A Penny Saved

My wife and I began what has become the very busy wedding season this fall last weekend.  I was an usher in an old college buddy’s wedding.   It was a very nice affair, but it got me to thinking.  “How much did all this cost?”

While courtesy requires that I not ask directly, I did do some snooping and managed to get estimates that put it in the 20-30k range.  Ouch.  When my wife and I married a little over a year ago, we got away for under $7,000.  Which brings me to my next topic.

The wedding was a very nice wedding, but one thing I noticed was that most of the people didn’t really seem to notice how fancy everything really is.  In fact, most of my friends who attended commented on the lack of need to be that fancy.  Many of us go to the wedding merely to participate/watch the wedding and to partake in the celebration.  We could care less about the crystal glasses and the fine china.  And most of us would be satisfied with hamburgers instead of roasted chicken.

I came to the conclusion that having an expensive wedding is very nearly unneccesary.  Why?  Because the majority of the people who attend are there to have a fun time and help celebrate the wedding, not critique the place settings and whether the flowers on the pews are real or not.

If you are planning a wedding, do yourself the favor and assess what your friends and family are really going to expect.  If you want a cheap wedding and you think your friends and family are going to care more about having fun, then cut corners where you can.  Your pocketbook will thank you.

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