question ladies-if you had to choose between having your dream wedding or a simple wedding with your dream honeymoon-which would you choose?

I would say that all depends on you and your FH.

For some people a ceremony is more important and they choose to go on a honeymoon later.

For others, the time they spend with their significant others on a honeymoon rings more true for them.

The ultimate decision is up to you and your FH.

Personally for me I would choose the ceremony and if I couldn't afford to go on a honeymoon too, then we would save and do it for our 1st anniversary as husband and wife.

Again Soon2bmsj, it's up to you guys.

uuummmmm I think wedding ...since you only get one of those (except renewing vows ..and that still won't be like THE wedding) ...you can always have a "honeymoon" ...get away and it just be yall ...or I'll say it's easier to put together I think ...

I'm already having my dream ceremony, it doesn't cost much for that for me. The other aspect would be the dream reception but that's not an extreme benefit to US, just a better party for our guests. So I would say the honeymoon. A trip to Africa wouldn't happen for a while otherwise!

oh, I'm having both! I just asked because in the process of planning our honeymoon and speaking to travel agent she had made a comment that the wedding is usually for everyone else but the honeymoon is for the couple. She stated she would rather spend more on her honeymoon than her wedding

soon2bmsj wrote:

oh, I'm having both! I just asked because in the process of planning our honeymoon and speaking to travel agent she had made a comment that the wedding is usually for everyone else but the honeymoon is for the couple. She stated she would rather spend more on her honeymoon than her wedding

Ok, while that is true, she was using it for a sale!

you think??

Yup ...and actually that's a good line ..LOL

That's a tough question. I would love a dream wedding AND dreamy honeymoon. But since I can't afford but, I'll go with the ceremony.

hands down, i would definately choose a dream honeymoon and i know fh would, too.

I"ll take wedding for $15K.

I think I would go for the wedding also. We have been planning this wedding for two years now and every time I run across a bridal sale or anything wedding related I get excited. We can always plan a honeymoon later, But if it is in your budget, do both. YOUR DAY YOUR WAY

I'd love to do both but as I said before - weddings in the UK are so expensive...the wedding alone will cost about

I would have to pick simple wedding and honeymoon. Who wants to have a huge wedding and stay home.

You got a point, Housewife!

housewife147 wrote:

I would have to pick simple wedding and honeymoon. Who wants to have a huge wedding and stay home.

Ditto to that... FH & I agreed to have a simple, intimate wedding with only the closest family and friends (50 guests maximum). If the budget allows it we'll then have a dream honeymoon, preferrably Zanzibar.

FutureMrsKeepUp - Don't forget to drop the sista a line when you do decide to take that trip to Africa. A visit to the sunny shores of South Africa would be unforgettable...

Definitely dream wedding. If you can sqeeze in a few hundred dollars for an extended weekend trip after the wedding, it doesn't have to be some exotic locale for you all to have a short "honeymoon" that way you can have the best of both worlds....Shoot we spent about 1/4th of our wedding CASH gifts on our honeymoon. So we didn't come out of pocket for it at all. We put the hotels on my credit card, and that was paid off on the next credit card bill.

housewife147 wrote:

I would have to pick simple wedding and honeymoon. Who wants to have a huge wedding and stay home.

True words of wisdom!

I am not going to spend lots of money on a wedding and go home, or go somewhere for the weekend. I know to each it's own, but that's just my opinion. If anything I would look at my complete budget, put atleast three thousand to the side for my honeymoon, and create the wedding of my dreams with the remaining budget.

well I think I would be ok either way but FH really wants this Jamaica honeymoon so we are both satisfied-me with the wedding (that is not SO big but exactly what I want) and him with his Jamaica trip!

Perfect all the way across the board!

Turiya wrote:

Perfect all the way across the board!

Yep! and then there are no regrets on either end!

We splurged on the ceremony and just took a mini-honeymoon. DH doesn't get paid time off so we haven't had our dream honeymoon yet. Hopefully for our one year anniversary we can do it up big.

Same here. I was still in grad school, teaching at FSU, doing an internship and working another side job when were planning the wedding. So we did it during Spring Break and went to Destin (2 hrs west), FL. Its a beach resort town and since it was off season, the prices were right. Our suite at the Embassy suites had a view of the beach and we even had a private area just for the Embassy Suites guests...Something hard to find on a beach in a big vacation place. Plus, we had no Spring Breakers there because they were all in Panama City. Anyhoo, we went there from Saturday night to Wednesday because I had to get back to my students and no one wants to substitute for me to tach 110 undergrads...so thats life...However thats what WE decided to do within what were were working with. We were going to do the summer but my internship was scheduled to pick up to a full-time status so that would have been too difficult, since I was graduating in August...All in all it turned out perfectly. We were worried about having a delayed honeymoon initially so we moved everything a little earlier than planned (March vs May), and re-did the budget to fit in a honeymoon. It wasn't Jamacia or a cruise, which we could have afforded but I wanted to have enough time to come back, get new DH moved in and re-coup from the wedding and the vacation instead of coming back Sunday and working on Monday....So you should do what's best for your schedule and your budget, but by all means don't sacrifice having that time together in a new scene right after the wedding.
I guess to finally answer your question, I would do both...Dream weddings don't equal expensive, its the quality that counts...

Remember, after seeing Usher's wedding, you can rest assured its not always about the money you spend, but how you use that time to handle all the details...people still think we spent like 15-20K on the wedding when we really spent like 10K....

I've seen 100K weddings look like crap...So plan and budget well and wisely....maximize your dollar, hunt for deals with the honeymoon and be flexible with the honeymoon and wedding dates.
PS. Our two room suite complete with complimentary FULL breakfast buffet, champagne in the room upon arrival (a last second addition when they learned that evening that we were newlyweds), 2 free drinks at the bar at happy hour nightly, and view of the beach complete with free use of the umbrellas and chairs (a 50.00 day charge) on the private beach was 93.00/night...if you go during the right time of year....so the deals are there.....good luck and have it your way...