Glamnuptials : The REAL Budget

When I started planning my wedding, there is one thing that I kept looking for and had a hard time finding, the budget breakdown of a real wedding. Oh course the budget depends on a lot of factors. Location, Date, and Amount of Guests but still I wanted to have some sort of idea. Who wouldn't?

What was particularly difficult with our situation was the Mr.Flamingo was in school the whole time we were engaged and even after the wedding. So planning a wedding on one salary wasn't the easiest thing to do... but do-able nonetheless. We simply needed to have an extra long engagement in return (2 and a half years) but it was worth it.

Here is the breakdown to our glamnuptials:

Date: June 21st 2008
City: In the Suburbs (approx 30 minutes from Montreal)
Budget: $22,000
# of Guests: 145
(including children, vendors & excluding guests (30-40) who came in the evening )

Wedding Day Costs

Ceremony Site: $475
This included the officiant and helpers for no extra cost. We basically had a mini church coordinator so everything ran quite smoothly.

Reception Site: N/A
There were no fee associated with the Hotel we used for our wedding reception. Basically the cost was broken down with the food and drinks. We had a beautiful hall with the capacity of 300 guests. (Therefore enough room to move and dance) We had a beautiful terrace where guests could enjoy with a waterfall and fireplace at night.

Food & Drink: $13 010

The reception started off with a cocktail and some hors d'oeuvre. Then was followed by a 5 course meal with wine included during the meal and open bar after 10:30 for a time slot of 4 hours and a sweet table at the stroke of midnight. This included 4 vendor meals ($35.00 / per vendor ) Here is the breakdown of the food and drinks:

• Hors d'oeuvre: $850 ($21.25 per dozen)
• 5 course Meal: $77.00 / per adult - $17.00 / per child
• Open Bar: $18.50 per adult (18 years and older)
• Sweet table: $500.00 (including pizzas, sandwiches, fruits, cake)
  =================
  total : $13007.50 (excluding service charges/gratuities

Service Charge/Gratuities: $1950.00
A 15% gratuity and all service charges for 1 event manager, 6 servers, 1 kitchen staff, and 3 bartenders was added to the total amount.

Cake: 375$
A 3-tier, chocolate, marble and vanilla cake. A small cake (75 large portions) to serve at the sweet table since we already had a dessert included in the main meal.

Bridal Gown & Alterations: $0 (dress) $125 (alterations)
My wedding dress was a gift from my mother. But it cost $690 this included dress, veil, shale, sash, and extra straps. Even thought I barely had any alterations to get done, I needed to make my dress shorter. The alterations cost 125$

Bridal Accessories: $320
I had lots of accessories some purchased some DIY projects. Here's the breakdown:

• Jewelry Set: $130
• Shoes: $95
  
• Shoe embellishments: $10
• Hair Comb: $10
  
• Handmade Brooch: $15
  
• Garter : $10
  
• Undergarments: $50
  

Groom’s Attire: N/A
Where we got the suits for the guys a little guy, there was a great promotion which allowed the groom to rent his attire for free!

Manicure/Pedicure : $0
Offered as a gift by my sister (aka bridesmaid)

Hair/Makeup: 0$
My hair was done by my awesome hairdresser. My step-mother was the sweetest and paid for all the girls and myself. As for my makeup, it was done by my awesome friend, also a gift.

Stationery/Postage: $435

• Invitations & envelopes: $75.00
• RSVP Postcards: $25.00
  
• Accomodation Cards: $25.00
• Thank-Yous & envelopes: $40.00
• Postage: $120.00
• Printing and/or Ink: $150.00

Other stationery items: $60

• Place Cards: $40.00
• Guest book: $0 Gift from a friend
• Programs : $10.00
• Menus: $10.00
• Printing and/or Ink: $25.00

Flowers: $480
All wedding flowers included:

• Bride Bouquet : $100
  
• 3 Bridesmaid + 1 MOH bouquet + Toss Bouquet : $240
  
• 6 bouts: $60
  
• 5 corsages : $50
  
• DIY Bouquet Bling: $30

Centerpieces/Decor: $1000
Various decor elements included:

• Table runners: $125
• Vases + Mirroirs: $350
  
• Garlands and chandelier pieces: $40
• Candles: $85
• Vintage Park Lighting: $400
  

Photography: 1000$
Being a graphic designer and familiar with Photoshop, I wanted my pictures to be RAW (un-edited) on a DVD. That way, it was good for both parties, less work for them, and cheaper price for me. Plus I got to do all the editing I wanted and feel free to use any picture I wanted

Videography: 3500$
Having our videographer come from NYC to our wedding obviously raised the cost and we definitely busted our budget on this one. That's why we opted for less coverage (6 hours only) But to be honest, I'm extremely happy we decided to splurge on the Super 8 ... without it, my wedding wouldn't of been the same.

Ceremony/Reception Music: 700$
Our DJ was awesome. Not only was the find a great deal, but the guests did not stop dancing for one bit. The price included 10 hours and all the props; glow sticks, hats, hawaiian necklaces..etc

Coordinator: N/A

Favors: 300$
Bottles of water combined with a donation to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation in memory of my grandmother and in honor mommy flamingo, survivor.

Wedding Party Gifts: $300
The bridesmaids (x3) got a 50$ gift which included a Flash Drive, a journal, and an embroidered silk jewelry roll. I gave the same to my MOH but added a 50$ gift certificate at a local spa. The best man got superman cuff links and a 50$ gift certificate.

Transportation: $425
Rental of our beautiful Vintage 1957 Bentley. This amount was for 6 hours and included the champagne, red carpet and all. Tip was also included.

Night Accommodations: $0
Honeymoon suite was offered as a gift by the hotel for having our wedding reception take place there. It was a very very nice honeymoon suite.

Miscellaneous: $385
Flower girl attire: $60
Ring Bearer attire: $125
Parent Gifts: $200

===========================
Wedding Day Total: $ 24 840
Total Cost per person: $ 171.31
===========================

All inclusive costs:

Wedding rings: $ 1800 (both)
Having my ring made by a jeweler boosted the price of my ring over than what I originally wanted to pay for it. Regardless, its a good investement, anyway my fingers would say so. ;)

Rehearsal Dinner/Day After Brunch: N/A

Mini-moon: 1250$
Because of budget restraints we decided on doing a minimoon to New York City. A 4 day 3 night trip filled with shopping, museums, dining out and of course a broadway show.

===========================
All inclusive total: $3050
===========================

For a Grand total of .... drum roll please: $27 890

I was afraid adding up all the totals, but honestly... its not as bad as I thought. A little over 5500$ of my initial budget. I must say though that being prepared and having every little details in a budget excel sheet made it so much easier to see how much I spent when planning my wedding. For those interested, you can download my budget form here.

Hope this has helped in some way...

Images taken by Ipi-events, Anne-Emilie Photo and guests
——————–
Previously:
Glamnuptials: Beauty Time
Glamnuptials: Prep Time
Glamnuptials: Ceremony Part 1
Glamnuptials: Ceremony Part 2
Glamnuptials: Bride Posing
Glamnuptials: Groom Posing
Glamnuptials: Strike the pose Part 1
Glamnuptials: Strike the pose Part 2
Glamnuptials: The Newlyweds
Glamnuptials: We are Family
Glamnuptials: First Dance
Glamnuptials: Le Gâteau
Glamnuptials: The Guestbook
Glamnuptials: Decor Elements
Glamnuptials: Giving our gifts
Glamnuptials: DAS aka Day after Shoot
Glamnuptials: Wedding Movie Trailer
Glamnuptials: Real Wedding Inspiration Board