Hidden costs

It was varied.

1) small items that i didn't think about or account for at first. for instance i had a candy buffet table and i didn't think about having little containers to hold the goodie bags and ties and stuff - not that it costs a lot but overall just that mentality of the little things you don't realize, there were other things too i'm sure that i couldn't think of on top of my head now.

2) it had not occurred to me until later on that i needed to fund a rehearsal dinner and that was pretty expensive aha

From the beginning factoring service fees (22%), taxes (9.75%), tips, etc. Those alone increase the venue/reception costs by 30+%.... Yikes!

View Quoted Comment Years of event planning this one still always gets me. But I’ll admit I did much better with wedding planning and I think we got all the little nitty picky costs and extra fees.

Things I've seen people forget to budget are Vendor Tips, Alterations (on the bride's dress), Wedding Insurance (optional, but given the size of your investment well worth it), Rehearsal Dinner or morning-after Brunch (if you are paying for it), Wedding Album, Stamps, and Marriage License.

I’ve been buying stamps every couple of months. My bridesmaids & flower girl bags are complete. I’m saving my Xmas bonus to pay for hair & makeup. We’re getting married in April & will start buying the alcohol in December. I know theirs gonna be more that comes up but he wants this wedding & I’m secretly glad he does!

Vendor tips and their meals along with delivery fees...

Not hidden but unexpected: 1) venue service fees, 2) tipping everyone it seemed like, 3) rental delivery & pick-up fees.

Definitely the service fees for my venue.

Well thanks to COVID we had to spend almost $500 on masks and hand sanitizer that we weren't expecting to, plus extra costs of utensils serving ware to keep everything individually packaged. We also weren't planning originally to have a string quartet but that was something I came across and realized I HAD to have. (and I'm so SO excited for it!) Our now-combined bach party will be another expense but we are hoping to split it with our bridal party. We have a few sneaky expenses from our venue that we thought were already included which is frustrating as well. We had to plan a second reception ($400) so that my parents wouldn't have an aneurysm about us not being able to afford their 300+ friends at our ceremony. And in all honestly, I spent more on gifts than I originally set out lol.

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What sneaky expenses did you find with your vendor?

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What service fees?

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They originally told us that certain things were included that they later told us is extra. It is extremely frustrating because we picked the venue due to its prime location and great deal. Oh well.

View Quoted Comment They charged a 20% service fee on the venue, alcohol, and food. It added about $1200 extra!