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Why We’re Spending $20,000 on Our Wedding

I’m marrying my fiancee in less than a year and we are going to spend around $20,000 on the wedding.

Let that sink in for a moment. I’m sure I have some frugal readers who think I’m crazy, and I’m sure I have some not-so frugal readers who, well, also think I’m crazy. But I’m not.

I plan to talk a lot about the wedding and how much things are costing over the next few months, so I will be constantly referring to this article when people ask, “Why not just throw a kegger at your house and save all that money?!”

So here are the two main reasons why Tag and I are spending a boatload of money on our wedding.

I’m Accomplishing a Life Goal

A few years ago I sat down and wrote up a bunch of life goals. I had them pinned to a tack board in my bedroom and looked at them from time to time. I don’t do a great job of keeping up with these life goals, but there is one that is very important to me, and it reads as follows:

Give my future wife the wedding of her dreams.

This isn’t just a little important to me. It’s one thing that I expect to look back on and know, without any question in my mind, that I did everything I could to make my wife happy on her wedding day.

Obviously I don’t have unlimited funds so I can’t give her every single thing she wants, but I’m going to do everything I can to make it the wedding of her dreams on what I believe is a pretty significant budget. This is something I WANT to do for my wife, and I’m happy to do it.

I’m Creating a Life Long Memory

Guess what? This wedding isn’t just for my future wife. It’s also for me!

The whole reason I work hard and make money is to have incredible life experiences. After I put a roof over my head, food on the table, and money into savings, everything else is mostly allocated towards creating incredible memories.

I have absolutely fantastic memories of my 5 weeks of backpacking through Europe. My Costa Rica trip is such a fond memory that I actually had a dream about it last night; years after the trip!

wedding
photo credit: Katsunojiri

It’s amazing how often my vacation to New York and Boston in 2010 becomes relevant in conversation, and it’s still hard to believe it took me 28 years before I witnessed the size and beauty of the Grand Canyon.

Those trips were worth every penny I spent on them.

When Tag and went to Mexico last year and spent a whole week together, I knew that was a girl I could spend the rest of my life with. That trip was DEFINITELY worth every penny.

I literally have one single pair of jeans without holes in the knees right now. It’s been that way for over a year. In the last 3 years, I might have spent $300 TOTAL on clothing, with most of that going towards socks and underwear. I recently bought a new pair of tennis shoes because my other pair was 5 years old and had multiple holes in them.

I don’t even have a car because I work from home and my fiancee uses her car to work on weekdays. I don’t want to spend money on a car and insurance I don’t need because that money could be used to create an incredible memory.

I am frugal when it comes to day-to-day purchases. But I’m not frugal when it comes to the important stuff in my life, and what can be more important than marrying the woman I love?

If my goal is to use money to create incredible experiences and memories, then I’m actually thinking $20,000 on the biggest day of my life sounds like chump change.

I’m not just trying to create an incredible memory for myself and for Tag, but also for our family and friends who will be a part of the wedding. I want everyone to have good food and to drink as much as they like. I want a great photographer to capture all of the events of the night in clear, artistic photos. I want Tag to feel like the most beautiful woman in the world when she puts on that dress.

I’m Happy to Spend $20,000 on My Wedding

$20,000 is a lot of money. It’s also a very small amount of money when I consider how much I will earn over my lifetime.

I’m still contributing to my 401k. I’m still paying off all my credit cards at the end of every month. My student loans are still paid off (although Tag’s aren’t, but we’re working on it).

We can spend $20,000 on a wedding and still be in a very comfortable financial position.

We WILL spend $20,000 on our wedding, and we WILL create memories that last a lifetime!

Readers: If you are married, how much did you spend on your wedding?

64 thoughts on “Why We’re Spending $20,000 on Our Wedding”

  1. You are crazy…After reading this post, I have a hard time believing that anyone would actually listen to the financial ‘advice’ you dish out on this blog. Dude, you don’t even have a car! Why would you spend $20,000 on ONE day?!?!? Have you thought about how $20K could perform over the next 30 years in an IRA? Wouldn’t $20K put a decent dent in Tag’s student loan debt? Why not put that money in your lending club account and get some serious returns(this assumes you actually have the $20K in cash or semi-liquid assets, which I doubt is the case…)!

