Anyone with a Large budget???

I agree that NY is expensive and $70K is a lot for a wedding but it's your day so if that's how it is done in your family/friends circle and its what makes you comfortable then go for it. Just remember the economy is bad and pple who are usually very generous may not be able to afford to be so with the current economic times. My budget is over $20K...my wedding will be in NJ so yeah, higher cost of living. I wish you the best of luck and don't let any one get down on you. It's your day, do what you want, just make sure you have enough to live on once July is over.

I agree NYC is more expensive than many other areas and you will pay more to get what you want. I am looking at spending around $20k in downtown Columbus, Ohio and it being a steal for what we are getting, with the average cost being about $35K in the area. With housing being over 3 times as much in NYC as here I would expect a wedding of $70K to be normal.

Yes, but in one statement Mariella states: "It's just the way our families, friends...have all done it."

That is what gets me. Is this something that she really wants or because she has to "keep up with the Jone's"???

I would tell my mom and/or everyone else who is pressuring you to through something so ellaborate, that if thats what they want then THEY can pay. If it's your money, you should choose how to spend it. My FI and I originally planned a very small and intimate wedding ceremony on the beach in the sand with strickly family then a cake and champagne ceremony after on the sand. The whole thing was going to cost around $1,000 including my dress! His mom then objected saying we need to do it "right" and have a traditional chinese reception/banquet (he's chinese/vietnamese) and invite all the people his family knows which is easily over 300 people AND over $30,000 (as there are 12 courses of sea food). I put my foot down and said I wouldn't pay for that. His mom ended up saying she would pay so all our plans have been changed. A marraige is about you and your FH. Good Luck!

To be honest, your original post stated that you felt foolish for having a large budget and now you are defending it. Sorry but you didn't really sound like you were seeking any type of advice but rather letting the world know you are spending a lot on your wedding. This forum is for people from all walks of life you are looking for planning advice, pointers, and help dealing with frustrations. We simply don't care how much people are spending.

This forum is for people from all walks of life *you are looking for planning advice, pointers, and help dealing with frustrations

*who

Well, to each their own. I would never spend $70,000 on my wedding even IF I did have the money, which we definitely DON'T! LoL

We are paying for the wedding completely on our own, our budget is $7,000 MAX. I was very fortunate that my mom is paying for my dress and accessories, so that left me some room for other things.

I wish I had a 10th of that budget! LOL. I'm doing a lot of stuff myself, like invitations, favors, etc, but it's actually because I WANT to, not because I can't afford to have them made. I mean, I can't afford to have them made, but even if I had a substantially larger budget, I'd still make them myself. I like the personal touch. I might do something slightly fancier for what's in the favors, though. Even my DIY centerpieces I wouldn't change if I had more money. I think the only thing I'd change is having a florist do my flowers instead of doing it myself because I'm not too confident in myself there. I might also want to change the venue/caterer if I had more to work with. I'd DEFINITELY get a wedding planner to help with the finer details I may overlook. Oh and lastly, I might want a better package from the DJ, but that's it. I'm happy with my plans, though, and we're only spending about 5,000 not including rings and honeymoon.

I completely understand and this is not easy to deal with. Do you have your professional photographer?

On any wedding budget, the most important things are that you don't go into any kind of debt over the wedding and that you've got a savings started for after the fact.

For example, if we were going by my teacher's salary alone, we would be having about 50 guests and having a Jack and Jill reception at a local restaurant. Which would be just fine by me.

FFIL and FMIL have made a generous contribution that will allow us to expand greatly on the plans. But even still, we are putting 25% of their gift into various investments. That way our nest egg's got a nice dose of steroids starting off! ;O) The more money you put away early on, the more money you'll have to retire on, exponentially! Think about it, for those coming close to retirement now $1,000,000 doesn't cut it! To me, that's really freakin' scary!

Good luck to you!

I am not even going to read any other comments on this post, before I respond.

Are you CRAZY? $70k is absolutely insane.....and I come from a long line of money.

Take that money (if you actually have it and are not charging it) and put a nice down payment on a house. $70k for a wedding is the worst move you can make!

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Spend $70k and you will regret it. Trust me. You are trying to impress people...and most will laugh and you spending that much, and laugh harder when you cannot pay those credit card bills. Tsk

Wow... 70k... if i had planned my wedding exactly the way i wanted it and splurged on everything i wanted to... i would be able to go through my wedding day 5 times with 70k! 14 times with my current budget!!! but u know what, everyones got different priorities. if thats the only way youll have it, then more power to ya. good luck

I was just reading some of the other posts... it seems like your planning on spending this much because this is what you are used to. i very much understand that ny is expensive. i live in nj and its expensive here too! but, when in my area you cant get any kind of place for less than $80pp... i got a beautiful place for $35pp. I'm spending just over $4000 on about 100 people. if you want any advice on how to save, pm me.

@Kathy- Who are you to judge her for spending 70K? I have kept to myself because my mother always told me "if I can't say anything nice then keep my mouth shut!" She already said that only the honeymoon was on a credit card. She also said that she has been saving for this wedding and that this is how they do things in her circle. So who are you to judge her? Do I think it's nuts to spend 70K on a wedding? Yes, I do. Heck our house cost 70K and will take 30 years to pay off. But it's her money, her day, and her dream. Hell i'd settle for less than half of that to have the wedding of my dreams! But you know what? Everyone is different and everyone envisions their day in a different light. For you to insult her and her wedding that's just low down bitchy!

You can probably afford 70K. Some people in this forum might see that as a lot of money, but if your upper class - then it's your normal lifestyle. Enjoy your wedding and don't worry about what people think.

Kim Murphy

Designz23 Web Design

http://www.designz23.com

J.J. Your venom is not appreciated. Please take a look at the swipe you just took...and then follow your Mom's advice. :-)