How many of you went over budget?

We never set an exact budget, but we are about 40 days out and have already gone over the amount we wanted to try and keep it under. We had had some help from both sides of the family due to this.

I will say florals were the one thing I was surprised on how expensive they were as well. I definitely did not budget enough for that in the beginning and I thought I had set plenty aside.

We ended up using a local grocery store (Publix in Florida) to do our flowers and the price was much more reasonable than any florist we met with. They did one of my bridesmaids weddings previously and did an amazing job, it cut the price in half. If you have anything local you may want to check into that.

We have a numbers for what we thought it would cost and then update them when we get actual quotes. We want the day to be close to our vision, so our budget is fluid.

We didn't have a set budget, so there was nothing to go over. We got what we wanted.

We went slightly over budget but were conscious of where we were willing to go over budget.

Don't go into debt over it, but if you have the money and are willing to spend it, go for it.

Get another quote. I got 2 flower quotes. One was double the other! No difference in order, same area within 5 miles. Try asking them "my budget for flowers is xxxxx......what can I get for that?"
I am going over what I initially thought we would. Guest list grows, u realize you Do need a photobooth, decide to upgrade the dinner, etc etc.

I wish we could stay under 10K but yeaahhhh rightttt just the venue will be around 13k but thats the majority of the budget anyway

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Similar situation to above, we set decided early on that we wanted to keep our wedding costs down including anything gifted to us by family so we decided 15k was reasonable, with up to 18k if we needed to. So far we're on track but I've had your same experience a few times, where the budget was nothing compared to a vendors cost. I've been pretty set on sticking to my budget so I've moved things around, flowers cost 250 more than expected so I cut my dress and accessories budget, etc. Unfortunately weddings are a bit of a racket, vendors totally overprice when its a wedding so the best thing I've found is to prioritize the things we absolutely want and consider everything else not part of the wedding unless we end up under budget. Good luck!

We were shooting for 10K, but looks like we're going to come in just under 15K. My FIL's are VERY generously contributing more than half, so we are very lucky.

Oh yeah. I set my budget and guest list within 2 weeks of being engaged and I've cried on how far I've come from that number LOL. I did put my foot down on not having real flowers. Instead we are doing silk and I am already excited that I get to keep them and display them with the rest of our wedding stuff. If you really can't splurge on the flowers then at least try and pull back on other stuff like the center pieces, seating cards, programs, etc.

Everything always works out though! good luck!

My budget was destroyed alongggggg time ago lol

I requested multiple quotes from vendors that met our standards and went with the best price even when we knew my parents or FH's parents would be helping. Budgets are hard if you don't stay on top of them.

We did not go over budget - we were pretty restrained. Per flowers: Can you use more seasonal flowers that are not as expensive? I wanted an all white bouquet and asked for a few roses, carnations and white stocks and it was beautiful.

Everyone has a budget - $3000 to $60,000 - gotta be aware of costs!!

I'm in the planning process now and things are just expensive! I was comparing my sister (married 2 years ago) and my cousin (married last year). Their "expensive" equals to today's low end. *sigh*

Just found out I am going over budget as well. I forgot to budget service charge/tips for the venue. Can't believe I did that! I still have time to change the venue as I haven't signed a contract yet, but I am not sure if I could find anything cheaper yet still with the features I like at my #1 venue choice.

We will likely go over budget too. So far each category I've gone over a little. But we have adjusted the total budget to make up for some splurges. We have the money and will not take on debt, but its tough seeing all that money going out of the account!

In the end, I always ask myself if I will regret my decisions. Most of them I think I would regret if I didn't actually go for what I want. Some things, I know I won't regret.

For example, I would regret not getting the wedding band I really wanted. But I won't regret getting invitations printed for cheaper. Its all personal priorities.

We did not set a budget. We had an idea of what we wanted to spend for each category and when we were shopping for vendors I compared pricing and what you get. Found the best for us and went by that with who we choose. We are probably going to spend about 25k-30k. We also did the same thing for our Honeymoon. Figured we would just try to get the best experience for the best money possible-especially, since you only get one honeymoon.

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I completely agree with this statement.

When we first got engaged I had no idea the cost of anything for a wedding so I set a budget of $12,000 . After doing research we ended up saying as long as we are under $30,000. Right now if we host every guest we invited it will be about $1,000-$2,000 under.

Starting the initial stage of planning, and man it's expensive!! Didn't realize planning a wedding would be such a headache, I always thought it was rainbows and sunshines.

So, my fiancé and I sort of half-assed a $6000 budget. After putting everything into the budget sheet on the WW website/app, it's calculating out to be more of a $10k-$11k wedding!!! O_O This is, of course, after tips; and many things are still estimated costs, not actual costs. My wedding dress, the venue, the catering, bar service, and DJ are all solid calculations, which super helps! But that all came to roughly $8,000, which is $2,000 over our original budget. :-/ Whoops. We're not getting real flowers for anything, so that saves us a lot! Instead, the venue has beautiful fake flowers I can choose from to make centerpiece arrangements and decor for the ceremony outside. My bouquet, the girls' bouquets, the boutonnières, and corsages will all be made by my mother, sister, and I - out of photocopied comics & HP pages. And my grandmother is going to make me a few rose blossoms out of dried apples, to add to my bouquet. I'm very excited.

P.S. All of this, and the marriage license hasn't been added to the budget, and of course the cost of changing one's name...getting all new ID, passport, etc. Scheiße adds up! :-( (Excuse my language!)