    Beyond the excessive amount of money you are set to spend on your wedding(relative to you financial situation), the main thing that concerns me is your EXPECTATION LEVEL re: your wedding day. Look man, weddings can be fun and it’s great to have some nice, clear photos of your big day. But honestly, when you look back after a few years you really aren’t going to possess these indelible ‘memories’ of your wedding day like you seem to think you will create with a $20,000 investment. If you ask most married folks, their wedding day was a blurry blur. Half of your wedding day(whether you spend $5K or $500K) will involve talking to hundreds of people without actually having a single memorable conversation with any of them. Also, if you ask any bride, you will invariably find that there was always something that didn’t go as planned, e.g. the weather (You planning to have this shindig outside, boss?). Bottom line: When you devote this level of effort and financial priority to a one-day event like a wedding, you are setting yourself up disappointment…

    From the way you talk about Tag, it seems like you really care for her. That’s admirable, man. Every good girl should have someone who feels that way about her. My hat’s off to you. What I hope to impress upon you from this comment is that you can demonstrate your love for Tag in ways that are much more constructive and financially responsible…and I really think that she’ll appreciate your discernment in the years to come. Also…don’t build up this wedding too much in your mind, bro…keep your expectations low and reality is sure to turn out to be a pretty happenin’ place.

    1. Like I said, I don’t expect everyone to agree with me on this.

      The fact is I don’t need a car. My worst financial decisions have all been cars, and I’m happy to avoid the expense of having one now.

      I realize $20,000 will come and go in one day. And I’m fine with that. I still have a net worth at 28 that is higher than the average net worth of people in their 40s. My financial life is still very much intact even after spending this much on a wedding.

      Like I said, the wedding is combination of me wanting to give Tag the wedding she deserves and me wanting to have a great time at a great party.

      I appreciate your input, but we just disagree on this one.

      1. Kevin, are you calculating your “$75,000 website” into your net worth that is “higher than the average net worth of people in their 40s?” Haha, for a guy who operates a financial planning blog, I don’t think it’s saying much when you compare yourself to an average American 40 year old. An average American doesn’t do a great job of saving money because they routinely give in to their impulses(i.e. splurging twenty grand on a wedding right after paying $700 for a prenup). You men always think that just because you have a “plan,” that your ideas are superior to everyone else’s. Kevin, if I were you I would write more about Libertarianism and the constant assault on the U.S. Constitution than about financial issues. I like it when you talk about liberty…it’s more engaging and I think it’s fun to see the backlash from the media-brainwashed fools. “Tre Semporus Vivaldi”

        1. I have two websites that are worth money. I count them as $0 combined in my net worth.

          I’m glad you like the liberty posts. I write about what I’m passionate about. Sometimes it’s liberty, and sometimes it’s my wedding. I’m just glad you like some of it.

    2. While a bit harsh(that first sentence was a little strongly worded, wouldn’t you say?), I do agree with the main point of your post Mr You Crazy. The main thing is that a wedding can oftentimes be a big letdown if expectations aren’t tempered. There is this whole notion(as Morgan in the post below laid out…) that a wedding is ‘supposed to be one of the happiest days in your life.’ It’s a big milestone, but getting married to a person should really be more about the COMMITMENT, than about all these ‘feelings’ and a perceived sense of entitlement to ‘happiness.’ Way too many people in our society to buy into these ideas, and will oftentimes make bad financial decisions to chase after this fleeting dream of happiness. I really don’t agree with people going into debt to finance things like weddings…especialy considering something like 50% of marriages end in divorce(Sorry for the downer…) Happiness can’t be bought, and it is more a function of your state of mind(i.e. expectations) and attitude than anything else.

      Mr Thousandaire, I am curious: Did you have the cash on hand to pay the $20K for the wedding, or did you have to use credit cards, etc? Or, was it some kind of combination. While I don’t agree with how much money you are dedicating to ONE day, I do congratulate you on finding the girl you want to spend the rest of your life with! Good luck to you both! -Craig

      1. We haven’t paid for it yet, but it will be fully paid or via our savings. We are still 9 months away from actually paying for it. We have spent a few thousand paying deposits and retainers, but the majority will be due in about 8 months.

