Automatik;1743143 wrote:You live in Orange fucking County and you're baffled by a 40k wedding?

I feel my comment still applies... I live in Orange County and I would NEVER blow 40k on a wedding... I know people do, but again they are more like Hilton and Kardashian types.

ts1227;1743145 wrote:I mean there was a solid hour where I was there and my wife wasn't yet beforehand...

Ignore the fact that there were 10 other people in the same room

If the other 10 were your people and not hers, you could have pulled it off!

Scarlet_Buckeye;1743157 wrote:I feel my comment still applies... I live in Orange County and I would NEVER blow 40k on a wedding... I know people do, but again they are more like Hilton and Kardashian types.

Bro, Kim K's dress was HALF A MIL.

COA must be such a miserable person IRL. Good god.

A potluck wedding? LOOOOOJEWOOOOOOL

SportsAndLady;1743163 wrote:COA must be such a miserable person IRL. Good god.

A potluck wedding? LOOOOOJEWOOOOOOL

Def Jew.

Scarlet_Buckeye;1743142 wrote:Jesus... who in the world has $40,000 to spend on a wedding?!?! Are you a Hilton or a Kardashian?!

$40k in Cleveland too. That's like $4 mil in California.

SportsAndLady;1743163 wrote:COA must be such a miserable person IRL. Good god.

A potluck wedding? LOOOOOJEWOOOOOOL

Nah weddings are just dumb. Foods never that good anyways.

Commander of Awesome;1743167 wrote:Nah weddings are just dumb.

Again, you must be a miserable person.

Commander of Awesome;1743167 wrote:Nah weddings are just dumb. Foods never that good anyways.

Depends on perspective. If you're not the one getting married, at least you can party. If you are, the wedding is cool; it's everything after that moment that goes downward like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.

A gay ginger Jew. Are you guys surprised?

Put me in the camp that thinks $40K for a wedding is insane. I could think of so many things I would rather spend my money on. I just don't see much value in the very temporary experience of a wedding.

SportsAndLady;1743168 wrote:Again, you must be a miserable person.

Christ! I always thought you two Clevebirds were joined at the hip. Love it when they turn on each other!

Fab4Runner;1743136 wrote:Oh, and we are having a no kids wedding. So even married couple and others with children will still be able to enjoy the party and have a good time.

Oh so you are both kinderphobic? Lovely people.

Tiernan;1743186 wrote:Oh so you are both kinderphobic? Lovely people.

Never heard of such a thing, and no. I love babies and children, and I want four of my own. When I have them, I will not take them to weddings.

SportsAndLady;1743168 wrote:Again, you must be a miserable person.

Scarlet_Buckeye;1743157 wrote:I feel my comment still applies... I live in Orange County and I would NEVER blow 40k on a wedding... I know people do, but again they are more like Hilton and Kardashian types.

It's easier than you think:

Venue: $5000
Food for 135 guests (including open bar): $16,000
Wedding cake (if not included in food): $500
Photographer: $3000
Videographer: $1000
DJ: $1000-$1200

That's already $24k. These are average costs for a decent sized event. Factor in variables like the guest list, planners, and party favors and it could easily reach $40k. That also doesn't even include the dress and alterations.

When we were planning our event, the average price for a wedding in Chicago city was $50,000. It's probably still that.

edit...having said all that...I pray to God that I don't have daughters. I can't imagine what the cost will be when it comes time for them.

Approx $60k.

raiderbuck;1743198 wrote:It's easier than you think:

Venue: $5000
Food for 135 guests (including open bar): $16,000
Wedding cake (if not included in food): $500
Photographer: $3000
Videographer: $1000
DJ: $1000-$1200

That's already $24k. These are average costs for a decent sized event. Factor in variables like the guest list, planners, and party favors and it could easily reach $40k. That also doesn't even include the dress and alterations.

When we were planning our event, the average price for a wedding in Chicago city was $50,000. It's probably still that.

edit...having said all that...I pray to God that I don't have daughters. I can't imagine what the cost will be when it comes time for them.

You don't actually have to pay for your daughter's entire wedding...or any of it at all, really. I think it's a sweet gesture for parents to do it, but not always realistic, and that should be okay.

I have a friend who isn't a wedding planner but should be. My wife was a giant pain in the ass for wedding planning. She couldn't make up her mind and thought everything was too expensive. It was driving me crazy until my buddy stepped in to help her. We looked at so many freaking expensive places and he found a golf course that had a cancelation so we got a really good deal there. The food IMO was great. They let us pay by the bottle for wine and beer. I don't remember the exact price for alcohol but it wasn't bad. It made me pretty nervous telling 125 of my friends and family they could drink as much as they wanted and I was paying for it. Lol

We had lots of cake drama. My mom wanted us to get the cake from a local bakery that is pretty good but my wedding planner buddy and the owner didn't click somehow. They got into an argument and we ended up having his cousin bake us a cake for like $50. It tasted just fine.

