As an FYI, $10,000 in 1989 = $15,000 now and your $1,000 wedding is about $5,800 in 2009 dollars. So your wedding depending on guests was certainly affordable but not quite as cheap as you might think, and your daugther’s wedding was on par with ours (hopefully it’ll work out better, but we’re only coming up to year #4 – tommorow as it turns out).

Source:
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/inflation_calc.html

We just upsized to a minivan so that we can fit our growing family (we went up in size from a Honda civic that was my first car in the late 90s), as three carseats can’t fit in the back! I was convinced for awhile that we could do it, but it’s not safe. (I’ll never buy another new car again – it’s a sure way to lose money).

We live on one salary and have been doing so since we’ve met. Any secondary income goes immediately into savings – that’s how we bought our first house with 25% down (we rented until we saved that much). Any proceeds from an asset sale (like the future sale of our Honda) will NOT be plowed into our budget, but will go to offset other assets that we are paying interest on (our mortgage).

We live simply and live frugally, but we love life! (find out more on our blog)

We rebelled against the expensive wedding and so went ’small town’ for ours – We held a Beach BBQ themed wedding in a small town near Collingwood and given that our friends are ‘outdoorsy’ we arranged and paid for group camping accomodations within walking (stumbling) distance. We realized that our expectations of what a wedding should be (formal, tuxes, wine glass toasts) really didn’t apply to us or our friends and family and so we ditched the traditional, although still opted to hold our ceremony at a beautiful local church.

Dress & Tux – $400 (I saw a prom dress I liked and just ordered it in white – seasonal discount too!)
Flowers and Decorations- $250 (we made our own bouquets)
We used our own cars for transporation
Photography $1300
Invitations & postage $150
Wedding Bands $400
Gifts $300
Official & Fees $300
Caterer (Beach BBQ Theme) – $700 (food for 70 people)
Municipal Beach Front hall and beach pavillion $50
Bartender $50 (local service group)
Booze – we did a donation bar and offered just staple drinks – it paid for itself
Accomodation for guests (campsites at municipal beach campground) $100
DJ $500
Thus less than $4000.

I think you’re right – we couldn’t have pulled this off in the GTA. Also, like Gail says there’s the RIGHT NOW mentality. We knew we wanted to be married but we also knew that our student loans and entry level incomes would prohibit a big flashy wedding – so rather than giving into the RIGHT NOW, we just decided to alter our expectations to fit within our financial limits – and our friends still talk about how great a weekend they had.

Yes, I am aware of how much weddings cost (hence why I added the bubble ‘brides who want to spend money’, as there are the more frugal brides as well).

I’ve kind of figured that it would cost roughly $100 per person for an open bar (generally $70 per person at the hall, and then everything else).

Alot of the costs is related to how much businesses jack up costs when they know it is a wedding that is involved.

DJ – $400 (that’s cheap)
Hall, with food and booze included $9000 – ridiculously cheap since it includes booze
Dress + Tux $1000 (cheap)
Flowers from Dominion (yes, the grocery store) $300
Transportation – $25 cab ride for me, no limo or sportscar
Photography $1500 – cheap again
Invitations + Postage $150 (self made)
Wedding bands $2000 (a little extravagant, I’ll admit)
Gifts for guests/bridal party $300 (guest gifts made by us two nights before)
Official + Fees $300

I’m sure I’m missing a whack of stuff too.

We were married and had the reception at the same place, to lower costs but it’s difficult. Now there are some on RBPB who have 400+ guests, and multiple courses or ‘need’ the $1,000 motorized wedding cake, etc but that’s their culture often at work besdie their ego. But my wife and I really tried to have a modest wedding, and that’s just what it costs and I tried to cut down costs (I had a friend make the seating chart, I delivered the good imported beer to the hall so it’d be available, whatever I could, I did). $50 a plate is not uncommon these days, sadly(separate bar).

The brides (who want to spend money) are more interested in the spectacle of their wedding and what people think of their wedding (common trend ‘I want everyone to talk about my wedding for YEARS’). The whole grand entrance idea has just gone way out of control.

The comments coming out of their mouths regarding the budget can be quite shocking. Weddings on this show have been anywhere from $5000-$100,000. I wish they told viewers how they actually paid for their weddings…..

As for Rich Bride Poor Bride, I watch it all the time and talk to the screen the whole time telling them they are insane and what a waste of money. All these money could be spent/saved in a much better mannner and still have a lovely wedding without getting tens of thousands of dollars in debt..it is just plain craziness.

I sound like my grandmother, but I just see so much waste and then people complaining they live paycheque to paycheque…well duh!

I am old enough to remember a time in my childhood when nobody had VCRs, personal computers, or other fancy toys eating up a big portion of the household budget.