        If for any reason we can’t afford the wedding in 100% cash, I would pay as much as possible from savings and pay the rest with a low interest loan like a 0% credit card or a home equity loan. In fact, I might just find the best sign up bonus for a credit card, get approved, earn a huge sign up bonus, and then have 6 or 12 months to pay it off at 0%.

  2. Don’t listen to that guy. You spend what you want and you enjoy it all. I spent quite a bit more than that on our wedding and I don’t regret a thing. Well actually that’s not true, I regret that I took the inexpensive route on our photographer! I wish I would have paid a bit more and gotten a different one to have better quality but that’s ok with me.

    Yes it is one day but you know what, it’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life. Why not enjoy the money you have worked hard to earn and save. You seem to have other things worked out and put together. Screw the haters and enjoy your wedding!

    1. Thanks Morgan. I guess one thing I should have mentioned is that I’ve already signed contracts for most of the stuff so backing out really isn’t an option unless I wanna spend $10,000 to NOT have a wedding.

      We are going to enjoy it and I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed yours. Sorry about your photographer! I’m actually posting next week about how our photographer is expensive, yet we found ways to make it a little cheaper.

  3. 2002: ~$10,000

    but that included everything from the dress to the groomsmen gifts. We called in a lot of favors and connections, but I agree with you and refused to compromise on a photographer. A local film developer was offering a deal to photograph the wedding AND give you the pictures for $300. NOPE! They shot 35mm with crappy glass and developed “off color” so bad that even my colorblind self could see something was wrong. We also turned down numerous aunts and cousins who would take pictures with their “nice” camera. You said that it is the “biggest day of your life” so have it documented properly by someone who has some experience and equipment. Memories fade quicker than photographs, so it is nice to revisit your wedding album on your anniversary.

    $20,000 is actually pretty frugal compared to some of the weddings I’ve been to lately. Money spent on a wedding doesn’t make it better. I’ve been to a few keg+hog weddings that were far more fun and social than some of the recent ones with multi-course meals in ballrooms that cost more to rent for one night than my whole wedding cost.

    Remember that you are supposed to be “entertaining” your guests. Food, drink, and music are pretty much required if you want me to stay more than a few minutes at your reception. None of the three have to be of any great quality, but all three must be present. I am also very un-impressed by the fact that you spent more on the rented china and silverware than you did on the bland dry chicken breast with mashed potatoes and canned green beans.

    1. You make some great points here. Over half of our $20,000 is going to the reception venue, which provides all the food and drinks. Obviously an open bar is an open bar, and the food is pretty darn good. The other great thing about our venue is that it’s on the 26th floor of a building and gives a great view of the entire Dallas/Ft Worth area. We are spending very little on decorations because the view is our decoration (I just hope it isn’t a rainy/foggy evening).

      We also have a DJ and we are very focused on entertaining our guests. There will definitely be good food, drinks, and music. We aren’t having a huge wedding, so we are hoping everyone will stay and have a good time!

  4. $20,000 is not really that unusual for a wedding these days…seems par for the course, really. However, it is a pretty huge chuck of change if you are self-financing your wedding and don’t have any help from the parents. Are Tag’s parents chipping in, or is this all on you?

    I would probably spend a little less, but I also know(from experience) that weddings are just darn expsensive, period. It seems like if you put ‘wedding’ in the name of some product or service, it doubles the cost automatically!

    “You want a cake…? Ok, that will be 50 bucks. What’s that? Oh, this is a WEDDING cake??? Yeah…that’s gonna be $500.00, please.”

    So yeah, weddings kinda hurt the wallet, but there isn’t much to do about that except take it. I’ve read most of your blog though, so I DEFINITLEY was surprised to hear that you are going all in with this wedding…it just doesn’t seem to match up with your typically frugal(innovative frugality, I must say) way of life. Well, love has a way of making people do all sorts of things, I suppose! Have a great time at the wedding!

    1. Neither of our parents have any extra money to spare, so we are pretty much completely self financing it. My parents have offered to take care of the rehearsal dinner which is really nice of them, but we are definitely willing to help out if they aren’t able to afford it.

