10 questions about your WEDDING...

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  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
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    The older I get, the more I talk to more people about things they wish they changed. The number one thing that we all agree on is to not spend as much money on the wedding but to save it for the honeymoon. Also a couple of friends have eloped with a *few* family members and then came back to have a big reception for everyone else. Don't do what your family wants you do to or expects you to do, this day is about the both of you and your commitment to one another.

    ^^This is great advice^^ My biggest suggestion is take pictures! Your kids and grandkids will love looking at them :love:

    I agree with the picture thing. We kind of cheapened out on them because the packages were so dang expensive, but now I wish we had a formal album that we could look at instead of the one I put together. Plus the photographer wasn't the greatest so a lot of our pictures are dark and hard to see.
  • Julettashane
    Julettashane Posts: 723 Member
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    1. How long did you plan? 6-7 months while my husband was deployed

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? lets just says more then $4,000...more than planned

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? wedding around 300 reception a little over 400

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? at each table there was rose buds made from hershey kisses

    5. What season was your wedding in? summer

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? it was a saturday at 4pm

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? SOMEONE DECIDED TO CUT INTO MY CAKE BEFORE I GOT A PIC

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? not sure

    9. What were your colors? red, white, and black

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? my mom made the 6 tier wedding cake(she is wonderful it was her famous cherry cheese cake) we didnt have a planner nor a decorater my mom did it all
  • alicia0416
    alicia0416 Posts: 274 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? 1 1/2 year

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? Had a JP wedding... very inexpensive lol

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? invited 25 and they all showed

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? none

    5. What season was your wedding in? Spring

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? Friday at 1 pm

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? ummm...... nothing I loved it lol Quick and easy

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? Honeymoon.... yup

    9. What were your colors? black and blue and white

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? YUP.... Did my own flower hair and makeup...

    We are total cheap skates lol... no help from the parents either so yeah... at 20 we did it all by ourselves.
  • bluegirl10
    bluegirl10 Posts: 695 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? 8 months

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? about $5,000

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? 75 - 100

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? candy

    5. What season was your wedding in? summer

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? saturday at noon

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? nothing

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? honeymoon...heck ya! :)

    9. What were your colors? blue and white

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? runner, invitations, favors and centerpieces
  • kittyhug1986
    kittyhug1986 Posts: 60 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? 1 year

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? 24k about what planned (maybe a little more)

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? invited: 120 showed:100

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? candy canes with ribbon tied in a bow (I had a xmas themed wedding Dec 20th)

    5. What season was your wedding in? Xmas

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? Saturday - Noon

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? - I would change the DJ - we opted for a cheaper DJ and he was so all over the place and unprepared - and didn't even have our wedding song.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? The venue - we originally were looking for something cheaper but fell in love with a place that was more expensive and went with it. Yes it was worth it. We also splurged on the photographer. We really wanted 2 photographers to capture all moments, and we wanted one with really good reviews and a good package. It was really worth it. The pictures were amazing and I have seen so many of my friends who went real cheap that I just didn't think were of the same quality so yes it was worth it.

    9. What were your colors? Red, Silver, and Green

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? Wedding invitations and save the date cards (did these off my own printer and hand tied/glued ribbons.
  • Shrelana
    Shrelana Posts: 248 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? 6 months

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? around $1000 (not including the rings - think those were $3000)

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? around 50/and 50

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? We did not have any

    5. What season was your wedding in? Summer

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? Sunday at 2 PM

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? Don't think I would change anything...the day was perfect - outdoor wedding and it was the only day in August that it didn't downpoor :)

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? The wedding cakes - for sure! (Halo 3 and Gears of War inspired :D)

    9. What were your colors? Yellow and blue

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? Pretty much all of it - the aisle was lined with yellow daffodils which I put through the grass, the chairs had bows which I'd sewn and tied myself, the arch was lined in flowers I mounted, the center pieces I put together....I'm sure there was more, but I can't remember.
  • mightyafrodyte
    mightyafrodyte Posts: 148 Member
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    1. How long did you plan? about
    16 months

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned?
    like 5k

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up?
    120/95 approx.

