Weddings, is the expense worth it?

Nice one! and Congrats to you :).. Im havin a very SMALL one at home.. Im not one to go all out with the Dresses and Flowers etc.. Im only having 2 people plus the Minister and my Children.. It'll probably be formal but not Wedding Attire Formal.. if ya know what I mean.. However I will be having a HANGI (Food Cooked Underground) or a PIG on the SPIT.

Like you we had the whole shebang Bunny but it was also in 1970 when that was how things were done. However I cannot say that either of us actually enjoyed our wedding day as there was just so much that had to be done. At the same time I wouldn't have wanted to be married without all the finery, although we could have cut the numbers down by not inviting all the rellies who I never say anyway. LOL However since that time it has also become much more expensive and that even includes allowing for inflation. We have been to wedding where they have had everything and it has cost an absolute fortune but others which were just as nice and cost so little. The son of friends got married a couple of years ago and because of circumstances they were paying for the wedding themselves, so decided to keep it low key. Well, the Church congregation the bride and groom belong to offered to put on finger food etc for the Wedding Breakfast. A friend offered to make the Wedding Cake and someone else iced it. The bride got her wedding gown through eBay for chicken feed (cost less than $100), someone took the photos and another person did a video, flowers were done by friends and all of these things were wedding gifts for the happy couple. It was a wonderful day and in total cost the bride and groom less than $500 for their special day, and they had about 100 guests. Now I think that is the way to do it and it was truly magical for everyone who attended. I just wish more wedding were like that actually, as everyone is much more relaxed. :)

i prefer to use the thousands of dollars spend on a big wedding for a home of our own. you can pull of a great wedding for like $1000 if you know what you are doing. i am getting married soon and it is costing very little.

My wedding day was one of the best days of my life and worth every penny. I am sure you can relate. I know they say a big wedding is for the bride but it is also in the top 5 best days for my husband also.

We spent less than $3000 for our wedding. My good friend drove all the way from another state to do my make up, my BFF's mum did my hair, mates work together to prepare food for the reception, another mate and the BFF made 4 tiers of cupcakes for the wedding cake, the boys did up the garden for the reception and most importantly out of our smallish affair, its celebrated with closest friends and families. And it also brought people together; rifts between some mates and between some family members were resolved and the fact that they could put it aside to be with us and celebrate our big day, made it even better. Of course the expense is worth it, even if its not that much.

WEll I would not want big wedding at all. I don't think it is worth to spend all that money for wedding. It is kind of like you acctualy are making party for other people. Like you know relatives use to say - hey, when is your wedding, we want to party. Couple is fighting before the wedding, stress and they are tired during and after reception. No I would rather have 4 people wedding.

See in India, calling 300 or more people in marriage is very common. There are rich peoples'marriages where even 2000 people or more come. I suggest -- cut your coat according to your cloth. However, if you are really happy, why are you thinking about money that your dad has spent. If he has taken any loan for the expenses, try to help him to square off the loan.

it's pretty expensive when you get married these days. but for me, when i get married, i'd like to keep it very simple. the ceremony will be very simply but very meaningful, no entourage, minimal decors (maybe just some flowers at the altar), no invitations (we'll personally invite the guests, or write the invitation down on a nice piece of stationary). i think we'd be able to spend a bit more on food, though, but i guess, the expenses will be a lot less with this kind of arrangement. what do you think? is it too simple this way? or is it really important to be grandious about it --- invites, gowns, etc...?

I have never been married but it does seem to be an outragous amount of money these days for a wedding. If I ever meet the right guy then I would be happy with a small wedding, family and close friends and having it in a park or garden or beach somewhere...nothing too expensive. Like many have said the money could be used for a house deposit. As long as love each other I dont see why the need for a huge expensive wedding.

i think it's all worth it, as the cliche goes, it's one of the best days in women's life. this is the day almost all if not all women have been dreaming of, to walk down the aisle, exchanging i do's, in front of people you know, etc. every girl deserves a fairy tale. especially in my country where divorce is not allowed, we could get married just once.

Well in my opinion, I think everything is all worth it. Weddings happen once in a lifetime and it is one of the happiest moments in a girls life. I am also dreaming of a big wedding too, with all my friends and family members around.

In this year I would get married,but I would do a small one with closer friends and with our familys,I want something very intim and I hope that will be better. A wedding means money,but is more than that,you have to say the nice part,a wedding is love is party ... I hope that I will have a nice wedding! Have a nice day!

The expense is worth it in countries like us where there is no divorce. Women are forced to really think hard before marrying if the guy is really the one for her before she gets tied to him for eternity. Women in the Philippines usually get married only once, and its so expensive to get an annulment, and most of the women who have annulment dont marry for the second time. I would like to spend on my wedding day. I will surely know by then that I love to be with the man Im marrying forever and we're getting married only once, so might as well make it memorable for both of us and for people who is also special to us.

I regret my wedding and we did a "cheap" backyard wedding. It just was the worst experience because my husbands father ruined our whole engangement and wedding day. We now feel like no one even cared and we went into debt for it! Now we joke about what we could have and should have used that money for. I just wish I would have known then what I know now, but you know how that goes. But I say whatever a couple wants to do is what they should do. Nowdays people don't seem to support marriage very much. :(

My in laws and parents paid for our wedding. We tried to keep it as simple as could.

of course its worth to spend on one's wedding because it happens once in a life time and needs a grand celebration!

I for one firmly believe in large weddings. The bigger, the better. However, I do not think that it should be accomplished at any cost. If the couple or couple's family cannot afford it, then they should not enter into debt just to have a big wedding. The nicest wedding I ever experienced was a very small wedding thrown by a group of friends. Each of us played a small part. It was for a very young couple, still in their teens and with no money. The friend who came up with the idea did most of the cooking. I provided the silverware, from my own collection of things I keep for special occasions. It turned out beautifully!

I dont think it is a waste of times because a person gets married only once in alife time ,now it depends if the person gets divorced but we in India get married only once. also u can show your chiildren how u got married I think wedding expense is worth.

In China,couples ofthen have big weddings too cuz it's so important for the life of a person.But we just to held weddings meanful not too large.

I prefer a small wedding with REALLY nice food and a fabulous gown, a quaint reception venue. It's small but chic :) I will be more willing to spend on the quality instead of the quantity.