      Tag’s parents don’t have any extra money either and are paying a lot of medical bills and stuff that just makes it unreasonable for them to pay for a wedding. They are actually saving up for a trip to Alaska they’ve been wanting to do for a long time, and Tag and I really want them to do that.

      I know it is “tradition” for the parents to throw (aka pay for) the wedding, but Tag and I are adults and we are happy to throw our own party.

  5. $20,000 is a TON of money to fork over, but I believe in letting people do what they want with their own money-everybody is different and we all have individual priorities. Personally, I would rather pay off my debt, buy a car, or invest my money at Prosper if I had $20,000 laying around, but like I said-everybody’s different!

    Does the $20,000 include the honeymoon too? Regardless, where are you going on your honeymoon? 🙂 I’d love to hear about in upcoming postings! Also, I would love to hear about different ways you cut corners to save money at your upcoming wedding! I LOVE saving money, plus I was just married a year ago so I want to see if my efforts at having a great wedding at a small cost were better than yours!

    1. There will definitely be a lot more posts about our wedding coming up in the future. I actually was going to write about our photographer, but as I was writing I realized I would get a million questions about why I’m spending so much! I decided to write this article and get it out of the way so I didn’t have to answer the same questions over and over again on the upcoming posts!

      The honeymoon is a wild card right now. I am saving up credit card rewards points (I have almost $1000 worth right now) and hope to use those to pay for some kind of honeymoon. I don’t know if we’ll be able to afford something big after paying for the wedding, so we’ll see. Maybe if we find a groupon for something fun and cheap we’ll do that!

  6. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! That’s what I was thinking when I read today’s blog post! I really enjoy reading about your different investment strategies, and I have even followed your advice and learned from your experience and mistakes on multiple occasions. BUT, how am a going to continue to get good ideas and strategies re: investing when you SPEND your money at a rate that puts you on the BORROWER side of the relationship?!?!?!?

    Please spend less or get a big pile of money quick…you always seem to have a good feel for the newest and most innovative wealth-building trends, and I like to be on the receiving end of your insights! I think I like ‘thrifty Kevin’ better than ‘love-struck kevin’ haha, just kidding 🙂

    1. Unless I start making boat loads of money on my websites, there won’t be any big piles of money coming into my bank account. Just my paycheck and a few bucks here or there from this site.

      I’m still being thrifty and pretty much all other areas of my life. My wedding just isn’t somewhere I’m willing to go cheap! 🙂

  7. Hey! When are we going to get to meet TAG? I’m sure she’s worth the $20,000, but just to be safe, I think that she should write a couple guest postings so we can get to know her!

    Also, I have just one piece of ‘Wisdom’ for you, Honey: Don’t spend too much on your wedding! The difference between a $10,000 wedding and a $20,000 wedding isn’t that much! Save it for your future!

    Oh, and one question, too: Any plans for kids in the near future? They are super expensive, but SO worth it!

    Best of luck to you and your lucky girl 🙂

    1. I frequently ask Tag to write guest posts or even just appear on the site with her picture. I haven’t been successful in that yet. Hopefully one day soon. She’s lost like 12 pounds in preparation for our wedding and she’s looking absolutely fantastic (although she was looking incredible 12 pounds ago too!)

      I’ll keep working on it.

      Oh, and kids. Yep. They are coming sooner than later. I don’t wanna be an old dad.

  8. We spent around $10k or a little bit over for 1 wedding and 2 wedding receptions. One of the receptions was outside of the country.

    We did a lot of DIY stuff though…wife sewed her own dress, made our own cakes & bouquets, had simple decorations, etc.

    1. Wow. Tag can’t even sew buttons onto my shorts when they fall off. Sounds like you have a very crafty wife!

  9. I’d estimate our wedding at 2k. Got my dress on clearance, wore shoes I already had, bought my jewelry for thirty bucks at the mall, bought a new suit instead of renting a tux, paid a friend to take pictures (I would say splurge on that, if anything), small guest list… It was great. I’m all for spending money on experiences, but more money doesn’t necessarily mean better experiences. In fact, my biggest complaint is that I should have pulled those four stupid tulips out of my bouquet. If I were in your shoes, I’d spend half of that on the wedding, and the other half doing amazing things. It really is just one day.

