Alright y’all, my blog hiatus is over and I’m back!! We are well into engagement season if you couldn’t tell by all the new bling popping up on your timeline. Personally, I LOVE this time of year and I think that seeing other people so happy and in love makes me happier and reminds me of own love with Daniel.
In order to help all of you newly fianced people, I have decided to start a series of posts to help brides plan their wedding and to shed some light on the wedding industry. It wasn’t too long ago that Daniel and I got married so I have some first-hand experience in wedding planning. Also, being a wedding photographer lets me see tons of weddings each year to give ideas and inspo to all y’all! Today’s topic: the hidden costs on your wedding day. Some of these may be things you haven’t thought about or maybe they seem obvious, but these are all things I that surprised me!
Hidden Cost #1: POSTAGE
I am not one to save the best for last, because this is the #1 hidden cost! When budgeting for our stationary (invitations, RSVP cards, Save the Dates, etc) I completely forgot about stamps! When you’re inviting 100, 200, or even 300+ people to your wedding, the postage really adds to the cost. If you’re sending Save tehe Dates and invitations, you need to buy enough stamps for both rounds of mail you’ll be sending out. And then after it’s all over, there’s the thank you notes! So all in all, you can be spending a couple hundred dollars in just stamps alone. Don’t forget to factor all the different postage you’ll need into your stationary budget!
Hidden Cost #2: Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties
While I knew that these events would be happening, I didn’t really think about what kind of money would go into them. Lots of brides like to have a special outfit or two for the celebration and I know of some grooms who get some special attire as well. Other than clothes, there is all the food, travel, and entertainment that will take place. Traditionally, your friends who will be attending with you will cover at least part of the cost, but you can’t plan on that happening and it isn’t always fair to your friends who are already paying for all those things plus the costs for the wedding itself too. This one is especially important if you’re paying for your wedding yourself! (Just to give you a taste of just how extra I am, here is a picture of me from my bachelorette weekend in Virginia Beach…and yes I did float in the ocean with my favorite new flotation device.)
Hidden Cost #3: Dress Undergarments
This one’s for the ladies. Most wedding dresses require a special slip to complete the desired level of ‘poof’ in your skirt and let me tell you…those slips are not cheap y’all! You can probably find one from a consignment shop or Facebook page, but full price those slips can be upwards of $200. In addition to the slips, there are almost always special bras or corsets that you must wear with your dress. Luckily, more and more dresses are being designed to be worn without one, but if you are more comfortable in a bra or if you know you’ll need one, plan for an additional $100ish for that too. I had NO IDEA that the bridal undergarments were so specialized (who knew you couldn’t wear your $20 Target bra on your wedding day??) and so expensive. Don’t get caught off guard like I did!
Hidden Cost #4: Bridal Party Gifts
Generally, the bride and groom give their bridal party some kind of gift either at the rehearsal dinner or the morning of the wedding. Sometimes it is something they can use on the big day, like cufflinks, socks, or jewelry, and sometimes it is just a fun, cute gift. Either way, it costs money. I have seen lots of couples give their friends gorgeous, incredibly thoughtful gifts and almost always they mention to me in confidence that they ‘weren’t planning on spending that much.’ It is impossible to not want to show your friends just how thankful you are for them on their big day and giving them a nice present is a fun way to do that. Just think about that during the planning and budgeting process!
Well there ya go! Those four hidden costs in a wedding day can add up to hundreds, or even over a thousand, dollars on your wedding day. I wish I had known about and budgeted for these. Hopefully the betrothed (one of my favorite words btw) who are reading this have had their eyes opened by at least one of these!
Have you been married? What hidden costs have I forgotten? Please drop a comment and help us all out!
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