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)?
    Hershey Hugs and Kisses

    5. What season was your wedding in?
    Fall

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it?
    Friday 3pm

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out?
    It would have been smaller, more intimate. I would have cut half of my bridesmaids. I really hated them.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it?
    The honeymoon. Yes, we were away from everyone.

    9. What were your colors?
    Chocolate, Pumkin and Champagne

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which?
    Lots: Invitations, Bouquets, Decorations, Favors, something else, but I can't remember.
  • iysys
    iysys Posts: 524
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    1, How long did you plan? the better part of a year off and on

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? about $4500 which is what the average venue in my city costs alone! we were given a lot of gifts of services from talented friends of mine like flowers, photography and my dress. this doesn't include the honeymoon or the rings. those cost WAY more than the wedding.

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? 140/a bit less than 100

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? no, great way to trail off the budget and no one missed them

    5. What season was your wedding in? spring. in chicago the only reliable months weather-wise are may and september

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? saturday night

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? i wish my biological father hadn't been a raging *kitten*. other than that it was great...oh and i wish my man of honor's boss hadn't made him work and not tell us until 2 days before the wedding. finding out your man of honor isn't coming sucks!

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? we didn't really splurge on anything. everything was kind of the bare minimum to be awesome. that said it was exactly what we wanted. a kick *kitten* party with all of our friend with great food and outstanding beer and cocktails. we had bbq from this very acclaimed place called smoque, beer from an awesome micro brewery called new glarus and a couple of very strong tasty boozy punches; one whiskey for me one rum for the mr.

    9. What were your colors? deep purple, fuchsia and orange. but my dress was grass green and his suit was dull slate blue.

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? that is a tough question. a lot of things were diy but not by me. i am friends with a lot of artists and they leaned their hands to the process as wedding gifts. my dress was custom hand made. my shawl was designed and knit for me. the groomsmen all wore hand knit socks. there were a LOT of hand crafted touches. there was actually even a 3 page article in a major knitting magazine done on the wedding. it kind of kicked butt! :-)
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
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    1, How long did you plan?
    6 weeks between engagement and wedding day, so slightly less than that.

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned?
    $3k, including dress, dry-cleaning, & rings. The cake was the gift from my mom, so that's not included.

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up?
    I think we invited 42, had 40 - something like that. (There were definitely 40 people there. Although I guess that includes us.)

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)?
    Stained-glass tealight candleholders. They were also the table decorations, and they were fantastic - I love visiting my friends and seeing them displayed.

    5. What season was your wedding in?
    Early spring

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it?
    Saturday lunch

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out?
    Nothing. Best wedding in the history of all weddings.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it?
    Food was about half the cost. Totally worth it.

    9. What were your colors?
    Hunter green and cream.

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which?
    My mom and I made the favors, and my husband put together a CD for the background music. Oh, and I got my dress at a 95% discount because it was missing a button, and it came with a spare button, so I had to sew that on.
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
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    Ah, a stroll down memory lane. I'll respond in honor of my 9th wedding anniversay that we celebrated a few weeks ago.


    1, How long did you plan? around 8 months

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? I'm not sure since I was lucky to have my parents pay for most of it. I'll guess around $4000

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? We invited about 150 and we had around 80 show up.

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? Miniature jars of jam and preserves from a local shop.

    5. What season was your wedding in? Fall - september 20

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? Saturday. Wedding was at 3 pm. Cocktails/Dinner started at 6 pm.

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? Nothing. If I was magic, I'd change the weather. It was kind of rainy.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? Open bar. Yes, well worth it.

    9. What were your colors? I only had one attendant and she wore a burgundy colored dress of her choice. My flowers were colorful fall-like colors.

