Unnecessary must-haves for your wedding

I absolutely refuse to budge on having a plated meal & open bar. But I think the thing we could most easily scrap (but I refuse to budge on) is our flowers. I definitely went waaaaay over budget on them 🤦🏼‍♀️

I honestly could’ve just kept my candy bar in my game table entirely. I always really wanted a candy buffet table though but when it came time for my wedding honestly most of the candy was still there people weren’t as into it as I thought they would be

Skipped my candy bar and game table**
Typo
Aha

I want a highly unnecessary two tier cake for my 5 person micro wedding lol. However the flavor profile we want is an up charge so I am willing to go down to a one tier. I want my cascading bouquet so will to do much cheaper flowers but not cutting that or my two photographers. I am willing to dip into my savings if I had to but I did save up. I wanna get some nice personalized mason jars for my MOH, her hubby and my big bro and a whiskey glass as a wedding gift for my FH and even some personalized gifts for my officiant and photographers but if I had to forego some extra gifts due to budget I would.

Open bar was a must have and so was fake flowers because I’m not a fan of flowers AT ALL

View Quoted Comment Sounds fun!

View Quoted Comment Definitely sounds like a know your crowd type thing.

I was open minded about many things, but some stuff were absolute musts for us. We knew we wanted an amazing photographer, a venue by water, a great DJ, great food, and a particular minister (a relative). I also knew some stuff that I absolutely did not want: a cake, father/daughter dance, someone walking with me down the aisle, the bouquet and garter toss.
The venue and photographer were the most important things, though. We were willing to spend more to have what we wanted.

Oh, food, absolutely. Since inclusive venues are the "normal" where we are, the venue had to have stellar food reviews.

That, and our DJ. If we hadn't been able to get her, I have *no* idea what we would have done. I was also holding my breath, because my father was helping pay, and he tends to prefer live bands. I didn't want to argue with him about it, but thankfully he was the one who said, "a DJ is probably the better bet, huh?" (We were paying for the DJ, but... if my dad had wanted a live band, he would have offered to pay, and it would have been hard to turn him down.)

I was adamant about daisies in my bouquet. I’m also still doing the bouquet toss and garter toss even if it’s a tradition many are getting rid off.

I am being very adamant about hiring a good photographer. My FW doesn't think that we should spend the money on it and says that her cousin could do it for free and all of that, but I am sticking to my guns. I want to be able to look back at those pictures in 20 years and feel happy that everything was captured beautifully and we aren't missing half of the details.

Chiavari chairs and decent carpet at the venue. My mom told me nobody would care but i said i will lol

View Quoted Comment Definitely. At the end of the day, photos and memories are all you have.

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My thoughts exactly!

Our big one was the venue. We had talked about how cool it would be to get married there someday from the first time we visited it together a few months into dating. Agreeing to make that happen no matter the cost was the first decision we made within a day of getting engaged 3 years later.

I was also adamant about a good photographer and a DOC. My first wedding had neither because it was a small wedding with minimal fuss, and while it was still fun, at least a good photographer would be have been nice. Admittedly, since that marriage was doomed from the get-go, I'm kinda glad I didn't spend that money even though I regretted not having better pictures initially. For my second marriage, I knew we were planning for a bigger and slightly more elaborate wedding and I insisted on finding/booking a good photographer and DOC. I feel far more secure in this relationship and I very badly want good photos to look back in the future, as well as wanting all our friends/family to relax and enjoy themselves on the day while the DOC manages everything for us.

We went for less expensive STDs / Invitations - While these are very personal to us, why do you want to spend $100s for something that MOST people are just going to toss in the trash. The only people who may save are you and your parents.

We also decided to skip unnecessary additional decorations at our resort and going with what they use. We're getting married at sunrise and the dock has natural sconce lighting and why would I want to take away the natural beautiful decorations.

No DJs or Band - Opted for a playlist

Actually choosing a Sunrise wedding saved us $10,000 (it was our first choice anyway) and our Brunch reception is shorter and includes a unlimited mimosas and bloody mary's our food was probably the most at $60 pp - Same package elsewhere was $175 pp

We're also forgoing a traditional rehearsal dinner for an open get together with heavy apps

Cupcakes for the guests versus cake save us $5 pp

I'm doing a cascading wrist corsage versus a full bouquet because we don't have anyone standing with us. That was probably my must have.

Technically still could skip, but I refuse to not have invitations made by an artist. I am an artist and I just NEED to have invitations made. FH just rolls his eyes but I NEED them haha.

No cake, we want just cupcakes, small and easy for guests to take as favors too.

No serious atmosphere. We are very goofy and sarcastic, so the wedding will have a fun, party vibe. So we made sure to pick a DJ that was fun and didn't mind silliness. Our attire is pretty eclectic too, but matching. FH is sporting pink pants and I have almost a blush dress

View Quoted Comment Your invites will be amazing! I agree on the fun party atmosphere.

View Quoted Comment Those vendors are very important. Photos and memories are all you have at the end of the day. Plus the coordinator keeps everything running smoothly.

Honestly, and this sounds high maintenance, but FH and I were not willing to skip out on the quality of our venue, food/beverage (plated dinner and open bar), music, photography, anything lol. This is also why we had a longer engagement so we could afford to do all the nice things we wanted to do. Now that being said, I am skimping on other things such as videography, favors (we are making nice thank you notes with a little memento attached), programs (none), flowers (we are doing 70% real with florist and 30% DIY with her guidance). I also got both of my dresses at David's Bridal on sale as well as my shoes from there on clearance as well. I'm not super fussy when it comes to these things.