[Flabbibulin]

6 - What would you say are the top 10 highest costs for a wedding?

Everything can be expensive, and everything can be "cheap". Establish a very clear budget per item and keep in mind that most people go over budget. We made the personal decision- parents assistance was a big factor- that we were going to go all out for our wedding. A big factor was the number of people travelling from out of the country and we wanted to give them an amazing experience. Anyways,

Flowers/centerpieces can get ridiculously expensive. Our first quote was unreal and even after bringing things down, it was still in the several thousands- all depends on what you want though. My wife was insistent on having great floral arrangements.

Your fiance should decide what arrangement she is making with her bridesmaids on the cost of their dresses and makeup/hair. Many brides decide to cover these, but many don't. Same with groomsmen- I chose not to cover the tux rental cost for my groomsmen (approx 225 each), but I was generous in other ways- covered hotel for some etc.

Rehearsal dinners can be steep, so be very cautious on who is invited- wedding party is obvious, but do you necessarily include ushers etc. Dont feel obligated to invite out of town family members to rehearsal dinner just because they are family- if they are not in wedding party, dont invite.

Our hair stylist and makeup guy on site is something I resisted up to till the end because of the cost (around 2000 I think), but it really was beneficial to have I suppose- getting a cousin or someone that claims to be good with hair and make up is an awful idea (at least thats what my wife said)

Most importantly, keep in mind that the division of costs among both sets of parents and bride/groom can get political- especially when one set has more money and different expectations for the other. It is always great when the bride and groom can pay for most of it, unless both sets of parents are on the same page- which was fortunately the situation in our wedding.

Booze adds up, so take a close look at what type of bar you want to provide- no doubles or triples etc.

DJs are all pretty straight forward and approx the same price in my experience.

Photographers can be very pricey, but don't cheap out- average prices in my experience were 3000-6000.

We did cupcakes, instead of traditional cake, which were surprisingly cheap- $600 I believe

The venues are so subjective that it is impossible to make recommendations. Obviously this is the biggest part of the budget, but pick what works for you- dont rush a decision unless you have no choice. Make sure you ask if there will be other weddings going on at the same venue on the same day.

7 - What are some of the questions you would ask the reception location/caterer?

Ask to see linens at both ceremony and reception hall- they may claim to have them, but even the nicest venues can supply garbage linens. Chairs are a big deal too- see how you want to decorate them. We rented chiavari chairs for our outdoor ceremony, and they need very little decorations to look great. Same goes for cutlery and plates- venues often provide junky stuff, but you can typically get cutlery the same place you get linens.

edit- just noticed you have canmore in your tag. That changes things quite a bit. We had our wedding in banff, but a lot of rentals and purchases came from canmore. The prices there are considerably higher than calgary. Try to get things brought in from calgary if possible.

I could go on forever- planning and arranging wedding was a good 6 months of our life, so I'm a fountain of knowledge.