I'm not sure where my buddy lined up an officiant but I don't think we paid her more than $100.

We did skimp on the photographer which was probably a mistake. I think we paid like $600 and he told us two weeks before the wedding that he couldn't make it, but he had lined up a replacement photographer. I was beyond pissed but I have a relative who is a photographer and she said the guy he brought in to replace him was one of the better photographers in Columbus so I finally let that go. After the wedding it took over a year to get the pictures on a USB stick. I don't know why he wouldn't just give them to us, but I finally told him I was going to file a suit in small claims court if I didn't the pics by the end of the week. That was a huge headache and I have looked at them 0 times since we've been married. I hope that guy gets an incurable std and his dick falls off.

For a video I had my dad setup with a camera on a tripod all he had to do was push record and then push stop.

Another issue we had was the guest list. My wife wanted something small because in her mind that meant it could be nicer. My mom wanted me to invite a bunch of family members I hardly talk to. There was no way I was going to invite 3rd cousins and leave off friends that I talked to every day but my mom fixed the by giving us some money to pay for the extra guests. (And then some)

For music, I have some friends that are really into music and they knew a college student who we hired for $200 to play a violin. I thought that worked out really well. He was great. (Although he showed at the rehearsal without having the slightest plan what he was going to do. That made me really nervous but it actually sounded really good during the wedding )

I have another friend who is an interior designer and he did our flowers for the cost of the flowers and they looked great.

In the end I think we ended up paying ~7k and we had 125 guests.

Fab4Runner;1743200 wrote:You don't actually have to pay for your daughter's entire wedding...or any of it at all, really. I think it's a sweet gesture for parents to do it, but not always realistic, and that should be okay.

I think if a parent wants to help, it's a good idea to tell them I will pay x and anything you want beyond that is on you. That way they don't feel like they have to get involved in decisions on budget and if the future husband and wife want more they know they are responsible.

FatHobbit;1743207 wrote:That was a huge headache and I have looked at them 0 times since we've been married.

How in the hell have you gotten away with not having to look at EVERY SINGLE photo with your wife?

raiderbuck;1743198 wrote:It's easier than you think:

Venue: $5000
Food for 135 guests (including open bar): $16,000
Wedding cake (if not included in food): $500
Photographer: $3000
Videographer: $1000
DJ: $1000-$1200

That's already $24k. These are average costs for a decent sized event. Factor in variables like the guest list, planners, and party favors and it could easily reach $40k. That also doesn't even include the dress and alterations.

When we were planning our event, the average price for a wedding in Chicago city was $50,000. It's probably still that.

edit...having said all that...I pray to God that I don't have daughters. I can't imagine what the cost will be when it comes time for them.

1) That only adds up to $26,700. Where are you getting the rest of the $13,300 from?! Guest list? Planners? Party favors? ... #YoureDoingItWrong

2) WTF are you serving @ $16,000 for 135 guests?!?! $16,000 / 135 guests = almost $120 per guest. WTF do you need $120 tab per guest for?! You can easily have a nice meal (AND OPEN BAR DRINKS) per guest for $50 per person!. Shit... at $50 per person... I can get your your own handle of Captain Morgan Rum and a Prime Rib dinner. Jesus.

I don't want to know. We had over 300 at our wedding. Open bar. Wife's family wouldn't have it any other way.

I do suggest, don't do a big meal. Just have some fun. Have some finger foods. Enjoy the party. Our ceremony was 15 minutes long or something...partied for 4+ hours after. So much fun.

For my groomsman, we bought suits. It's expensive enough to rent tuxedos. I wanted my guys to get their money's worth. A nice suit is always a positive to have in the closet.

I got married in Cancun in May. Her parents put $20k towards the trip and we asked each of the 16 guests to pay about $750. Everyone got all-inclusive 7 days and had no problem with it. My wife agrees she wouldn't change any of it. Drunk with my closest friends and family for the better part of a week, in paradise. Also no planning involved. Travel advisor and resort wedding planner took care of all of it.

No idea what the wedding cost but it was held at Holy Name Cathedral. No limo, the bride and groom rode off in a classic Irish wedding carriage. Also was interesting when the Mayor of Chicago came to the reception which was held in Winnetka.
Families of Cook County Judges in Chicago are a big deal.