Paying for wedding?

Question

My boyfriend and I have been talking about getting married and I like to pay for my own things. I suggested we pay for a wedding together instead of having our parents split the cost. We have like 45 thousand in the bank, and we can afford it. My parents are putting me through college and I don't think it's fair to have them pay for a wedding. It's my responsibility, not theirs. He says our wedding would be like 5 thousand dollars so it won't be so much, but I really don't know how much to expect the cost. What do you guys think about all of this?

Answer 1

A very modest wedding in a major city during summer would be $15,000, so adjust from there. A smaller city is less money, winter is less money. I would not expect it to be as low as $5000 unless it was very non-traditional and the reception was at someone's house.

Answer 2

You need to do some research and see what will reflect  how you all want to spend your day. You need to think about things like flowers they will cost almost 20-30 percent of your budget. Weddings can be very experience. 5000.00 is a very small budget to work with but if you stick to it, you can make it work

Answer 3

Well, my wedding cost under 5000 but it was small, quick and no fuss...

To cut costs, use people you know!

Like, a hairdresser

Get family to help decorate

get dress on sale

my friend got mairried on 3000 just because she decided to have an evening wedding, so there wsant any meal, just crackers, cheese, small finger foods, and ofcourse cake...but food will more than likely be the most $$$

Answer 4

Good for you for wanting to pay for your own wedding. Especially since your parents are paying for your college. My parents paid for my college and are not paying for my wedding, and I am perfectly fine with that. My fiance and I will just have a wedding that we can afford and not have ourselves, or our parents go into debt over it. The way I figure it, my parents are getting up there in age and really need to be thinking about retirement, and not blowing their money on a one day party for me. Also, you can have a wedding for 5,000, but i'm just gonna let you know that just the food for my wedding was  7,000 so you just gotta look for deals or DIY, but you seem to have a considerable savings, so you should be fine.....JUst please don't blow your savings for a 1 day party.  

Answer 5

I think you should be congratulated for not wanting to saddle your parents with the cost of your wedding as well as your education. That shows a remarkable amount of maturity on the part of both your

boyfriend and you. Check out the website one of the posters listed.

Idoubt very much that sensible young people like yourselves are going

to into hock for an extravagant wedding that lasts one day and you could end up paying for it for years. I only wish more people would make an effort to live within their means. I think this country would be in a lot better shape financially and morally.Again congratulations to you and my very best wishes for a long and happy life together.

Answer 6

We paid for our own wedding. Thats how it should be. You do what you think is right. Costs do get out of hand though.  Go for it

But let your parents pay for something, it helps

Answer 7

Well, you're bringing up several issues here.  I'll address the parents issue first.  I'm a parent, my oldest child is 18 years old, and she's starting college this fall (in 2 weeks) and of course my husband and I are paying her way through college.  And while I'm not planning on her getting married ANYTIME in the foreseeable future, her father and I will be honored when that time comes in her life to pay for the wedding like we've planned since the day she was born.  You need to talk to your parents about this one, because they may have planned on paying for your wedding as well, not because they HAVE to, but because they WANT to.  They may be hurt if you decide to pay it all yourself, and they may tell you to take the $$ you've saved, and use it towards a down payment on a home, and let them pay for the wedding.  I know that's how I would feel in a similar situation.

As far as how much you should budget you should know that a wedding can cost as much as you have, and then some.  Here's a great tool that I've found, it gives you the average price people paid for their weddings, based on zip codes.  It also breaks it down into categories, like clothing, food, alcohol, etc.  http://www.costofwedding.com/

You and your boyfriend, when you marry, will spend a lifetime making financial decisions together.  You need to make certain that you both can agree on how to spend the family's resources, how much you should save, spend, etc.  Remember that issues involving money are the #1 reason couples divorce, so come to an understanding early in your relationship.  

I wish you both all the best!  Good luck!

Answer 8

It's definitely doable for $5K as long as you can keep your expectations and budget in check and do your research.  And I think it's wonderful that you want to pay for it yourself - it shows real responsibility.  

Our wedding was around $6-7K and we were able to pay for it ourselves.  This is the best way to have complete say in what your wedding is like.  No strings attached to the money.  

For some great ideas on how to have a great wedding on a budget, check out this webpage:

http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/...

Oh, and I should add that we had a very nice wedding.  I DIYed a TON of things, we compromised and had a brunch reception instead of an evening one, we had friends do the cake and photography...and we were able to do this while planning from 1500 miles away.  Get on http://www.theknot.com and on the boards there - you'll find a ton of girls who can help you acheive a wedding for $5K!

Answer 9

That's totally fine - that's what my husband and I did - just pay for the wedding, then you can have the style and number of guests you want.

Answer 10

well i agree with you they shouldnt pay youre wedding... and well as far as the cost of the wedding materials just look online to see whats the cheepest things because i mean you guys are going to have to save up money... so i think you should consider walmart costco it doenst have to be expensive just decent looking and it will look fancy too so i hope you guys have a wonderful wedding...

P.s...  i think you guys wll waste more than 5 thousand dollars =[

Answer 11

Hi.  These types of questions are so hard to answer, because it totally depends on (a) where you live....city or rural area, and (b) what KIND of wedding you want....fancy shmancy....or more low-key, and (c) how many guests you are having.

All I can tell you is that the average cost of weddings in the U.S. today is about $20,000-$25,000 and is climbing.

Now, of course, that is the AVERAGE!!  Use the discover key at the top of this page and research all of those who have done a very nice wedding for much, much less that $20K.  Of course, some have gone over that....and that is fine too!  There is no right or wrong here.

However, I do agree with you.  If you two have $45K in the bank, then you should pay for your own wedding.  If your parents (or his) offer anything...that will be different.  But, in today's world it is the bride and groom that pay for their own wedding.