k on a wedding. There are a lot of people in this country who are heavily indebted, some are even under debt counselling. Wouldn't it be ideal if people that want to get married just go to a judge, sign papers and get a marriage license?

 

[DigitalSoldier]

It's ridiculous if you really think about it that couples spend R100 k on a wedding. There are a lot of people in this country who are heavily indebted, some are even under debt counselling. Wouldn't it be ideal if people that want to get married just go to a judge, sign papers and get a marriage license?

If you have a wedding you are helping the local economy

 

[Zyzzyva]

It's ridiculous if you really think about it that couples spend R100 k on a wedding. There are a lot of people in this country who are heavily indebted, some are even under debt counselling. Wouldn't it be ideal if people that want to get married just go to a judge, sign papers and get a marriage license?

+100

Its a bizarre cultural extravagance kinda like how black people tend to spend a lot on funerals.

The problem with these events is 80% of the time they just don't deliver when people are honest with themselves, and if they do its not really a 100K worth.

 

[JungleBoy]

It's ridiculous if you really think about it that couples spend R100 k on a wedding. There are a lot of people in this country who are heavily indebted, some are even under debt counselling. Wouldn't it be ideal if people that want to get married just go to a judge, sign papers and get a marriage license?

I agree with you 100%. It's a lot of expenditure just to entertain other people on your tab. It's one ceremony that should be reserved for only the wealthy.

 

[warchylde]

You guys are clearly forgetting that you have no real choice in this matter. If you love a woman and she wants this kind of wedding she will insist on getting it. There is no way around this. At the end of the day it's a case of what she wants.... All I can say to you is good luck if you wish to have this discussion with them.

 

[JungleBoy]

You guys are clearly forgetting that you have no real choice in this matter. If you love a woman and she wants this kind of wedding she will insist on getting it. There is no way around this. At the end of the day it's a case of what she wants.... All I can say to you is good luck if you wish to have this discussion with them.

That's like starting off on the wrong foot already. You are getting strong armed even before you are married. Woman are not children and shouldn't be treated as such. They are capable of understanding financial implications of such lavish expenditure. R100K spent in one day is sheer madness unless you are loaded with bags of cash.

 

[warchylde]

That's like starting off on the wrong foot already. You are getting strong armed even before you are married. Woman are not children and shouldn't be treated as such. They are capable of understanding financial implications of such lavish expenditure. R100K spent in one day is sheer madness unless you are loaded with bags of cash.

sorry to the ladies that are going to take this the wrong way BUT:

Women do NOT apply logic to their wedding day. They may be capable of it but this is not in use regarding their wedding day. Many of them dream about the day from when they are very small and if you try and alter their dream you will feel the effect of it. I know people that have broken up due to the man trying to influence the expenditure of the wedding (and no the normal gold digger jibes do not apply) in all of these cases it was simply that she had a picture of what she wanted and was perceiving it as him not loving her enough to do it.

Trust me when I say this. In most cases fiddling with the dreams of your wife to be will cost you dearly.....

 

[katangeleus]

Vegas wedding - $210 in total - 6 people and best wedding I've had. I would have spent more for a drive through but we were in a rush to go that morning.

 

[JungleBoy]

Vegas wedding - $210 in total - 6 people and best wedding I've had. I would have spent more for a drive through but we were in a rush to go that morning.

Did you plan this before hand and took 6 other people to Vegas? Or were they also getting married ?

 

[katangeleus]

Did you plan this before hand and took 6 other people to Vegas? Or were they also getting married ?

No Proposed to my wife 5 days before we went to the States. It was a spur of the moment sort of thing whilst in vegas as I was driving around and saw the wedding alley with all these churches. The other 6 people were family that met us in Vegas so they were welcome to witness it.

 

[katangeleus]

I want to remarry my wife at Niagra falls like in "The office" with Jim and Pam on a boat. It's a plan but have to work out the finer details to it... so it may take another year or so.

The other option is to crash a wedding and see if we can get married at another persons wedding.

 

[JungleBoy]

No Proposed to my wife 5 days before we went to the States. It was a spur of the moment sort of thing whilst in vegas as I was driving around and saw the wedding alley with all these churches. The other 6 people were family that met us in Vegas so they were welcome to witness it.

Nice...IMO that's how a wedding should be...no fuss just the spur of the moment thing.
But hey me being a black guy, by the time the big day comes one is usually fed up with the in-laws, distant uncles, aunties, and their ridiculous demands.

 

[JungleBoy]

I want to remarry my wife at Niagra falls like in "The office" with Jim and Pam on a boat. It's a plan but have to work out the finer details to it... so it may take another year or so.

The other option is to crash a wedding and see if we can get married at another persons wedding.

Would that be to save on costs ? I wouldn't allow you to crash a wedding that I'm paying for without charging you a pro-rata fee

 

[Cicero]

Nice...IMO that's how a wedding should be...no fuss just the spur of the moment thing.
But hey me being a black guy, by the time the big day comes one is usually fed up with the in-laws, distant uncles, aunties, and their ridiculous demands.

LOL, personally I dont think anything about marriage should be 'spur of the moment'. Its one of the few things in life you've gotta be sure about.

 

[Sly21C]

LOL, personally I dont think anything about marriage should be 'spur of the moment'. Its one of the few things in life you've gotta be sure about.

I think what he meant was there shouldn't be any fuss if one wants to get married instead of planning a wedding ceremony and the stress associated with it. Finding a venue, managing invites, buying flowers, hiring a photographer, making sure that everything is perfect, etc is meaningless in the greater scheme of things. If one day I'm engaged and I'm 100% sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with a woman then getting married Las Vegas style is perfect . It will be a spur of the moment in the sense of getting married to someone you're engaged to, it could be a year or a day after getting engaged.