Wedding budget?

[Pavan]

lol - really? Try closer to R500+
Things like drinks DJ, table decorations etc all add up

Yeah you're right. I was just factoring in venue and food for the per guest cost. Didn't take into account DJ, photographer, videographer, decor, etc.

 

[Peder]

wow 100k for a wedding is really lots!

I donno if i would shell out 100k, but i will see when the time comes...

 

[AniV]

I don't think you should factor the photographer, videographer, decor, dress, DJ, flowers etc costs into the "per person" amount. Those fees will be there regardless of how many people you invite, so why attribute the cost to the number of guests?

Things like food, drink, chairs, plates, favours, venues and invites do depend on the number of guests though.

I am in favour of spending big on the wedding day, and going easy on the honeymoon. You will have plenty of "alone" holidays during your life. You only get one wedding day to celebrate with family and friends. That being said, if you can't afford a 100k wedding, DON'T HAVE A 100k WEDDING!

When I got married, my parents sat me down and we talked budget. I had given them fair warning (per their request) and they had a savings plan and a budget for the wedding. They told me how much they could spend. My hubby's family said how much they could spend. We put the two together and had the best wedding we could for that money.

That's the way to do it.

 

[Grep]

Thank heavens the father in law said money is no object, I cant even afford a damn new tyre. 200k didnt even make him blink, even says, is that all? Choose the right pony fella's ;o)

 

[blunomore]

Did you get married in court ?

Marriages are not officiated in court. It is done through Home Affairs.

 

[blunomore]

Obviously you should adjust.... but in 20 years time your kids want to see what your wedding looked like, what will you show them ?

"This is mommy and daddy at the court for our wedding" *taken with our iPhone.


"Mommy, whats an iPhone ?"

"Its an old fashion thing we used to have before we invented the holobrain"

Why would that be the most important question my kids would ever ask me? I suspect there will be more burning questions than that

 

[katangeleus]

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 knew that my wife was the perfect woman for me, otherwise I would never have proposed to her. Its coming on 3 years now since that moment and I still love her as much as the day I proposed. The most stressfull thing about Vegas is that you have to choose which chapel you want to use.

We have also had a big wedding with 110 + guests when we got back, but nothing compares to that first one we did in Vegas. Some people like to have everything planned but when you ask a woman for her hand in marraige, you are most certainly sure this is the one otherwise you should not be putting that ring on her finger.

 

[Voicy]

Thank heavens the father in law said money is no object, I cant even afford a damn new tyre. 200k didnt even make him blink, even says, is that all? Choose the right pony fella's ;o)

I lol'd. Well played dude!

 

[CrazYmonkeY159]

OP I saw in another thread that this women youre saving a wedding for hurt you abit? how did you/do you over come it?

 

[DigitalSoldier]

Marriages are not officiated in court. It is done through Home Affairs.

Oh sorry. I meant did you do it through home affairs and no ceremony ?

 

[blunomore]

Oh sorry. I meant did you do it through home affairs and no ceremony ?

Yes, we quite literally eloped

 

[AvatarS]

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.....

And a lifetime of resentment for the accumulation of debt is better? If she really can't see reason and insists that not spending a ridiculous amount means he doesn't love her, than I'd say he dodged a bullet by getting out of it when he did.

 

[NeonNinja]

OP I saw in another thread that this women youre saving a wedding for hurt you abit? how did you/do you over come it?

It's hard to explain. Haha, not just now, I'm only 19 ya know and earn peanuts. But I truly love the woman. To answer you: L.O.V.E.

 

[HavocXphere]

Scary thread scares me.

So either make a pile of money or become a monk. Got it.

Right now the idea of putting say 20 ppl onto a plane & marrying on a beach somewhere sounds more appealing than the 200ppl sitting somewhere munching food. Somehow I suspect I'll have little say in the matter though.

venue, managing invites, buying flowers, hiring a photographer, making sure that everything is perfect, etc is meaningless in the greater scheme of things.

I suspect that your SO will disagree.

 

[mcryan]

I just got married on Saturday

I can tell you that budget can range a huge amount, depending on everything from food to venue and how many of the little details you want. The one suggestion I can give you is to shop around, bargain people down and if possible initially don't mention the fact that it's a wedding. As soon as people hear the word the price goes up. Enquire generally and if you're happy then drop the ball on them and get them to deliver!

 

[TJ99]

And a lifetime of resentment for the accumulation of debt is better? If she really can't see reason and insists that not spending a ridiculous amount means he doesn't love her, than I'd say he dodged a bullet by getting out of it when he did.

Exactly. It's probably best to ask your gf early on if she wants a big wedding, and if she goed on about it being a dream etc you have a problem. Seriously, as has been said before, why waste inordinate amounts of money on something that lasts only a few hours, where really most people there would rather be doing something else? Then accumulate some nice debt as well? Do you know what an awesome, 2-3 week long honeymoon you could have in Europe or a tropical island or something for R100 000? The wedding day is really insignificant in the grand scheme of things after all.

 

[Sly21C]

we got married at this place www.castello.co.za

23 people
morning wedding
R12k
excluding dress and suit
awesome day

Awesome! It would have been R24k for 46 people or R48k for 92 people. Still cheaper than most insane wedding bills.

Now i'm really gonna sound like a cheapskate

We got married a few years ago, and got away with R25K for the whole thing, excluding honeymoon.
It was for 125 People.
Had a friend who does flower arranging do it, cost R2500
Venue plus food was R10K (we paid cash so got a small discount)
Video and Photo was R2500 and he did a pretty fantastic job.
Dress was made from scratch by someone who does it for a living, that was R3000
We put a small tab on the bar of R2000 (that was only for wine, soft drinks - hard stuff you had to pay for)
Limo Hire, plus extras such as mens suit hire and DJ was the remaining R5000

Then the honeymoon was a week in Cape Town that cost us R10000 for 4 and 5 Star accommodation, as well as flights and car hire.

At the time we just couldn't afford to have a big splashy wedding, but man I remember everything about it, the wife loved it and every person said they had an awesome time.

You don't need to go insane spending money on it, rather put that money to good use like deposit for a house.
R100K on a wedding is IMHO a waste.

Awesome! You are probably debt free or have little stress over finances while those who spent R180k on a wedding are still in debt paying for the wedding. You are proof that wedding don't have to be extravagant.

Most people I know take loans for the wedding.

Unwise!

The biggest waste of money imaginable, ESPECIALLY whilst living in a recession.

Some marriages even show cracks before the wedding costs have been paid off in full.

Why why why would one waste money like this???

+1

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.

You cheapskate you . I love it. If I get married one day, I'll beat your record and have a R14k wedding.

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.

I would rather blow R100k on a month long holiday in the USA (or around the world) including a trip to Vegas to get married, than blowing R100k in a one day event. The more I think about it, the more I think it would be an excellent idea.

 

[Hosehead]

I would rather blow R100k on a month long holiday in the USA (or around the world) including a trip to Vegas to get married, than blowing R100k in a one day event. The more I think about it, the more I think it would be an excellent idea.

That's exactly what I did. except we did Island hopping for a month.
Then came splitsville
and 100k become 1 million to the lawyers each person.

 

[AthenianOwl]

$0.00

 

[Hosehead]

$0.00

Hannah and her five sisters?