    1. Congrats on doing your wedding for $2k. I wish we would be happy with a wedding that costs that much (and who knows, maybe we would), but we have both decided it’s important to do something bigger.

      We realize we are missing out on opportunities to travel and do other things, but we are okay with that.

  10. It is your money and you can do with it what you please! I appreciate your honesty and courage to put this out here! My husband and I make decisions that I know some people do not approve of, but what they don’t know is that we are set up very well financially and the decisions we make, while they may look frivolous to some, are financially sound. As you’ve said, making this decision will not put you into debt, or deprive you of food, or send you to bed on the streets, so I think you are fine.

    Also – I got married earlier this year and I was prepared for it to be an expensive endevour – everyone talks about how weddings cost more than you could ever imagine. Well, after expecting it to be a lot – it was EVEN MORE! We did a lot to cut costs – I made all of the flowers out of paper, the boys wore black suits instead of renting tuxes, we borrowed things from friends, etc. – but costs were still high because of our guest list. My family alone accounted for over 100 people on our guest list, not to mention my husband’s family and all of our friends. In the end, we made the decision to dish out some extra money so that we could celebrate our day with those we love. It was our decision, and I am so glad it was the one that we made! Our day was amazing – and I’m sure yours will be too! Congratulations!

    1. Thanks Kelly. I’m not afraid to put this out there and have people criticize my decisions. There is only one person whose opinion truly matters to me: Tag.

      Everyone else can have their opinion and I’m happy to hear them out, but this is our life together and we are happy with our decision. Sounds like you had a big fun wedding! I hope you loved it!

  11. I completely believe that if you can pay for something in cash and it’s a high enough priority for you, you should never feel guilty about your decision. That said, I do think it’s a little insane to spend that much. I think we spent about $1500 on ours. The only thing i regret was not getting a professional photographer. I don’t see any reason why all the guests should be wined and dined when it’s *your* wedding. Plus, who needs a bunch of drunk guests (who got that way on your dime)? Of course, I’m a non-drinker, so alcohol seems like a huge waste of time in general.

    I’ve never understood how couples who have been acting married already (living together, traveling together, and sharing every aspect of their lives) spend a fortune on a big expensive party to celebrate the fact that they’re finally legalizing the commitment they already made. My cousin’s daughter has a two-year-old daughter and has been living with her fiance for three or four years and they’re finally getting married this fall. I just don’t get it. When they’re done, they’ll go back to being the same family they’ve been for years, living in the same place they’ve shared for years. I don’t understand why it’s the”biggest day of their lives.” It’s just the day you get all dressed up and spend a lot of money and make it all public and official (though in common-law states, you don’t even need the paper to legalize it, just to legitimize it)

    I would love to see a follow-up in five or ten years seeing if you still think it was worth the money.

      1. As someone who doesn’t drink, I agree with you, but at the same time I understand other people do drink and I want them to have fun. I think it’s unfortunate that some people need alcohol to have a good time, but if they do they’ll have as much as they want at our wedding.

    1. I agree with you COMPLETELY, Toni. Thank you for posting this. There is such a difference between going to a wedding for a couple that is just embarking on the great adventure and COMMITMENT of marriage, and a couple that has been ‘testing it out’ on a multi-year dry run. I feel like I have much more to celebrate at the former type of wedding… I always feel dumb buying gifts for people who have been living together for years too…it just seems obligatory. Am I the only one who feels this way?

      Weddings have devolved so much in the last half century…Makes me sad 🙁

    2. We are definitely on the same page. If we can afford it, then we can do it.

      As far as “acting married”, I do see your point, but as a couple who is living together in our house, the marriage is very important to us. We can’t start having kids until we are married, and we are looking forward to being married in the church. It might sound crazy, but it’s actually very important to us.