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? Not so much to save money, but I didn't have a traditional guest book. I had die cut papers (various things, leaf shapes, fruit shapes, and tractors among other things) that guest were asked to write comments and/or advice that I would put in a scrapbook along with their picture (from disposable cameras at each table). Of course, I haven't scrapbooked it yet...it's only been 9 years, give me time!!!
  • Eliza1980
    Eliza1980 Posts: 303 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? 1 year

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned?I think it worked out to about $25,00 which was under what we had budgeted

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? just over 200 invited, 150 showed up

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? We made CD's with the music from the wedding (our first dance, my sister singing, our pre-ceremony singer, etc.)

    5. What season was your wedding in?Fall

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it?The ceremony was later in the day, 3:30 I think, which I loved because I wasn't rushed in the morning to get ready and there wasn't a long break between ceremony on reception for our guests

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? Would have hired a professional photographer/videographer. Instead I had family members do both and was extremely disappointed. My pics and video still make me sad almost ten years later!

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? My dress and flowers were about the same

    9. What were your colors? silver and blue. Originally had picked fall colours but my dress was a silvery colour with crystal blue beading so I had to change everything

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? Our favours, place cards, ordered our invitations online but had to fold and put together ourselves
  • luv_lea
    luv_lea Posts: 1,094 Member
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    1, How long did you plan?

    About 24 hours...maybe. "Wanna through Vegas on the way there?? Sure!"

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned?

    $100. Roughly. License and the place to do it. That was about what we were expecting.

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up?

    Two. He and I.

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)?

    Nope.

    5. What season was your wedding in?

    Winter.

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it?

    I don't remember. At all. But I do know it was the weekend.

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out?

    I would have been 21 so that I didn't get kicked out of all the casino's and would have made it where we stayed the night there and enjoyed the city a little bit more.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it?

    Woop...we bought a picture cd!! No, wasn't worth it. I have no clue where that cd is now. Sadly. And I am good at keeping track of those things too. Still pisses me off.

    9. What were your colors?

    We were both wearing blue colored shirts and jeans....so Blue I'd say. ;)

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which?

    Say the whole thing was DIY...so yes, saved money.
  • dodihere
    dodihere Posts: 490
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    I helped with my daughters wedding.

    We planned for it for 4 months

    I spent less than $5000

    We invited 100 people about 50-60 came

    We made a cookie table with plastic bags with the couple logo and wedding date

    June wedding

    Saturday after 1 pm (saved money on feeding guest snack foods and lots of desserts

    Not sure if anything was a large splurge - the mens tuxedo's

    red/green was the color

    All of her wedding was DIY, her dress we ordered from China and had it altered here and saved $$$. We ordered 250 roses from Sams club and did the centerpieces, bridal bouquet and the bouts and corsages. I made my daughters birdcage veil, all the table centerpieces. We also catered the entire affair, made a light meal buffet style, served deli tray, pinwheels, pasta salad, vegetable and fruit trays along with desserts. We rented the prettiest church for $250 and they had a beautiful reception area that included tables and chairs and table covers.

    I would say if you want to save big bucks, do the flowers yourself - they require alot of refrigerator space though, but the flowers were simply gorgeous and to put red roses at every table for the centerpiece felt great. Her bouquet was all red roses and I put little white pearl pins in the center of the roses. Beautiful.

    Splurge on the photographer.
  • amymichelle1226
    amymichelle1226 Posts: 150 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? 13 months

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? Mmm maybe a little over 10,000....split between us, my parents & his

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? Invited 80, 75 came.

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? I made chocolate dipped pretzel rods with sprinkles to match. Cheap, cute, yummy.

