Shelli Alred of Alred Wedding Consultants has a simple way of finding out what couples want to focus on for their wedding. “I ask them a lot of questions, one being ‘When you close your eyes, what do you imagine your wedding day to be?” That tells me volumes about them. From what they tell me, I will know if having fun is the most important aspect, or food, or ambiance.”
Once she gets a feel for what the couple wants to splurge on, she helps them work with the budget tomake it happen. “I will allocate a bit of a larger portion of their budget to what they deem important. If a good time is important to them, I would allocate more than the typical percentage to music and fun ‘things’. I don’t drain their budget on it, but I certainly leave enough room in there to get what they want and to not regret it.”
So you’re in the majority here, with most brides having to choose where to plunk down the cash. You know, all the cool kids are doing it. In fact, I’ve gathered some of the coolest married ladies I know, who also used those high school budget lessons to figure out where to splurge.
“I splurged on paying for a wedding planner, which was well worth it since we got married at my parents’ house and had to coordinate everything ourselves. Make sure you have a good connection and trust the people you hire.”
Sandra D., married 2 months
“Pick one thing that really is important to you and splurge on that. Maybe it’s a golf tournament, maybe it’s your favorite place to visit, maybe it’s your favorite ice cream. Take that and run with it and build on it to work it into your special day.”
Jenny A., married 7 years
“Flowers and music because flowers are pretty and because music makes the night what you want! We paid extra for a bigger band with no breaks and people were on the dance floor all night!”
Courtney S., married 10 years
“I splurged on flowers and photography. I loved the idea of fresh flowers everywhere at our reception and it was a nice way to keep the decor simple and classic. We went with a photographer who I had seen work many times, and I liked his style. We opted for a package that included videography, and it has been the greatest accidental decision we made! We watch our wedding video every year on our anniversary, and it gets better every time. 10 years later, it is so much fun to see everyone we celebrated with!”
Mollie W., married 10 years
“I felt that flowers were what really could showcase my style and taste and add the ‘wow’ factor that I was looking for. I wanted people to walk into the reception and say ‘wow’ and the floral centerpieces did that. I’ve been to weddings where the flowers were minimal or very inexpensive looking and while the wedding was lovely, there was nothing unique or special about it. The flowers really added ‘me’ to the space.”
Jennifer C., married 10 years
“Whatever is going to make you happy on that day is worth a splurge, so long as it is to make YOU happy and not just for show or to make others happy!”
Amy L., married 11 years
“My splurge was to have an Elvis impersonator come to our wedding and sing. My husband is a huge Elvis fan, and I wanted to do something that would incorporate the King, serve as a fun surprise, and be something fun and different for our guests. My husband was surprised, and it was fun to see everyone on the dance floor, young and old, dancing to the music. To this day, people still refer to our wedding as the Elvis wedding. To offset the cost, I scaled back on flowers and decorations because I thought having Elvis would be more memorable. Weddings are usually all about the bride, so I wanted to include something that was about my husband, and he was very appreciative. So my suggestion would be to do something special for each of you as individuals, which will only strengthen the collective you as a couple.”
Sheri C., married 12 years
“Premium bar was a must for our wedding, as well as good food and music. We wanted to be sure everyone enjoyed themselves as much as we would on our special day. We love music and chose a live band that reflected who we are. We also are foodies, love to eat and good wine and cocktails were a must!”
Julie E., married 12 years
“We spent the most on photography. Pictures are forever. Video is forever. You can’t reproduce that day. You will remember who is there forever by looking back at your album. People who are not around any longer were at my wedding. I can still see them and remember what a wonderful time it was! Take a million pictures……….you’ll look at them forever!”
Trish V., married 12 years
“The band—we wanted to make sure everyone was dancing and having a great time! We were all having so much fun that at the end of their booked time, we paid the band to play for an extra two hours. Even then, no one wanted the night to end!”
Tracy G., married 13 years
“Decide on what you and your fiancé believe is important. Food? Flowers? Location? Dress? Then go all out on what is at the top of your list. We treated our wedding reception as the greatest party we would throw in our lifetime. We wanted great food and drink. Once tomorrow came it was saving for a family, college tuition and retirement.”
Liz L., married 13 years
“We splurged on our honeymoon and went to Europe and did a Mediterranean Cruise. We figured the ceremony and our wedding day would fly by so quickly- you only wear your dress for a few hours then put it away, and you probably won’t even get to eat that cake you spent so much on. So we wanted a honeymoon trip we would be able to relish and really enjoy. I had lived in Europe and wanted to go back and my husband had never been, so it was a great opportunity to splurge and go somewhere we really wanted to go.”
Susan G., married 14 years
“We splurged on a great band for our wedding. We wanted everyone to dance and have a great time. The dance floor was packed the entire time… a sign of a great party.”
Jennifer D., married 20 years
“We stretched ourselves a bit on the venue because we really wanted to be able to accommodate lots of friends and family. We wanted the kind of wedding where our cousins’ little kids could come and collapse from exhaustion after they danced all night. So, we opted for size over opulence and I’d make the same decision, today. It’s just who we are. We love a big party! We still have friends tell us they had a blast at our wedding. It didn’t have a lot of class. But, it had a lot of heart.”
Jill F., married 21 years
“I splurged on photos. The couple will need these treasures to remember who they were and how much love they ‘banked up’ when the inevitable hard times hit!”
Alesha T., married 30 years