      1. Sorry for the tangent on marriage after living together; it’s just something I never really understood. But the bottom line is that it’s important to YOU and worth spending YOUR money on, so go for it. I’m just curious if you’ll look back in 10 or 20 years and still be glad you spent all that money. Maybe so, but perspectives change over time. 20+ years after the wedding, I’m glad we didn’t spend more, and if we had HAD more money, I would now be grateful if we’d put it in our kids’ college funds since my second is just starting college. The kids are 100x more important than a wedding just about us (though I didn’t get that perspective till *after* they came 🙂

  12. Green Money Stream

    We spent under $5,000 for our wedding. And guess what? It was the wedding of my dreams from the vows in a flower garden to the reception in an 18th century barn. Weddings and babies are pretty much the two biggest industries for sucking up people’s money on unnecessary items. So at first I thought you sounded a little silly, BUT after reading the post I think some of your reasons (spending money on what is most important to you while being frugal in other areas) sounds about right. While a wedding of that cost is definitely not for me, you of course should have the wedding that is right for you. Best if luck and congratulations!

    1. Sounds like you were really creative and had a great wedding on a budget. Congrats! I hope your marriage is as great as your wedding.

  13. Each couple has to make this decision. I think the key is to be able to pay for it. If you can afford the $20k in cash and it’s what you want, then go for it. We paid about $25k a big chunk of which was our 10 day honeymoon to Hawaii. That was six years ago. Every now and then I think that it’d be nice to have some of that money back, but in truth we have no regrets and we only have great memories.

  14. I estimate our wedding to have cost about $40K from the rehearsal dinner to the honeymoon a couple of months ago. Luckily, her parents covered the bulk of it and mine kicked in for the rehearsal dinner, so we were only OOP for a portion of the dinner and the whole honeymoon (about $6K).

    It was an amazingly good time, and everyone we spoke with said the same thing.

    Some helpful hints from recent experience:

    1. Make sure your photographer gives you a release for all of the photos with whatever package you get from them.
    2. Day of, something (or things) will go wrong. Just relax and roll with it. 99.9% of the guests won’t notice or care.
    3. Enjoy every moment. It will fly by and you will not have a chance to talk to half of the people you wanted to, so take in each moment.
    4. MAKE SURE YOUR NEW BRIDE GETS TO EAT. so many ppl will want to talk to her and she will oblige by skipping dinner. Make her stop for a few minutes to enjoy the great meal you guys planned.

    Good luck and congrats.

    1. 1. We made sure to get the package that releases the photos. I have a post coming up next week about that.next week.
      2. I’m not an anxious person so I’ll be fine. You should talk to Tag though…
      3. Luckily we are only having about 130 guests, so we should have a chance to talk to most of them 🙂
      4. I will make her eat. I have no problem telling people to back off for 10 minutes. That’s just the kind of guy I am. 🙂

    2. I think spending that kind of money would add a lot of extra stress about everything going perfectly (which it never does). Hopefully you can both enjoy it and not think of all the money you put out for the “perfect” day that didn’t turn out perfectly.

  15. I think $20,000 is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on one day! I am sure you could have an amazing day for 1/4 of that amount if not even less!

    1. Kate, you sound like the kind of sensible girl that a guy would be lucky to marry. If you are around 25 and single, let’s go out on a date. I believe in taking chances in this life…I can handle failure, but I have a low tolerance for missed opportunities. What do you say? 🙂

  16. We spent $15KI. We did it on a 2/29/2008. Part of the reason for the expense was 300 people decided to actually show up to our wedding. Food gets pretty expensive.

    People can say what they want about $20K being a high amount and to some it is. To others it is barely a drop in the bucket.

    1. Food and drinks are definitely taking up about 1/2 of our expense. It’s expensive to feed people, but we want them to have good food and drinks and enjoy themselves.

  17. We got married in mid-2012 in a medium sized town in WI and it cost about $15k including $4k for honeymoon, paid in cash with only about $2-3k being covered by gifts from parents.

    It would help to provide a little context as to what you’re including in your $20k costs. For example ours doesn’t include rings, if you add that it goes up closer to $20k. Also factors like what part of the country you live in and the size of your guest list can make the cost swing wildly one way or another.

    I wouldn’t feel bad about spending $20k on your wedding. We felt it was worth every penny!

    1. There will be a lot more context coming in the next few weeks as I post about the stuff we’ve already put deposits on. In summary, this is just the wedding and related expenses (wedding party gifts and things). This doesn’t include her ring, the honeymoon, or any bachelor/bachelorette parties.