    5. What season was your wedding in? Summer, July.

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? Saturday night, 6pm

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? A lot actually. #1 I would have splurged on the best photographer, ours unfortunately wasn't that good. But the hotel we got married in didn't match our colors that well so it was a little weird! My flowers were nice but I think I could have done them myself. I didn't get married until 6pm, I had ALL day that I could have put together some awesome, more natural looking flowers. I forgot my hair trial picture at my hair appointment on the day of, lol so my trial was a little pointless. I didn't really like my make up, I should have done it myself. And mostly importantly, I wish I had lost weight before!

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? Flowers I think, between the flowers, lighting and everything from that one vendor, it was about $2,000. Not worth it.

    9. What were your colors? Black, dark & light pink and white.

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? Yes, yes. Name tents? Don't do them. I made frames where people could find their names and see what tables they were at....so cheap, so easy. I made my own unity candle ...cheap and cute. Favors, little mint and tissue packages. My invites actually...I bought them from cards & pockets and put them together myself, they were cute and inexpensive. My wedding blog was www.weddingbycolor/futuremrspearce09
  • lauraniwa
    lauraniwa Posts: 131 Member
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    1, How long did you plan?
    About a year and a half

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned?
    Yes and no. We were planning a much smaller event due to our budget and that was not approved of so the MIL gave us extra to invite more people.

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up?
    75. 73 showed, and the 2 that didn't did it because they messed up the date. They showed up the next day.

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)?
    Candy

    5. What season was your wedding in?
    Autum

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it?
    Friday evening

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out?
    Nothing about the way it turned out but I wouldn't have bothered with favours.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it?
    Food and booze. Oh yes.

    9. What were your colors?
    Fall themed. Red/orange/pink etc.

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which?
    SO MANY...
    - made my dress with my mum
    - helped make the brides maid dresses
    - MIL did the centre pieces and decorated the church
    - my mum made the cake
    - my parents drove us to the wedding
    - cut our own invitation and had a wedding website to eliminate RSVP postage costs
    - the bridal party flowers came from costco
  • angeldaae
    angeldaae Posts: 348 Member
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    1. How long did you plan?

    Eight months.

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned?

    $35k, which was a little more than planned

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up?

    About 550 were invited. About 300 showed up.

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)?

    Our groom's dessert was also considered the favor. It was a bag of small beignets.

    5. What season was your wedding in?

    Summer (July)

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it?

    4:00 p.m. on Saturday

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out?

    I can't think of anything.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it?

    Either my dress or the wedding planner. Both were totally worth it.

    9. What were your colors?

    Black, White and Red

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which?

    I made our ceremony programs myself, the favor (beignet) bags, and we addressed/stuffed our own invitations.
  • stang_girl88
    stang_girl88 Posts: 234 Member
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    I had a Halloween wedding, so this may not apply, but here goes anyway :)

    1, How long did you plan?
    6 months

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned?
    $4,000, and we were on budget. A bit under actually

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up?
    About 60 and almost all of them showed up. 55 of them were from another province even :)

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)?
    We gave out Halloween treat bags shaped like a witches broom and caramel apples

    5. What season was your wedding in?
    Fall (oct 30)

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it?
    It was a Saturday got hitched at 11 am and the party started at 5pm. I will say with so much time in between everyone had a late lunch and didnt eat as much for dinner. Tons of leftovers, but we froze ours and ate it over the next few months. Some companies wont let you take leftovers home. We only had that day to decorate, which is why I had so much time in between.

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out?
    I wish my MIL hadnt of tried to control the wedding in the beginining because it did kind of ruin it for me. She hated the idea and tried everything to have her own way and have a traditional wedding. We avoided each other the whole time and I didnt do half the fun things I had planned because I worried she would do/say something.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it?
    There really was no big splurge. SInce it was a Hallween party, all my decorations are reusable. I used to work for a catering company so they gave us a deal on food and some friends offered to bring food because we didnt want gifts. We were very lucky!

    9. What were your colors?
    I didnt actually have colours. I didnt have a dress or wedding party (bridesmaids etc) either, didnt want it.

