Well i doubled my ring budget.....

Oh yeah there was no chance I was paying that. I think I budgeted $250 and we will still likely go over that.

Yikes! I definitely wouldn't consider them. The sites I looked at for Saskatoon were $150-400, I know Ontario is usually more costly but I definitely wouldn't pay $1000 for 30 mins.

That was their starting price! So I assume your typical 30 minutes or so. I couldn't believe it!

What kind of ceremony is that for?

That seems absurd, I could maybe see it for a big mass but even that should be less.

That's probably true. I don't want to pay an arm and a leg but I also want our ceremony to have a little bit of life and have ours guests not falling asleep lol. Hoping to find a happy medium!

I budgeted something insanely high for her dress alterations and my fiancee was like "Are you nuts? I could get a whole other dress for that amount!"

I think anything over $500 is getting into "celebrity" officiant territory. As in, you're hiring them for their reputation rather than just providing a basic legal service. Which is fine if someone wants an officiant who will engage and entertain the crowd, and they're probably worth every penny if they're in demand but I know that's not a need for many couples. Most officiants I've found doing this as a side gig who are performing the in-and-out 20-30 minute ceremony are around $400.

Thanks, me too!

Right? It's obviously a super important aspect of the day but I just can't swallow that amount! Hoping to find something closer to that $300 range but no luck so far!

The officiant threw me off. Wedding wire has it set at $250 or something, and every one I've seen is at least double that! Some of them are over $1000!

We think alike. I overestimate when coming up with budgets on things I don't know about and get real giddy when the actual price is well below and nowhere close to the budgeted price lol.

But it's mind boggling hearing from people (mostly on other forums but a few here on WW as well) when they think a suit priced at $200 is expensive while they're easily spending five or ten times more on a single use dress.

Mind if I ask where you shopped? I'm also curious as to what kind of ring he's getting. Based on everything I've seen here in Ontario, a plain 10K gold band sized 4mm wide (literally the most plain and narrow little circle you can stick on a man's finger) starts at $350. And this is already a non-traditional jewellery route (as in, I'm getting this off Amazon or Costco lol).

I know some dudes who are getting some suped up gemstone rings for themselves. Though I'm curious as to what kind of design your FH is considering.