Deeeeeeep Breath... The Budget

Budgets are sticky topics, but when I first started planning I wanted to know how much people spent on everything. I knew weddings were expensive but I had no idea why. So, if you want to throw a Pineapple wedding of your own, here is the post for you.

From the get go Mr. Pineapple and I wanted to throw the party of our lives, but we didn't want it to keep us from actually being able to afford living. I was constantly worried about the bottom line, about spending more than we had, about regretting the cost of just one day. In the end Mr. Pineapple and I came in about $3,000 under our goal budget and I wouldn't have changed a thing. Here is the breakdown of our wedding day (which excludes rehearsal dinner, hotel, and foodiemoon, partly because I don't know how much we spent eating the last 5 days and maybe I don't want to know.)

Stationery:
$171.00 including stamps and programs
Since I make wedding invites and such for a living I was able to do ours on the cheap, including the printing donated by a friend. The photos used on our save the dates were also a gift from my friend and former professor Charlee Brodsky.

Bridal Attire:
Including gown, alterations, crinoline, veil, headband and date embroidery.
$1,175.00 (a very generous gift from Momma P)
My gown retailed for $1000, but I got it during one of their regular sales. The veil, headband and crinoline were $310, the alterations were $65 and the embroidery was free after the mess that had been made.

Bride Hair and Make-up:
$150 including tip (a gift from Momma P)

Groom's Suit:
$200 (a gift from Mr. P's Mom)

Wedding Bands:
$1,000 for his
$1,350 for mine
Our bands were quite a bit more than we had ever intended to pay, but in the end I am glad we chose the bands we did. My band had to be custom made to fit the lovely crazy shape of my ring. Mr. Pineapple's was made to match mine in rose gold. We will have them longer than our TV that was the same price, that is my justification. :)

Bridemaides' Gifts:
$50 more about what they were to come!

Groom's tie and GMs' ties:
$160 we got these all on sale at Macy's.

Officiant:
$40 for a basket of goodies from Harry and David (a gift from Momma P)
Superior Court Judge Mary Jane Bowes officiated our wedding. She was incredible. She was so funny during the rehearsal keeping the mood light and the ceremony was perfect. Since were we already married she was in no way obligated to re-marry us, but she did and for that we are truly grateful.

Ceremony:
$500 for the room set-up at the Rivers Club
$25 for the hand painted aisle runner
$0 for the ceremony muscians, more on them to come

Photography:
$2450 + photo disks (we don't know how much they will be yet)
We had three wonderful photographers with us on our wedding day. Including Mingwei Tay who is a student at my alma mater and asked us if he could shoot our wedding for his portfolio.

Flowers:
$825 after packing and shipping (a gift from Momma P)

Reception Decor:
$162.00 for centerpieces
$50 for escort card trees
$12 for the copper silk and satin used on the candy and cake tables
Thankfully the only decor we needed to add to the already cozy venue were the centerpieces.

Reception Dinner, Open Bar, and Cake:
$5,750 including tax and gratuity for 74 guests (very generous gifts from Mr. Pineapple's family helped us pay for about half of this total)
The food and service were out of this world and deserve their own post, but for now just know that this was mony very very very well spent.

Reception Details:
$150 for the favor scarves
$110 for the candy table (a gift from Momma P)
$0 for our free-j DJ, more on him to come
$0 for the dance floor, included with the venue
$0 for linens and such, included with the venue

Total:
$14,330

Yes, 14 grand is a down payment on a new home, but it is also about half of what the national average is these days. I am happy with what we were able to pull off. With so much help from Momma P while she was here these last 7 weeks, with gifts from friends and family, and diligent saving by Mr. P and I, we were able to squeak by debt-free so I consider that a win for the Pineapples.