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which?
    Yes, but I doubt they will be applicable lol
  • nicoleandlosing
    nicoleandlosing Posts: 33 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? Set the date two years in advance and booked the hall/chapel

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? Between us, my parents, and his parents…about $5,000

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? We had a little over 100 people

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? My husband loves taffy so I just ordered the colors of our wedding (blue, white, and green). I also ordered votive candle holders with stickers for the center pieces—they could take them if they wanted. I used the candles for center pieces with fake blue, white, and green rose petals. We just laid the taffy in with the rose petals. My parents hated the idea, but afterwards heard that everyone loved the taffy idea!

    5. What season was your wedding in? It was in September….still summer, but I remember it was 70ish degrees for two weeks before our wedding, but on the day of our wedding it was 96 hot and muggy.

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? We did it on a Friday to save some money. The ceremony was at 6:00p.m with the reception following.

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? I actually wouldn’t change a thing. Everything turned out better then I pictured it. Everyone had a great time.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? My wedding dress….totally worth it.

    9. What were your colors? Black and White with our favorite colors as accents (blue and green)

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? I made my own flowers….spent $250 verses over $1000. I think I did a really good job. A little stressful with finding everything that I need (I had 5 bridesmaids, 5 groomsmen, flower girl, ring bearer, two sets parents, and the grandparents!), but worth it! I also made my bridesmaids their necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.
    My advice to you is not to worry so much about the little details. I spent so much time stressing and planning and it was all over like that. When the time comes….make sure you stop to enjoy your wedding day. That was the best advice that was given to me.
  • michelle850
    michelle850 Posts: 65 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? 5 months

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? $1500-$2000 (can't really remember)

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? We had a small service with about 50 people, then a party at my in-laws farm with 150-200 people

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? I can't remember

    5. What season was your wedding in? summer

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? Sat, late afternoon

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? I hate what I wore. We didn't do the big traditional wedding. I wanted a simple white dress, but this was before internet shopping was an option, so my choices were very limited. I would love to be able to change my dress and shoes. Otherwise everything else was awesome!

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? Food, yes! And the DJ who ended up staying a couple hours past midnight because no one was leaving!

    9. What were your colors? Light blue and white

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? Not really, we kept it very simple and it was a blast! I think the last person left at 4am...that's a sign of a good party!
  • tiarapants
    tiarapants Posts: 1,015 Member
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    1, How long did you plan? 20 years (seriously - we got married to celebrate 20 years of being together), although the date was booked for the wedding two and a half years before the day we got married.

    2. How much did you spend? (sorry if that's personal) Was this more/less than you planned? Not exactly sure, but it was in excess of £40,000 (GBP) - but didn't really keep a running total, we just had what we wanted.

    3. How many people were invited/ how many showed up? 50 to the actual ceremony and a further 20 to the reception. We only invited people we really wanted to be there and they all turned up apart from one. People travelled to the UK from Australia, Italy and the States, which was gratifying.

    4. What did you give out for favors (if you had them)? Round sterling silver lidded boxes with a heart handle on the top and a candle inside. That was for the ladies. The men had sterling silver cubes which were lined with velvet and had two pairs of silk knot cufflinks in (one pair pink, one pair black to match our wedding colours).

    5. What season was your wedding in? Early autumn - we were actually blessed with the best weather in weeks for the entire weekend (we had a blessing on the beach the following day - it could have been a disaster if it had rained - especially in Brighton!)

    6. What time of day and day of the week was it? Saturday afternoon

    7. 1 thing you would change about the way it turned out? Nothing. Even the couple of little things that didn't go exactly to plan just made the day more personal.

    8.Biggest splurge (financially)? Was it worth it? The venue and reception. We got married at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton

    9. What were your colors? Ivory with pink and black.

    10. Did you do any DIY project to save money? If so, which? Not exactly, but we did put together extensive goody bags for all the guests who were staying in the hotel for the wedding. They were personalised according to each person and we had great fun putting them together.