Splurges and regrets

I'm splurging on getting a videographer. I also think I might splurge and get all the guests fresh leis. We'll see though! I might not feel like spending any extra money as we get closer to the big day. I also did a boudoir shot for my future husband. Haven't shared the photos yet, but that will be fun.

I wish I spent more money on flowers! Our florist was in over her head and didn’t make anything according to my wishes. I think a higher end shop would have been able to execute better (and be on time!). Plus for whatever reason I was in a very minimalist mood when I was picking out our floral vibe, which is very antithetical to how I normally am!


We splurged on our venue and food, as in we had no budget for those items.

I splurged on nice new heels! They're STUNNING and big blocky things so I feel sturdy. But most importantly, it was a good excuse to buy a pair of shoes because I usually get too overwhelmed by how pretty shoes are so I buy nothing and stick to the same three pairs I have. I know I'll love and wear these for as long as I can. 😍

I’m splurging on dance lessons for us! I’ve been a dancer since I was 5 and Want our dance to be good and entertaining but also fun. We have our first lesson tomorrow!

Budget is extremely tight so im not sure i will actually be able to do these things, but i want to splurge on a videographer, a photobooth. And some custom details like personalized labels for water bottles or cups, more crystals and candles everywhere, and a nice loveseat for our sweetheart table

We splurged on my dress and desserts

We splurged on our photographer and I'm so happy we did, the pictures are perfect!


A little thing we splurged on that I kind of regret is we specially requested hot apple cider with our caterer for our October wedding. Touring the venue exactly one year ahead of time, daytime temperatures were only 63F. My vision was a chilly night and a warm, non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated drink people could enjoy while mingling on the deck. Yeah, it ended up being 82F on our October wedding day, got down to a comfortable 70F at the end of the night. No one was seeking a warm drink to cozy up with, lol. Would've been amazing if it was more a seasonable temperature, though!

We splurged on the food to guest ratio. About 15 of the RSVPs were maybes and about 30 were children. With that, guest count was 134 + 16 vendor meals so the final count provided for buffet bbq was 150. We figured it would be better to have too much than not enough, but there was alot of food leftover. I would say enough food for at least 40 people was left. I wish I had gone with a smaller count and saved that money.

I do not regret splurging on a fresh, local florist! The flowers completely made the decor. Also don't regret splurging on a local band for the reception or the Mariachi group for live music during ceremony. It would not have been the same without them.

Honestly, we were very thoughtful about what we prioritized and I can't think of anything that I wish we had spent more money on.

We're splurging on a live painter and food. Our hair, makeup, and attire will be cheaper (but still nice). We're also making our own invitations.

I splurged on upgrading food. totally have no regrets for that. the food was awesome.

i kind of regret having a candy bar - i mean it didn't cost much but people didn't get as much candy as i thought they would so i had a lot left

We had an extreme budget wedding (under $1,500) and there are two things I splurged on. First, was the food/ reception venue. I call it a splurge in the fact that unlike many budget weddings where you've got to set up/ tear down everything yourself that all was included in the venue. It was a restaurant reception and the food was delicious and I didn't have to worry about anything coming together. I highly recommend restaurant receptions to anyone on a budget because even just the basics is so inclusive and makes the day go smoother!

Second was the photographer. I didn't think I was going to be able to fit one into the budget and would have to rely on other people's photos. I'm glad we were able to find one that would work with us.

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I'm highly considering getting a live painter for our bigger reception down the road. It's such a unique experience/memento!

My wedding dress ended up being almost $1000 more than I budgeted/wanted to pay, so I guess that was a splurge. We're splurging on food/drink. We're splurging on transportation and providing a shuttle to and from the hotel/venue. We decided to get the videographer and a photo booth. We're adding fun personal touches to our table numbers and hotel welcome bags, but I'm DIYing a bunch of that.

Oh dear what haven’t we splurged on? I would say at the top of my list was my e-ring and bands which cost more than the wedding itself. This is followed by my dresses. The most important investment is good and drink. We want our guest to have an experience so we spent a lot of money on food and alcohol. The worst thing you want is people leaving your reception feeling like the food was awful. We are doing a bbq buffet for over 300 people. I think it’s worth the expense.

View Quoted Comment What kind of food are you doing for the bbq? I am doing one too but i dont want it to be too casual

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I'm really excited about it! I reached out to a local watercolor painter and she had never heard of it, but she's excited.

View Quoted Comment Here is our menu here but it’s missing the vegetarian entree we are having and passed appetizers which are chicken and waffles.

I am not married yet. I will be in 13 days! But so far, I think the splurges I think were worth it would be paying a little extra for my wedding dress and the DJ. Rocking a beautiful outfit but being comfortable was my ideal vision and I found a piece to wear. It was a little on the more higher price range but it's worth it to me. Also, having music is a big piece of having a great wedding in my eyes so the DJ cost was good.

We didn't spend money on favors, we're not doing them. We feel it's the least important part of our wedding and felt it was easy to just cut out.

We found a decent stationary vendor in our local area who wasn't too expensive. We didn't wanna pay too much on invitations and save the dates as long as they looked nice, which they turned out great.

We're not spending money on real flowers because they're going to not last and it's a lot of money so we're going with artificial floral arrangements.

I think each couple can analyze what they feel they can splurge on and what they can cut out but there will always be regrets.