Bride, Who Says Her ‘Low-Value’ Wedding ceremony Topped Out at $40K, Shares Her ‘Errors’

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 price range reduce I might consider and months and months of trying to find low-budget distributors,” she mentioned the whole value of her occasion shortly soared to $40,000.

“When individuals hear that, they increase lots of issues as a result of they assume there isn’t any method {that a} wedding ceremony the place I attempted to save lots of might value [that much],” she famous. “However when you have been to a conventional wedding ceremony inside the previous couple of years, the place there’s meals, alcohol, a venue, a reception and a superb quantity of individuals, they have been all weddings in all probability 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 greatest wrestle.”

Trying again, she mentioned she may need forgone a marriage altogether.

“If I had recognized what I do know now, I in all probability 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 understand how a lot it may value you. There are such a lot of hidden prices and there is not lots 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 store — that features “nearly each single value you might probably run into throughout wedding ceremony planning.”

The concept of the template, she defined, is to supply brides and grooms with a transparent estimate of how a lot their wedding ceremony would value to allow them to weigh whether or not “it is value it.”

In her video, she shared a have a look at her personal wedding ceremony price range 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 authentic estimate was $25,000, which means she and her now-husband surpassed their price range by $15,000.

“That appears like some huge cash and if 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 closing tally.

Easton famous that it is typically the miscellaneous prices — which will be tough to foretell and add as much as hundreds of {dollars} — that blow the price range. “What occurs is there are lots of issues on right here, particularly down on this miscellaneous part, that you’d by no means have the ability to consider in one million 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 sudden prices, together with vendor gratuities, a venue cleansing price, an alcohol license price and ring insurance coverage.

Within the feedback of Easton’s TikTok video, many individuals shared comparable wedding ceremony planning experiences. “I really feel insane saying this however the weddings individuals consider if you say I am planning a marriage are minimal $30K. I’ve spent nearly $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 lots of areas (which labored as a result of l’m very minimal anyhow). No splurges have been made.”

One other particular person chimed in, “My price range was $20K and I am now taking a look at $60K.”

Another person identified that even when {couples} are ruthless about chopping prices and cut back considerably on their visitor listing, the large objects are unavoidable and what finally drive up the general price range.

“Individuals do not perceive that small does 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 irrespective of what number of visitors you may have.”

Regardless of the steep value of her wedding ceremony, nonetheless, the newlywed advised Newsweek she “would not change a factor.”

“The day was stunning and every part I needed for as somewhat woman dreaming of her wedding ceremony,” Easton mentioned.