Daughters weddings were outdoors

with 3 kids all in there 20s this is probably a subject that will come up soon enough.

I try really hard to keep things as equal as possible. to avoid hard feelings.

I know of a hall I can rent reasonable , and I got a guy for pigs and smoked meat and another guy for fish. so they could pick and I could contribute those things, and the first 3 half barrels. that would be my offer when they said they were ready to wed.

but any wedding plans should be theirs , we looked back on our wedding a few years after Theresa and I were married and we could absolutely admit it was not how we would have done it at all. but my mother in law had "the things you do" list in her head and was offering to pay , so we were 21 and said sure , we put a few of our own touches on it not expensive ones at all , and rolled with the rest.
my parents picked up the tab for the rehearsal dinner and beer.

Honestly as long as we drove away in my truck with the canoe on the roof , with all our camping gear under the topper and got to go on our honeymoon camping not much else mattered.

advice to young couples , you will be so busy in the day you won't even see the half of what goes on I can say this is equally true for being the spouse of the diseased at a memorial/funeral. you will be so busy talking with all the different family and friends you will hardly even get a plate of food in.
Thankfully I have a sister-in-law who , neeeeeeeeeds something to do while they are upset so she did a beautiful job arranging all the potluck items and finding them servings spoons and labels , I caught her rolling plastic silverware in napkins and I was like you don't have to do that , and she was like no I need something to do or I am going to break. carry on wrapping plastic ware if busy is your coping mechanism. I was glad for the help because I carried stuff in the door and 20 minutes into the day till clean up time had someone wanting to talk with me I got nothing done but greeting people.

What took you eight years to put a ring on her finger? Take care of the wedding yourselves and don’t get involved with or start any drama. Marriage is hard enough without starting off on a sour note.

Don't create or add to Any Drama...just stop;

Let Him give whatever He wants or can, be gracious. That's all~

Saw on TV that weddings where at a all time low. Im just leaving it at that.

Elope everyone wins.

By today’s standards, a $500.00 wedding dress is cheap!! Not saying she should spend thousands on a dress she will wear once. Just stating a fact.

And on the outside chance this marriage doesn’t stick, she will need a different dress for the second wedding.

I believe that's because the couples that spend a lot of money, especially if they can't afford to, don't have their priorities straight. When something goes wrong, which it very likely will and they can't live the way they want, they split up. A couple going into a marriage together need to understand what it means and hold it to their heart, when they vow to "take you, ___, for my lawful wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part."

Keith

Pay for your own wedding and if he offers up some cash be thankful.

This idea the brides parents pays for the wedding has to stop. The costs have gotten out of hand.

Heck now days they spend more on a bachelor party than I did to get married

Nope.
But I didn't cook at wedding, just prepped stuff before.
LOL, she's lucky I didn't fish during reception though

This^^^^

Just shoot her boyfriend before it goes any further!

The original poster is the boyfriend.

Keith

My ex told me what I was going to contribute.....and I did so grudgingly to keep the peace with my daughter. It was outrageous considering she also has a boatload of student debt to pay off at this point..... which I am not paying for. Fancy weddings are a huge waste of money. With that said I will also say "ceremonies" are a farce and a travesty from a religious standpoint in this day and age. We went to one last Fall, the family is devote Catholics so we were prepared to set for a while. Showed up and the drunk best man presided over the ceremony at the location. Took longer for us to all proceed in and be seated than the ceremony.

Like the destination weddings, showers, and bachelor,/ette parties?

They expect folks to pick up and travel on their dime to some third world tropical paradise to celebrate their special day....
When did that BS start?

That's what I'm saying. I got married for a life together, not one day. Especially a day that causes so much stress and for some debt. Not a good way to start out. Weddings are great but the establishments purposely gouge people for more money than it really should cost. Its been out of hand for quite some time.

We gave the same amount to our son and our daughter. Our son and his wife were younter and they were not nearly as financially set as our daughter and her husband were. She was in her early 30s with her PHD and he was the owner of a business. We were able to help them navigate college without debt as well. We chose to use our funds in that manner instead of on bigger and more expensive things.

Bryce

You can always have a party at a less expensive venue when you get home for everyone to get together.

I got married when I was 40 ya kind of rushed into it I know.

I think Meatloaf said it best is the song “paradise by the dashboard lights” describing marriage.

I wish you best of luck and joy but buckle up is a bumpy ride be ready.

Key phrase here is "The ex wife"!