wedding costs

[RJS]

Will you do them in your country or hers? How much do you expect to spend?

I was just thinking about this. I don't really care about the ceremony. I'm a nice, generous, romantic guy with a woman but I'm also a pragmatist and the ceremony just seems like a waste of money, better spent on my first house. I would honestly prefer a marriage in front of a judge followed by a really nice honeymoon, but will probably have a wedding for the sake of whichever woman i eventually marry. If I do this in LA and keep the ceremony small  with immediate family and close friends only (maybe on the beach or something), what kind of money do you think we are talking about?

[Ray]

Like you RJS, probably most guys feel the same about wedding ceremonies.

HOWEVER, women see these things from a whole different perspective. This may be the most important day in your bride's life, so why not suck it up and let her have it her way on her big day.

If she wants a big church wedding in her home town, then do whatever it takes to make it happen. She will appreciate it for many years to come.

But if she REALLY feels like you and doesn't care one way or the other, then save the money and do the J.O.P. thing.

I married my bride in her country (Philippines) with a full-blown traditional church wedding and reception. It cost me about $3,000 and it was worth every penny. That kind of wedding here in the States would easily run around 30-40K or more.

Ray

[bigstew33]

Here is a thought for a wedding.  www.saiweddings.com  Island of San Andrés in Colombia.  I am in no way affiliated with it or nor have I used it. I received an email from one of the introduction agencies that came from this company in San Andres.  The cool thing is they have special laws where you don't need a whole lot of paperwork.  Foreign person just needs a passport, and the Colombian just needs ID, and birth certificate  But you can browse the site and get costs. 

[RJS]

Thanks for that bigstew. That's certainly cheaper than having a wedding here! And nicer too. Anyway, I'm not at the point yet, but I have been thinking about it and was curious about costs.

[utopiacowboy]

We had a wedding and reception in Medellin back in 2003. For roughly $1000 we had:

1. Reception for 100 at a nice place in Laureles with a full meal and open bar.
2. Live music.
3. Flowers at the church.
4. Professional videotape and photos.
5. Limo rental.
6. Hand made dresses for the bridesmaids and bride.

Of course the exchange rate was a lot better then but you get the idea.

[jm21-2]

I'm with you RJS, but just think of how much cheaper weddings are in other countries (except for some like Japan), and foreign girls seem to have lower requirements as far as a wedding band is concerned (rather than the 2-3 months salary here...which can be quite a bit if you have a decent job). I know there are some more down-to-earth girls here in the Northwest who don't really care about big ceremonies or rocks on their finger, like my mom who wanted a small wedding and a plain gold band, but at least in another country you're generally not shelling out $10+k for a ring and $20-30+k for a big wedding party.

I have the impression that a big wedding ceremony would be _very_ important if you married an Asian girl because of "face", but maybe girls from SA are a little more flexible? From the posts I've read on this forum, and my guess form the hispanic people I know, it seemed like the weddings would be a bit less formal south of the border.

[Jeff S]

My wedding in Japan wasn't expensive. I don't know how much it was since my father-in-law picked up the tab. A Shinto  priestess came to his home and married us in front of a dozen or so friends and family. My in-laws favorite sushi chef setup a sushi bar in their house and the booze flowed freely. I can't imagine it cost a couple grand or so. Probably the most expensive part was the kimono they had made for me. You don't buy kimonos for guys my size off the rack.

- Jeff

[pan de bono]

they have limos in medillin? they dont have any in Cali

[Researcher]

  I got married in August of this year in Bogota Colombia. My wife negotiated the price and got the wedding that she wanted for around $3000.It would have easily cost $20,000 here in the US. This covered everything and was at a very nice reception hall.

[jm21-2]

My wedding in Japan wasn't expensive. I don't know how much it was since my father-in-law picked up the tab. A Shinto  priestess came to his home and married us in front of a dozen or so friends and family. My in-laws favorite sushi chef setup a sushi bar in their house and the booze flowed freely. I can't imagine it cost a couple grand or so. Probably the most expensive part was the kimono they had made for me. You don't buy kimonos for guys my size off the rack.

- Jeff

I'd always heard that weddings were really expensive in Japan...one of my Japanese professors warned me that if I married a Japanese girl, I should have the wedding here where it's cheaper. I'd assume that's western style weddings held in Tokyo though...a Shinto wedding definitely seems more interesting.