Expenses So Far

bI've started realizing that a lot of the stuff that I'm getting for the wedding is going to be bought gradually, over time.  It's not going to be all at once.  This is MUCH easier on a tight budget, because it means you can pay for things as they come.  But at the same time, if you're trying to keep track of how much money you've spent, it's a bit of a hassle.  So today, I'm going to run through what I've already bought specifically for the wedding.  I'll also make mention of things I already have, so you can consider those costs if you're planning your own wedding.

My Engagement Ring

The biggest expense so far has been my dress.  It was $99.99, with no taxes (hurray for used items!).  However, I AM planning on altering the dress, and for that purpose, I've bought three yards of a simple, white ribbon from Wal-Mart.  At 33 cents a yard, that's $1.07.  I also picked up some fabric at $1.50 a yard to use for table overlays.  It's beautiful, and worth every penny, even if there was only 7 yards of it.  That was $11.37.

I've also paid for some tea candles for the reception decor.  We got these at a steal, 1 cent for three glass holders.  We bought 8 packages, so that was $.09 for 24 beautiful glass holders.  I paid more for the orange colored, pumpkin scented tea candles to go inside, which were $3.79.  Oh, and I have my shoes for the day of, which were on sale at Payless.  I paid $7.58 for them.

In total, that makes $123.89 that I've spent so far.  Some other things I am definitely using at my wedding that I didn't pay for include origami paper for the cranes; I had some sheets of actual origami paper already, and the rest have been hand dyed using computer printer paper and ink I already own.  I also have art programs on my computer that I've used to design my invitations, board games that I'll be borrowing from family and friends, music that I already own and have on my computer/MP3 player (which I also already own), and small holiday lights if I wind up using them.  

It's also worth noting that my engagement ring isn't included in this price; as I've said before, I'm not counting it in the wedding budget.  Mostly because I don't know or want to know exactly how much it was.  But I'm glad I can finally show off the picture to everybody!  I don't intend to use the wedding band that came with it, but I'll share more about that later.