Sticker shock

Yes things do start adding up quickly when planning a wedding! I think we are all shocked at some point by the price of certain things. You just need to remember that you have time to save and that there are other things you can save on or get rid of entirely (ex: scrap a DJ and make your own playlist).

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Ahhh I know. Luckily I did that part when I was laying out my budget, or I would have literally been walking down the dress in a $10 thrift store find, or not having photos... The difference in the price of $5760 ($48 pp x 120), and $7420 (+GST, +PST, +Gratuity)... RIDICULOUS!

Beware of tax... Luckily my photographer's price list says "Tax Included" or I'd have made that mistake twice!

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My parents have offered to pay for the catering. Which is by far the most expensive bill. I'm right there with you with the pangs of guilt over large expenses. I got the caterer's contract today. I can't believe how much things add up. Like...its all well and fine to say $35/person buffet...and in your head you're like $4,200 for 120 people. But then add gratuity, GST, PST, and Host Fees, and we're up to $6,500.

Dying.

Ohhhhh I feel your pain! Its crazy at how much everything cost! Especially if your having a Toronto wedding. I haven't started booking anything yet but I'm already freaking out inside thinking oh money grows on trees and I'll be alright.. lol then REALITY smacks you in the face.

Don't worry, there are many brides that feel this stress. You just gotta pay when your ready, and that your almost done planning where you can then relax.

My parents are paying for the wedding, so I don't have the gut wrenching feeling of parting with my own money, but I definitely have the anxiety/guilt with large sums of money being spent on things that I think are overpriced. I still have a strict budget to work within, and I have had to make a LOT of cutbacks so that we can prioritize what we must have vs want.

I'm getting my flowers from Costco. I can't justify paying double for a florist when the flowers I need will be just as beautiful from Costco.

Also, my friends reached out to me when I got engaged because they do photography. I simply had to tell them that they were not within our budget to use...

Deposits are such a pain... but I'm also happy to only do those and then with a year until the wedding we've been making a savings routine to be able to save up for the final payments!

I'm shocked at that deposit for the photographer though that does seem high!

But also with your friend, when you have the consultation with her if you're comfortable with it maybe just mention the budget you had for your arrangements? If she can't make them for the lower price then maybe try elsewhere!

The worst is saving up the money for the wedding and after putting all the deposits down, you scramble to check and make sure there is enough for second and final payments cause it feels like so much left all at once. We are paying for our bridal parties dresses so putting down 50% of 5 dresses and a bridal gown was a big gulp.

I'm going with a florist, because honestly the flowers are usually beautiful, last longer, and I don't want to be stressing the night before the wedding doing DIY.

It is SUCH a shock! We only have one more deposit to do, but it is for a friend, but we are still cringing at everything. I feel like I cut down the costs on everything a tonne... except the catering I never looked into anything wedding, even once we were engaged, until we sent out save the dates 😨 bad choice. I thought a lavish wedding was going to be like $6000 and turns out that's just what the food will cost.

I feel same way! There were somethings we budgeted for and things were more expensive and now we’re teying to figure out where we can save. I’m overwhelmed and I had went to a family friend for the flowers but now thinking the same. I know she will put a personal touch to it and means a lot leaving it in her hands. I also did same with catering but she’s giving me a deal. Can’t find the same price anywhere else

I'm with you! We've even cut back on some things and still had to raise our budget!

Wow that’s expensive! My photographer is amazing and only cost me 200$ for the deposit and 1500$ owing.. in the long run it’s probably best to have it paid so you’re not crunching numbers but I’d certainly be a little stressed!

The biggest diposit for us is the venue.
If you can try to do weekly or bi weekly payment with your vendors it may help you. We are doing bi weekly payment for the photographer and videographer to get it over with. We might also do the same thing with our Dj so we don't have to worry about it towards the wedding day.

As for flowers, go window shopping at Michael's, walmart, And any craft store with fake flowers in your area. Get prices and Calculate how much it'll be for decor, bouquets etc and compare it to your friends. If you find that dyi is affordable, just let her know. I'm sure she'll understand. I Hope this help.

I think the most shocking for us was the venue and photograph deposits because they were both $1000 everything else has been $100-$300 for deposit. It's surprising at first, just like realizing what a wedding actually costs is shocking
it does get easier though

I showed my florist what wedding wire had budgeted for me and she’s tried hard to stay withinin our budget which I appreciate. It’s hard to be realistic about some things since you’ve never had to pay for them before but unfortunately everything wedding related is $$$ Lol you learn to accept it if it’s something you really want.

I’m completely agree with Catherine how you just get used to it. Today I put down my deposit for my DJ without blinking an eye lol. It will get easier!

The big 5 are the roughest. Venue, caterer, photographer, DJ, florist. Once you have those guys down, the shock value isn’t quite so bad. It took a lot to wrap my head around our final cost for those guys though. And we don’t even have 2 of the 5. So I’d definitely say your not alone in feeling that way. It’s kinda nuts.

Oh i think everyone will say they felt the same. I know i did. It's really hard at first and it's stressful. This might be weird to say, but eventually we just accepted it and it got easier. We still remained in budget, so i'm not saying you just say, whatever and spend recklessly. I just mean, after the first couple big ones, it got easier for us, feelings wise.