Brief Back story:
My best friend works in the wedding/event industry and, long story short, gave us a kick-ass deal on a REAL wedding for the fiance and myself. I mean.....a KICK-ASS deal. In order to seize this deal, we had to get married...FAST (in a couple months--I signed our event contract yesterday). Our original plan was to rent a small-ish space for about $800-1000 and have a taco truck + Costco wine.
Details of the New Plan, "Wedding 2.0: Faster and Furious-er"
1. $5400 w/tax, service fees blah blah blah for EVERYTHING. By everything I mean ceremony, linens, tables/chairs, food, wine w/dinner, cake, etc for 100-110 people (big families).
2. $300 for my dress--which I purchased yesterday after signing papers for the wedding.
3. $10-40 for Fiance's vest for the wedding (he has his own khaki's, shoes, etc)
4. Free stuff: photographer friend, doing my own hair and makeup, e-invitations, borrowed shoes and other bridal accessory shit.
All I have to do is show up, which is great, because I am not particularly excited about the prospect of planning something I didn't really want to spend money on in the first place.
Now for the thoughts and questions (and slightly more back story):
Fiance's family does not....ummm...how do I put this...approve and/or agree with the general Mustachian way (his sister's wedding came in at $100K and they happily paid for it). They were, in their own words, "embarassed" to learn that we only paid for a cocktail hour and wine with dinner
So....after many phone calls, Fiance reports that his parents want to pay for us to have an open bar for the entire wedding. My initial reaction was: "Just ask to take the $2500 that it will cost for them to pay for it, and we can save it to buy a house someday, or replenish our savings from the $5.5k hit it just took!!!! HOOOORAAAY married adulthood!!!!!" Fiance's reply after speaking with them: "Nope. They won't do it. They just want to pay for the booze."
Well...OK. I haven't turned down free booze in my life, and I don't plan on starting now.
Moral Dilemma #1: I am starting to feel that we are somehow using their embarrassment-induced generosity to make our wedding fancier (and shmancier!). I think it is mostly guilt at seeing the extra $2500 tacked onto the bill....I mean, you get wine/champagne at dinner, and you bring your own flask people! Didn't your mothers teach you anything?
Also, because Fiance and I have lived together for 2 years and have a house full of stuff with no need for more, we decided to do a cash "registry" online. We have "registered" for a "House Someday," among other silly joke items, where guests can contribute cash toward the item. Thus bringing about...
Moral Dilemma #2: Is is wrong to capitalize on mostly his Anti-Mustachian family and family friends by asking for cash to replenish our savings lost to paying for the wedding? It is a beautiful thought....if everyone gives the amount that a Cuisinart would cost, we could potentially repay ourselves for the ENTIRE wedding! Muahahahaha!
Brilliant plan, or moral grey area?
P.S. Here is Fiance's own moral dilemma for discussion (Dilemma #3, I suppose): He does not want to tell his parents how little we are paying for this shin-dig so as to not influence the potential cash payout above and beyond their contribution already. I feel weird about this, but my parents are some frugal people and are extremely proud of us seizing this opportunity.