Wedding Budget Woes

A friend's fiancee outed me the other day. I have kept this blog very underwraps with co-workers and friends - actually very underwrap because I never even mentioned it to them! But she outed me. However, it was good. We talked about weddings and why they are so ridiculous in price. Especially in Chicago. She had one of my favorite quotes -

These wedding prices are so ridiculous that they honestly make me want to curse at times. Like really, do they think that being madly in love with each other is going to leave us so oxygen deprived that the wedding prices are going to suddenly make us ready to sign over our financial future?

It made me laugh because it is so true. I do remember looking at a place very early in our search and actually going "we have to give them 6,000 bucks for the empty space - that is not too bad, right?" Thank god my husband slapped me silly and made me repeat over and over "Must stay under budget." (Note - please don't call the abuse line - I was kidding about the slap). So the question is are there really any great steals in Chicago? Or have all these places realized how they can make a nice big fat buck off these oxygen deprived brides? (If you know any -please, please pass along)

In other news - my new favorite blog. I think she is as peeved as my friend's fiancee.

The Pay Yourself First Consumer Challenge

I have talked about this before that I was very, very naive on the cost of weddings here in Chicago. Then when I started looking at different downtown sites, I realized it was going to cost more than double what I had budgeted. This contest arrived in my inbox the other day and thought I would pass along.

According to The Wedding Report, US couples spend between $14,366 and $43,098 for their wedding. This does not include cost for a honeymoon or engagement ring. If you’re saving for a wedding you should check out The Pay Yourself First Consumer Challenge. Enter to win and you could earn an extra $5,000 and a free honeymoon!

All you have to do is create a one-minute video telling them about the wedding you’re saving for, and why you should be selected as one of the five challengers….. Upload your video by July 31 to win. Here are detailed instructions for brides to be.

Recession Weddings

Our spare bedroom is now packed with wedding projects and an array of gifts that we have already received from our registry. As I looked among the pile of goodies, I actually told my fiance - "hey look, we have right here our own economic stimulus plan". With all these purchases, I wondered if how much the wedding business is affected by a recession. And then poof - here was this article.