I spent $ 100,000 on my wedding. Here's why it was worth it.

The marriage of our dreams did not come cheap, but it was worth every penny.


Six months after our meeting, my wife took me on the most magicalsurprise birthday trip. All she told me was to take away as if we went to New England for the weekend, but we found ourselves at Mackinac Island in Michigan. The very first night we went to Grand Hotel for dinner. Before eating, she suggested that we take the sunset on the porch, thebigger in the world 660 feet. A large porch for a great gesture, she thought. She asked me to spend the rest of my life with her; I said yes, and soon afterwards, simple planning started.

Our firstWedding organization The meeting always makes me laugh. Myspouse said to our designer,Chad cornwall, which is also a very close friend, a glimpse of what she wanted. Then she told him the budget she had in mind. He smiles like timidly and said, "I can absolutely make a wedding for that, but it will not be in any way the kind of marriage you just described." Its initial budget for all marriage was basically the cost for the place and the bar open.

In his defense,Price of the place can be deceived. There is the price they cite you, then there is theobligatory Security, valet, etc. In addition to that. I was not surprised at all by any of the costs. I like watching reality emissions related to marriage and reading bridal magazines. But my wife was shocked. She does not support to watchSay yes to the dress When I have it, and it has been a long time since she launched a big party.

And it was before we arrived at the biggest holder: the food. It was important for me that all the food has been plated individually and served a lot like what you would see in a food festival. I often write about food in a professional way and every year when I attend Feast Portland, I'm talking about how fabulously the leaders present each bite and how much it becomes a part of the experience. I wanted the same for our wedding guests and our caterer,An extraordinary pricewas of course willing to deliver, butthe food like it does not come cheap.

full ceremony view
Lisa House

Finally, my wife got his initial sticker shock and she simply said, "Let's do it." From this point, I hate to say that we do not havebudgetBut we do not really have.

My wife was 54 when we got married and I was 47 years old. She often says she was waiting for all her life to find me, and she had the intention of having the marriage of our dreams. Not to mention that she has also worked hard all her life, saving for the things she wanted. One of these things was a fantastic wedding that the friends and the family would really appreciate and no one would never forget. And if you ask anyone assisted, it was an accomplished mission, from the entrance of Champagne to sending Sparkler. (I helped a little money with money I had chausted. But the lion's share was his.)

Our wedding was the perfect blend of fantasy and fun. We had a GIF cab and a wall of flowers. We abandoned Whataburger Taquitos in custom night bags after our brilliant exit. We had a personalized cocktail called the B2 -Because our two last names start with B created by a mixture mixologist. We had a giant Jenga for people to sign instead of a guestbook. We had a built chuppah and covered with flowers by our nearest friends.

Our second wedding cake - Yes, the second was a Ford Essel, the car, the grandfather of my wife designed, complete with our dog Walter riding in the back with his doggles. I had the lhuillier monique dress of my dreams and she wore aCustom tux. We rented from the 1960s British Royce as a getaway car. We went on a decadent honeymoon with a private villa in Baoase sur Curaçao. And my own father realized the ceremony I wrote and doomed.

car shaped wedding cake
Lisa House

Yes, some of these things have come at a price that could have deterred others, but it was all these details, great and small, which made our marriage so special.

We did not personally receive judgment about having aexpensive wedding. But I am constantly breathtaking people attitudes in general about the cost of weddings from others. I know there are weddings that are 100 times more expensive than ours and 100 times cheaper, but I do not have a judgment on what other couples spend or how they spend it.

Of course, I do not think that after debt for a one night event is ideal, but I think if you have the means and desire, no one has a business that considers these choices.

In the end, a marriage should be love and memories and promising to take care of each other as a couple, that there is money for all or not. I kept tease my wife throughout the wholeplanning process that as long as I couldWear my dressI would marry it in our yard, catching the Texas sun on the waves of the lake that we love so much in the background. All that mattered for me is that we have finally found each other.

It was not a question of going to the top. It was about not compromising. It was on the place where we liked and the food we liked and the flowers we loved, all to share with the people we love as we have committed to emerging forever . We really had everything we wanted and, for that, I have no regrets .

And for more information about yesteryear weddings, departure: That's what marriages looked like 50 years ago .

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