Breaking The Bank

Videography was what we ended up spending more on than we anticipated. We were on the fence on whether to book a videographer, though once we found one who offered what we were looking for and whose videos we loved, we decided that it was worth it, even though their pricing was above what we initially budgeted for. No regrets at all on it though!

Our “breaking the bank” item is food/bar. You always hear that guests mostly remember the food and booze, so we wanted to make sure ours remembered them for the right reasons! We had 2 “surprise” costs. The videographer price was definitely a surprise, because we had not initially intended on getting one. Make up is definitely the item that we are spending way more on than I had ever anticipated. Due to rescheduling, I lost my original make up artist, who was charging a total of $600 for on-site makeup for myself and 3 other girls. The new artist is charging over $1600 for the same amount of people ( with no trial) 😱 I know she is an incredibly talented and sought after make up artist, but I think I am still in sticker shock! And I am more than a little nervous about not having a trial.

We are spending more than anticipated on catering/venue. There is no venue rental fee, it's just the per person cost plus tax and service charge so it's more expensive, but I think it'll be totally worth it. The venue we chose was our favorite for an all in one price. It's central to both our families, very classy yet simple, and big enough for our 200 person guest list. And they have been so great at answering questions! Also we tasted the food a little and it's delicious! Definitely worth the extra $ for the all in one venue.

Photographer is also extremely important to me and I was willing to go over budget on that, but we really lucked out and found a very credible photographer that has answered all of my questions for much less than what I was anticipating spending!

View Quoted Comment Videography was one of our unanticipated costs. We had not planned to have one. I figured photos were more than enough. But after hearing so many people say they regret not having videography, we decided to book one! At first it was hard handing over thousands of dollars for an item that I wasn’t sure was necessary, but once we did it we were both really glad we did! Videos provide so much more than photos can in terms of memories! And when you think about it, memories are priceless 💕

View Quoted Comment After a lot of researching I have to agree with you, all-inclusive venues are the best! The fewer vendors you have to source and keep organized the better! (Your sanity is worth the extra $$$ 😆)


That’s amazing your preferred photographer was actually under budget!

View Quoted Comment For sure! The memories will be nice to have for years to come. A similar situation here. We initially were planning to book one, then decided not to, and instead invested more in photography (adding a second shooter, more hours, etc). Then, once we postponed due to COVID, we decided that we actually wanted to book a videographer. After watching some of their videos from past weddings, we were completely sold on booking them! I love how the videos really capture the whole story from the day. Awesome that you are happy with the videographer you booked!

Ummm is it fair to say EVERYTHING lmao

the "wedding tax" is totally real

The photographer. He's expensive but I absolutely fell in love with his work. The pictures is what will last forever.

View Quoted Comment Hahaha!! It’s totally fair! The wedding industry prices are shocking when you start planning! All the extra taxes and fees and surcharges have been craaaaaazy. We are literally paying thousands of dollars in these little hidden fees (some of which I think are completely made up just to get more money)! I was shocked at the cost of florals too!

View Quoted Comment I completely agree. Your wedding day will come and go, but those pictures will last forever. And memories are priceless!

View Quoted Comment Omg we got a floral quote of 18,000!!!! And another for 12,000. We finally found someone to do it for 6,300. And I just want greenery and some white floral pops, not even anything "fun" haha

View Quoted Comment OMG! Ok your floral quote was waaaay scarier than ours!! You must live in a very high cost of living area, because I cannot imagine $18,000 just for greenery and white floral pops!! We are having a huge variety of lush colored flowers, many which have to be flown in, and our quote was nowhere near that!

View Quoted Comment Big city prices suck, that's for sure. Trying to source outside the city as much as possible but we can only do so much haha

Food. i really wanted good food and that ended up being twice the amount i wanted to spend but it was worth it

View Quoted Comment I think this is a safe and wise investment for weddings. Everyone remembers and gets to benefit from good food and drinks!

We haven't booked the vendor yet, but Transportation is probably gonna be our "break the bank" item.

We're offering a hotel block at a hotel 5 minutes from our venue, and all our guests are local, but I expect a majority of the younger crowd may stay at the hotel after the wedding and I would like to provide transportation from the hotel to the venue and then back to the hotel at the end of the night so no one has to drive under any kind of influence. I know it's not my responsibility to ensure adults don't drink and drive, but I want people to have a good time and be safe.

Every transportation company I talked to hasn't quoted me anything under $1,200 which just seems unreal for a 5 minute ride, but I understand the costs and am willing to pay it need be. I'm thinking of waiting till last minute to book transportation until I have a better idea of exactly how many guests will be staying at the hotel

View Quoted Comment This is a really great splurge that your guests are sure to appreciate! My parents did this for my brother’s wedding. A lot fewer guests utilized it than they had anticipated, but the ones that did really appreciated it and my parents felt that others’ safety was well worth the cost.

Videography was our biggest bill (outside of our venue). But worth every single penny!

View Quoted Comment I love hearing that! I was on the fence about videography, but thanks to the lovely brides here on WW, we decided to hire a videographer. I’m so glad we can get helpful tips and learn from one another here

Photography is the biggest expense. Everything else came in under that.