  18. See, and i would be disappointed if we hadn’t had the party. I loved getting all dressed up and seeing all the people who meant so much to me. We live in an area that is very religious, and engagements tend to be short (due to a prohibition against premarital relations), so we lucked out that our kind of cheap wedding was common. Small private ceremony in the morning with a luncheon afterward and huge invite-everyone-you-know reception in the evening, often held in the local church with no rental fee. The reception has food resembling refreshments rather than a meal. I think we served brownie sundaes. We definitely got more in gifts than we put out on the wedding, which was good because we were both students and dead broke!

  19. Hello, my name is Kevin and, apparently, I am trying to lose all credibility with my readers who come to my blog to get ideas for sound financial planning. I am not making wise decisions with my money, which forces people to look elsewhere for reliable examples of thrify initiative. That is all. -Kevin McKee

    1. As the real Kevin McKee, I’d like to point out that I’ve never claimed to be thrifty or frugal. If you’re here looking for frugality tips, you’re in the wrong place.

  20. If, by chance, you are referring to La Cima Club, trust me that you will not be disappointed. I was maid of honor at my best friend’s wedding there, and you are right — it is worth every. single. penny. And as for the cost, do what makes you happy. Saving money is responsible, we all know that. But one thing that many responsible people fail to realize is that things don’t make us happy, but experiences do. You will look back on your wedding day until old age with a smile on your face. I don’t know of any car that can do that.

  21. “The whole reason I work hard and make money is to have incredible life experiences.” BRAVO! I’ve never been the type of person who gets swayed by material possessions. So long as my basic needs are met I am pretty content. But forming memories has always been something that I’ll spare no expense for (within reason). Why? Because when I look back on my life I’ll have virtually no recollection of those expensive shoes I once owned, or the designer pinstripe suit that fit me so well, but I’ll definitely remember the week I spent with my wife at a four star hotel in the Bahamas. That memory will make me smile for the rest of my life, and so it was money well spent in my opinion.

  22. I told you this before, but my husband and I stayed within our $5000 budget for our wedding in 2011 – and that includes dress, tux, food, booze, decorations, everything. It was a lot of work, exhausting on good days, and every detail had our mark on it. Fortunately, our day was incredible and folks still tell us it was one of the best wedding they’d ever been to! But would we do it over again, just like that? Maybe not.

    My biggest regret on our wedding day was relying so heavily on my family to set up and clean up. If I had a chance to go back, I think I would have opted for a full-service caterer/venue with food service.

    Good luck with planning! It sounds like you’ve covered a lot of bases already, and you can do a lot with $20,000. Enjoy every minute of this stage, but don’t forget to plan for the MARRIAGE, too!!

  23. We will be spending around $10,000 on our wedding. Luckily we have a venue for free (even though we do need to pay around $4K for the needed rentals).

  24. Wow I’m pretty shocked at some of the responses on here, and by shocked I literally mean surprised. People are just so passionate. One of things I would like to point out is that even though we have budgeted $20K for this wedding it does not mean we will spend it all. That is an amount that we can spend if we choose, but we are not even close to finished planning and may make some budget friendly cutbacks as we go (I’m sure Kevin will be posting about some of those things as we go). This is kind of a learning process for Kevin and I and I will say that as we have been planning and attending other weddings in the process I will say that I have lowered my expectations a lot as to the things I thought I wanted. More than anything I just want to look back and remember having a good time.

    I find it funny that some people will no longer take advice from Kevin because of this one life event. Just because this was how we choose to spend our money on one thing doesn’t mean Kevin doesn’t have good advice about financial planning, being frugal, etc. Everyone has different things that are important to them and everyone has a right to spend their money on what makes them happy. As they say you can’t take it with you in the end anyway. The point is to be wise about not going into debt but also to make memories and spend money on the things that matter to you. Some of you would maybe rather get a new car and that’s great! At the moment Kevin and I don’t need one so it’s not a priority for us. It all just depends on your needs and wants. Anyway, I hope you all continue to follow Kevin and if not best of luck to you! Although I do think you might miss out on some good ideas 😉

    1. I have a feeling it might get more frequent now that I’ll be talking about our wedding. 🙂

  25. I absolutely support your decision. As long as you budget for a large expense like this ahead of time and not borrow the money, the spending is completely justified for an important occasion such as marriage.

    It’s when you start blowing money on useless, meaningless things that you start getting into trouble.

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