A bride, who says she got down to throw a “low-cost” wedding ceremony however ended up spending $40,000, is sharing her ideas so others “can keep away from making the identical errors.”
In a video posted on TikTok, Nashville bride Megan Diem Easton — who received married in November 2024 — detailed how she found a harsh actuality when she delved into planning her nuptials. Regardless of making “each finances lower I may consider and months and months of trying to find low-budget distributors,” she mentioned the full price of her occasion shortly soared to $40,000.
“When folks hear that, they increase a number of considerations as a result of they assume there is no approach {that a} wedding ceremony the place I attempted to save lots of may price [that much],” she famous. “However when you’ve got been to a standard wedding ceremony inside the previous couple of years, the place there’s meals, alcohol, a venue, a reception and a great quantity of individuals, they had been all weddings most likely round [$40,000] or extra.”
Since this was the primary time she had ever deliberate a marriage, Easton was not anticipating to expertise such sticker shock. “Weddings prices are so inflated,” she mentioned. “That was my largest battle.”
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Trying again, she mentioned she may need forgone a marriage altogether.
“If I had identified what I do know now, I most likely would have eloped to save lots of the cash,” Easton admitted. “Sadly, when you begin planning, you are sort of within the thick of it earlier than you begin to notice how a lot it will price you. There are such a lot of hidden prices and there is not a number of transparency within the wedding ceremony world.”
To assist different {couples} navigating the marriage planning course of, Easton created a template — which she is promoting in her Etsy shop — that features “virtually each single price you could possibly presumably run into throughout wedding ceremony planning.”
The thought of the template, she defined, is to offer brides and grooms with a transparent estimate of how a lot their wedding ceremony would price to allow them to weigh whether or not “it is price it.”
In her video, she shared a take a look at her personal wedding ceremony finances breakdown — from the large bills such because the venue, the florist and her gown to smaller incidentals like an $8 ring sizer she bought on Amazon. Easton revealed that her unique estimate was $25,000, that means she and her now-husband surpassed their finances by $15,000.
“That appears like some huge cash and once you’re trying on the particular person prices, you are considering, ‘How? How? How is that this including as much as $40,000?’ ” she continued, explaining, “$500 right here and there, each couple of weeks, provides up in a short time.”
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Her recommendation? Sit down and draw up an estimate of all the prices earlier than you even begin reserving distributors and making purchases. Her template, she defined, permits {couples} to see a whole breakdown of each expense and a ultimate tally.
Easton famous that it is typically the miscellaneous prices — which could be tough to foretell and add as much as 1000’s of {dollars} — that blow the finances. “What occurs is there are a number of issues on right here, particularly down on this miscellaneous part, that you’d by no means be capable to consider in 1,000,000 years that you’d want till you are already doing it and the prices are already including up,” she defined.
She cited some examples of those surprising prices, together with vendor gratuities, a venue cleansing payment, an alcohol license payment and ring insurance coverage.
Within the feedback of Easton’s TikTok video, many individuals shared related wedding ceremony planning experiences. “I really feel insane saying this however the weddings folks consider once you say I am planning a marriage are minimal $30K. I’ve spent virtually $60K and it isn’t fancy in any respect,” one viewer wrote.
Easton replied to the remark: “Precisely! I had no bells and whistles, nothing loopy, l even skimped out and was low-cost and plain in a number of areas (which labored as a result of l’m very minimal in any case). No splurges had been made.”
One other individual chimed in, “My finances was $20K and I am now $60K.”
Another person identified that even when {couples} are ruthless about chopping prices and cut back considerably on their visitor record, the large objects are unavoidable and what finally drive up the general finances.
“Individuals do not perceive that small would not reduce that a lot — the gown, the photographer, the music, all that stuff continues to be the identical worth whether or not it is 100 or 400 [people],” they wrote.
In response, Easton famous, “Most venues cost the identical regardless of what number of friends you’ve.”
Regardless of the steep price of her wedding ceremony, nevertheless, the newlywed advised Newsweek she “would not change a factor.”
“The day was lovely and all the things I wanted for as a bit lady dreaming of her wedding ceremony,” Easton mentioned.
