Now that the honeymoon is over and the thank yous have been mailed, it’s time to calculate how much this bitch cost. Weddings are expensive, duh, and ours wasn’t totally an exception to that rule. According to www.costofwedding.com, a wedding in the Fayetteville area should cost around $28,000. I had all sorts of commentary in my chart, but the HTML got screwed up. Instead, I wrote them as numbered footnotes. If you have any questions, just leave a comment!
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| From Cost of Wedding |
| Your Wedding Info | ||||||||
| Estimated Wedding Cost: | $28,790 | |||||||
| Actual wedding cost: | $22,571 | |||||||
| Guests: 100 | ||||||||
| Attire & Accessories | ||||||||
| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Dress Accessories | $121 | $100 1 | ||||||
| Wedding Dress/es | $857 | $600 2 | ||||||
| Attire & Accessories Total: | $978 | $700 | ||||||
| 1. Only purchased shoes. 2. My parents paid for dress. Dress cost includes alterations |
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Beauty & Spa |
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| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Hair Service | $86 | $140 1 | ||||||
| Makeup Service | $67 | $0 | ||||||
| Manicure & Pedicure | $105 | $40 | ||||||
| Beauty & Spa Total: | $258 | $180 | ||||||
| 1. Make-up included in hair cost |
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| Entertainment | ||||||||
| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| DJ | $1,076 | $1,150 | ||||||
| Entertainment Total: | $1,076 | $1,150 | ||||||
| Flowers & Decorations | ||||||||
| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Bridal Bouquet | $108 | $41.25 | ||||||
| Bridesmaid Bouquets | $118 | $41.25 | ||||||
| Ceremony Decorations | $181 | $140 | ||||||
| Ceremony Flower Arrangements | $203 | $0 1 | ||||||
| Reception Decorations | $216 | $0 2 | ||||||
| Reception Flower Arrangements | $228 | $330 | ||||||
| Reception Table Centerpieces | $237 | $25 | ||||||
| Flowers & Decorations Total: | $1,291 | $577.50 | ||||||
| 1. No flowers at ceremony 2. No other decor for reception |
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Gifts & Favors |
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| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Gift/s for Attendants | $80 | $120 | ||||||
| Gift/s for Parents | $83 | $0 1 | ||||||
| Tips (for all services) | $836 | $0 2 | ||||||
| Wedding Favors | $113 | $170 3 | ||||||
| Gifts & Favors Total: | $1,112 | $290 | ||||||
| 1. Parental gifts are in progress 2. Tips were in contracts 3. My parents paid for koozies (we paid for candy & bags) |
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| Invitations | ||||||||
| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Ceremony Programs | $54 | $130 1 | ||||||
| Engagement Announcements | $53 | $0 | ||||||
| Guest Book | $33 | $20 | ||||||
| Invitations & Reply Cards | $127 | $400 2 | ||||||
| Postage | $51 | $0 | ||||||
| Reception Menus | $57 | $10 3 | ||||||
| Save the Date Cards | $58 | $60 | ||||||
| Table Name and Escort/place Cards | $39 | $0 4 | ||||||
| Thank You Cards | $46 | $40 | ||||||
| Invitations Total: | $518 | $660 | ||||||
| 1. Includes professional printing 2. Postage is in invite cost Postage includes response cards 3. Only bought tape for menus 4. Bought nothing for place cards |
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Wedding Rings |
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| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Engagement Ring | $2,592 | $1,700 1 | ||||||
| Wedding Bands | $946 | $120 2 | ||||||
| Wedding Rings Total: | $3,538 | $1,820 | ||||||
| 1. Engagement = my rings 2. Wedding = Mac’s ring |
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Photography & Video |
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| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Digital or Photo cd/dvd | $737 | $0 1 | ||||||
| Engagement Session | $629 | $200 | ||||||
| Prints and/or Enlargements | $507 | $0 2 | ||||||
| Wedding Photographer | $2,487 | $2,200 | ||||||
| Photography & Video Total: | $4,360 | $2,400 | ||||||
| 1. CDs in our contract 2. Haven’t printed any photos yet |
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| Planner/Consultant | ||||||||
| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Day of Coordinator | $1,045 | $750 | ||||||
| Planner/Consultant Total: | $1,045 | $750 | ||||||
| Venue, Catering & Rentals | ||||||||
| Estimated Cost | Actual cost | |||||||
| Ceremony Accessories | $145 | $150 1 | ||||||
| Ceremony Location | $1,064 | $400 | ||||||
| Ceremony Officiator | $442 | $0 2 | ||||||
| Hotel Room for After Reception | $681 | $0 3 | ||||||
| Reception Accessories | $141 | $0 | ||||||
| Reception Bar Service | $2,223 | $0 4 | ||||||
| Reception Food Service | $4,307 | $6,446 | ||||||
| Reception Location | $2,914 | $3,000 | ||||||
| Reception Rentals | $1,542 | $600 5 | ||||||
| Rehearsal Dinner | $774 | $0 6 | ||||||
| Shuttle | $685 | |||||||
| Wedding Cake/dessert | $381 | $400 | ||||||
| Venue, Catering & Rentals Total: | $14,614 | $11,681 | ||||||
| 1. Accessories = chair rentals 2. Pastor Cook was given gift 3. We stayed at home, suckas 4. Bar service was part of catering 5. Linens, small tables, & security 6. In-laws paid for rehearsal |
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| © 2012 The Wedding Report, Inc. | ||||||||
So we wound up spending under $23,000. I just realized I forgot to add in the lighting costs. Whoops. We’re below the “average” cost but still spent a fair amount of money. We saved large amounts for our rings and because our parents gifted us items along the way. However, we splurged on things like the invitations, programs, and our high-cost venue. And I’m sure I left some other things out.
Who else has crunched the wedding-cost numbers? Were you near your area’s average cost?
I need to do this. Would be really interesting to see how much we paid.