Is that in U.S. dollars?
"I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. A boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say "I do." I was wrong. That's getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition."
--Steve Martin as George in Father of the Bride.
I know that we have been tremendously blessed with wonderful family and friends who are working very hard to make planning our wedding as easy on us as possible. We have been spared a lot of the financial burden because of their willingness to pull their talents and resources to help us. It's amazing to have that love from so many people, even those who aren't blood relatives. Our wedding will be special because the people we care about most will be there to share it with us, that makes every penny spent well worth it.
With that being said, it just amazes me to see how fast all of the little expenses add up. I became a little curious yesterday and decided to itemize all of our to-date wedding purchases. I was a quite surprised to see the total come up as $3,255.37 USD. This number is inclusive of things like invitations, photographs, my dress, and all of the things we've paid for so far...Unfortunately, this number does not include the expenses we anticipate before it's all said and done. After my theorizing and calculating I have determined that our wedding will top out right around $5,000. That is to say, if I haven't left anything out (but William will attest I am quite thorough when it comes to finances and expenditures). $5,000, even for our small, "down home" style wedding!
A lot of you couples out there are probably laughing at what I think is a large number, I'm sure that for most brides $5,000 is just the dress budget. (My dress was $40 and cost me about $60 in alterations.)Sometimes, I think I am just too practical for my own good. I just can't see the point of spending thousands of dollars on a dress that I will only wear once. Or going broke planning a fancy party for all of my friends or parent's friends, or distant relatives, people I don't even see every day or some people I haven't seen for years (some people I don't even like!).
Some couples get so wrapped up in the planning that they forget what's truly important, the sanctity of marriage. The commitment you are making to your partner, the life that you are going to build with them after the toasts have been made and the guests have gone home. The wedding is only the first day of the rest of your lives together, that's where the focus should be. It's not, How many people will see me in my pretty dress? But what will my husband see when he looks at me? What will our children see in us? What will other's see when they look at our relationship? And most importantly, what does God see when he views us no longer as individuals, but as One?
I think William's response to the "wedding hoopla" said it best,
"I'm planning a marriage, not a wedding."
--Steve Martin as George in Father of the Bride.
I know that we have been tremendously blessed with wonderful family and friends who are working very hard to make planning our wedding as easy on us as possible. We have been spared a lot of the financial burden because of their willingness to pull their talents and resources to help us. It's amazing to have that love from so many people, even those who aren't blood relatives. Our wedding will be special because the people we care about most will be there to share it with us, that makes every penny spent well worth it.
With that being said, it just amazes me to see how fast all of the little expenses add up. I became a little curious yesterday and decided to itemize all of our to-date wedding purchases. I was a quite surprised to see the total come up as $3,255.37 USD. This number is inclusive of things like invitations, photographs, my dress, and all of the things we've paid for so far...Unfortunately, this number does not include the expenses we anticipate before it's all said and done. After my theorizing and calculating I have determined that our wedding will top out right around $5,000. That is to say, if I haven't left anything out (but William will attest I am quite thorough when it comes to finances and expenditures). $5,000, even for our small, "down home" style wedding!
A lot of you couples out there are probably laughing at what I think is a large number, I'm sure that for most brides $5,000 is just the dress budget. (My dress was $40 and cost me about $60 in alterations.)Sometimes, I think I am just too practical for my own good. I just can't see the point of spending thousands of dollars on a dress that I will only wear once. Or going broke planning a fancy party for all of my friends or parent's friends, or distant relatives, people I don't even see every day or some people I haven't seen for years (some people I don't even like!).
Some couples get so wrapped up in the planning that they forget what's truly important, the sanctity of marriage. The commitment you are making to your partner, the life that you are going to build with them after the toasts have been made and the guests have gone home. The wedding is only the first day of the rest of your lives together, that's where the focus should be. It's not, How many people will see me in my pretty dress? But what will my husband see when he looks at me? What will our children see in us? What will other's see when they look at our relationship? And most importantly, what does God see when he views us no longer as individuals, but as One?
I think William's response to the "wedding hoopla" said it best,
"I'm planning a marriage, not a wedding."
posted by Sammi and William at
12:12 PM
3 Comments:
*cough*Rings?*cough*
Wm.
By
Sammi and William, at 3:47 PM
Hey, I said he could have just gotten me a band.
Not that I'm complaining though! ; )
By
Anonymous, at 2:09 PM
I was going to get you a band- The Rolling Stones, in fact. Sadly, their retainer fee was 1000 times what I paid for the ring.
By
Anonymous, at 2:38 PM
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