Love is in the air! (Kinda sorta based on your budget)
Posted by: Amy Rewolinski
on Feb 04, 2010 
It’s almost Valentine’s Day! Is everyone excited? Have you gotten started on sending chocolates and flowers and jewelry to your “special someone”? Have you perfected your poem and written out your card? Made reservations at a special restaurant?
No? Well, neither have I. Go figure.
It’s not as though Matt and I are “over” V-Day, but actually we kind of just ran out of ideas when it came to surprising each other. Honestly, he’s not going to buy me jewelry anymore because all I ever do is lose it, and me buying him flowers? Yeah, I’ve experienced enough ridicule from when I did that the last time.
Not only that, but saving up money for the wedding does put a damper on what you as a couple can do. It’s hard to justify going out for a $100 meal at “The Melting pot” or “Twisted Fork” when you are staring at the estimated cost of a wedding bar bill for $1,800 (boy, what a shock when you’re used to Riverwest bar prices!).
Anyway, I guess the point of this blog is that, just because you both are on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate special holidays during the year. Below you can find a plethora of ideas on dating with a budget.
- Join the club: I don’t think that many people are aware of the great deals movie theaters offer patrons. Marcus Theatre has “The Spotlight Club” where every Wednesday and Thursday they choose four movies for people to see for just $5. The best thing about it is that most of the time they are relatively new releases. Score!
- Utilize Web sites! Ever heard of Restaurant.Com? It’s a Web site that allows you to buy local restaurant gift certificates at a discounted price. Most of the time they have promotional deals that allow you to buy a $25 gift card for only $2! The only draw back is that there are a LOT of restrictions on when you can use the certificate (such as dinner only, no take outs), as well as how much you have to spend (must spend $30 to use the $25 certificate). Just be sure to read all the fine print, but for the most part it’s awesome!
- Student rush tickets: Are in you school, or still have your old student ID card? Use that to your advantage! Many musical theaters offer student rush tickets at nearly 50% off the cost an hour before show time. Each time I’ve done this, I’ve gotten a really good seat and enjoyed a great concert, ballet and/or theater show. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s only one ticket per student (hopefully your significant other still has their ID too).
And boyfriends/fiancés/husbands? Ah hem. Have you seen the flower selection at Pick ‘N Save? Beautiful and cheap and easy to acquire! See, I guess we figured out that one out quite easily, huh?
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? Drop me a line below!
-Amy
Music playing while writing this: “Tweedle Dee” by LaVern Baker
HOWEVER, $1800.00 for a bar bill? I know, for a fact, that your loved ones, who attend your wedding are NOT, repeat NOT going to go broke, or think ANY less of the BIG DAY if you dont offer an open cocktail hour, or whatever is costing you $`1800...they will NOT remember whether or not they had to pay for their drinks (I think that anything over free soda, and maybe a keg or two of beer offerings is just fine to offer your guests, if they want wine or a mixed drink, anyone who will complain about paying for that, well, thats another topic...but trust me, no one will care, no one will be saying things like "gosh, remember THAT wedding where they didnt have an open bar or cocktail hour, how could they!"...
So take a look at each expense and see where you can trim it down to what is REALLY important. Make a list of what $1800 could do for you and your soon to be Husband. How many months rent is it? How long does it take you to MAKE $1800 after taxes (does this 1800 even include any bar tips you would give? is it just for the attendants, and then you will pay by the bottle? There are often many surprise costs after the fact, or in the days right before the wedding, that even the most experienced wedding go-er or wedding professional doesnt see coming...I know you mentioned your family's business, so I know you must be experienced in a lot of aspects to a wedding..so please thnk about it carefully!)...
Again, I know first hand on what it feels like to want this and that for your guests, and I also know first hand how it feels to write those checks right before, and after your wedding, and then how it feels like to be young and make some not-so-smart financial decisions, and having to spend a good portion of our first 10plus years of our marriage life figuring out how to pay for things, not being debt free, and as I look back, honestly, to what we spent on our wedding, and, until recently, we always thought we did things on a small and tight budget, and that we totally felt we did things that were NO WAY over the top....but when we took what we spent, wrote down the actual amounts, and then also made a list of things that the money could have been spent on (rent/insurance/savings/etc) and then also how long it takes to make the money..well, it hit home ...
Then we talked to some close family and friends and asked them if they could remember what our centerpieces were, or what kind of things were offered at our bar...and guess what? None of them could remember, they all said they remembered how fun it was, the food was yummy (coudlnt remember what it was, and it was a HUGE food cost so we totally were shocked that no one could remember what we spent so much time agonizing over!), all they know is that they had a GREAT time, had fun dancing and socializing...
And what more can you ask for, that your guests had a GREAT time, right?
We spent so much time and energy and STRESS and MONEY on our centerpieces..and when I went back to think about it, other than the colors, I had to look back myself at the pictures to remember what they were, and guess what, that was a large expense, which included the take away gifts , so it was over $1500-2000, which in reality could have paid for so many things that we would remember and cherish...
Just a thought, please reconsider, and think of WHAT that money could do for your married life, rather than for one night for which not ONE of your guests would 'not have a great time' whether you spent it on them or not. The people who are near and dear to you would MUCH rather see you save the money, or spend it on something tangible and needed, rather than stressing your bank account or God forbid, put on a credit card or go into debt over...
Have you personally ever been to a wedding and been disappointed over any part of the reception, how money was or was not spent? More than likely, you remember how great the couple looked, how happy they were, and how much fun you had...and wouldnt you be disappointed to know if they streched their bank account, or even went into debt to provide YOU, a guest with a glass of wine or some nice wedding favor that was either thrown away or put into the back of your own shelves somewhere?
Please start the rest of your lives with a GREAT outlook on money and the future!