Budget priorities?

We focused on venue, dj, and catering. Any wedding I've been too I remember the atmosphere and food. I dont remember the flowers, centerpieces and all that little stuff. We wanted our guests to have a good time.

Personally I splurged on food, photography, and hair and make up. The flowers I am doing a lot of DIY and I found a small business for cake and it’s still delicious! I splurged on the items that I felt would make the wedding more memorable but I think it’s all objective!

Hi,
I really think it’s different for everyone, you need to go with what’s most important to you... if you want an amazing wedding album and think that you need to spend a lot on photography then go for it!... it’s your day!!... For me, it’s about having a great time with friends and family... I think first impressions set the tone for how the wedding will flow... we opted to spend most of our budget on the experience.... flowers, twinkle lights, floating candles.... awesome MC and DJ... great food and drink.... 😊

Hello,

I think investing on Photography was a good call. Doing some extensive research is key in everything, and really compare the quality and price. Some people charge for things, that are like half the price for another person, they're just not as popular. I think a good way to know, what should be prioritize, is to really think about what is important to you both. Just keeping that in mind along the process of wedding planning on a budget would really help. If you keep thinking about other people, when the main celebration is you both, there might be some regrets when you see the bill. Or get more disappointed if things don't turn out the way you wanted them too, after money was spent. Unless both of your parents are contributing to the wedding, there's no need to worry about stuff you don't care about, for other people's sake. Cause there would always be someone complaining.

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I agree! I was curious to see what everyone's priorities are, so posted this.

Hi,
This will be my second marriage. I never had a wedding with my first husband so this time around I want something nice. I'm new to this so what is a good amount to spend for a nice elegant wedding? I have a list of around 100 people but didn't really expect that many either.

Photography!

Definitely food and music!! I was talking to a friend the other day, she said she spent a pretty penny on photography and we had an interesting talk about it. She said, yes it is great to have awesome pictures, but there are only a few pictures out of the hundreds that are hanging on their wall and that the rest of the pictures are in a wedding scrapbook that they open once a year. It got me thinking- I have seen pictures of my grandparents weddings and they are not “professional” photos but they were still married and can still tell me about their day, still have pictures of those who have passed even though they aren’t perfect pictures. Just got me thinking, would I rather spend an outrageous amount on photography and enjoy hundreds of edited pictures later or spend money where it directly affects my experience along with my guests that night. That is the big question for us right now!!

I’m splurging on photography, florals and dress. No regrets lol.

I think it's good to start out by making a list of your top priorities. Is a large wedding important to you? Do you need to have an open bar? Is there a particular photographer or videographer you really want to hire? Do you need to have your wedding in a large city or can you hold it in a smaller area that may be less expensive? Anyway, congratulations, dear!

FOOD! and open bar was a must. Photography was important to us too but we were able to find someone well within budget that had everything we were looking for (2 photographers, 8 hours of coverage, engagement shoot included). Least important to us are flowers, favors (will probably skip) and invitations.

Music most important, then catering/photography equal. Video not so much

I'm going cheap on both-- but this will be a pretty laid back event. We want to be fully present and truly celebrate.

I don't like when a wedding is all about the photography. Thankfully, I have great 3 photographers IN my wedding, and one friend who is working on building her portfolio, so they are all going to tag team it. I'm NOT picky and will be doing a first look so we can get all of the posed photos out of the way and enjoy our party.

For food, I am thankful to live in Louisiana. My stepdad is making a big jambalaya-- which can feed everyone for $200, we just need the sides and the cake. We will have a small pretty cake for cutting/pics but plan to buy a big sheet cake (in the exact same flavor.)

View Quoted Comment We’re the same way! Thinking about skipping flowers and favors completely

Our Venue will be our biggest expense. We have allotted the following to start. Of course there are other things that are cheaper, like invitations/hair/makeup, but these are the big things:

Venue- $4000

DJ- $1000

Food and Dessert- $2000

Alcohol- $1000

Bride's Attire (not including in the budget) $2000

Photographer- $2500