Here’s a Clear Breakdown of Our SouthCoast Wedding Expenses

My husband and I got married on Friday, August 27, 2021. Shortly after getting engaged back in 2019, we had a serious conversation about how much we were willing to budget for our wedding and the events leading up to it. That number changed over the course of two years, but we knew that staying as close to our original amount was ideal for our plans.

Our wedding came and went and we can honestly say it was one of the best days of our lives. We spent so much time, effort, and money to make sure this day was everything we've dreamed of and it exceeded our expectations. We did have a little help from our loving family members, but Greg and I contributed more than two-thirds of the total spending.

Less than a month later, I’m taking a hard look at our wedding expenses. This is the most expensive party we will ever throw, but we have no regrets. Please note that we did not account for the bridal shower or bachelor/bachelorette weekends since we did not plan those ourselves and therefore had no control over the expenses.

Venues and Food - 45 percent

We estimated that this would account for half of the total expenses. We were told to expect approximately 20 percent of invited guests to decline the invitation. That was close to what we saw at our event. Our reception venue in Assonet required us to have a police officer present, so we had to add a security fee to our bill. Something to keep in mind when planning your own wedding.

Vendors - 20 percent

We were lucky to work with amazing vendors. We truly loved each and every single one we had and would gladly recommend them to family and friends.

Attire and Accessories - 10 percent

My parents bought me my wedding dress and veil. They also paid for my alterations. We are so grateful they helped me feel like the most beautiful bride that day.

Rehearsal dinner - 10 percent

Greg's parents generously paid for the rehearsal dinner and we are not sure of the final bill. We estimate that it was approximately 10 percent of our total wedding expenses.

Gifts - six percent

We were so blessed to have our family and friends involved with the ceremony. We wanted to thank them for standing by us on the biggest day of our lives in sweet and memorable ways. We also gave each other gifts and had a maximum spend so that no one could go over.

Mini-moon - five percent

We'll still do a traditional honeymoon at a later date, but I highly recommend doing a small getaway right after the wedding. I can't tell you how good it felt knowing we didn't have to pack and plan a major vacation immediately after the wedding. Such a relief!

Paper, postage, and details - four percent

I strongly recommend using Zola to order all of your invitations since they come with free envelope addressing. Do not waste time writing out everyone’s information on individual envelopes when you can just upload a spreadsheet and have them done digitally. I personally hate my handwriting, so this was a huge help.