A Queen's Opinion Podcast
A Queen’s Opinion is a podcast that allows people, especially women, to think aloud about life situations and seek an opinion without being judged. No more thinking about or questioning a situation by yourself. Ask the Queen.
A Queen's Opinion Podcast
Big Dreams Small Wallets Series: Big Wedding
What would you choose: a perfect day or a foundation for your future? Listen in, then visit aqueensopinion.com to share your thoughts on this compelling dilemma.
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast or website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of A Queen's Opinion. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.
Speaker 2:Welcome to a Queen's Opinion. My name is Queen, my voice, my opinion and your listening ears. This episode is called Big Dreams Small Wallet Series Big Wedding. Why do big dreams make us smile?
Speaker 2:In this episode of the series, we are going to talk about the big dream wedding. What does it mean to dream? I looked up the word dream in the Oxford Dictionary and it stated that a dream is a series of thoughts, images and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. The second definition said a cherished aspiration, ambition or idea. Most women want a big wedding, a marriage ceremony in front of family and friends, an opportunity to show the world that you found your prince charming and you are going to ride off into the sunset together forever. And in their mind they must have that big wedding to display the forever love. The top 10 things you must get ready for this big dream wedding.
Speaker 2:Number one decide on a date Summer wedding, fall wedding, winter wedding or spring wedding. This decision will have an impact on the location and venue for the wedding. It will even affect who can attend. It will even affect who can attend. Number two location. Depending on the season of the wedding, the location is critical Spring and summer, and fall could be an outdoor wedding with gorgeous landscaping of trees and green grass and the scent of flowers. A wedding in the winter will require an indoor, fabulous location with a winter wonderland view. Number three wedding inspiration. Once you have decided on a date and location and you're still having trouble with the overall look and feel of the wedding, then number three wedding inspirations can be important To help you narrow down to the perfect look and feel. Take a moment to check out magazines, books and online inspirations that will flow with the season's wedding ceremony.
Speaker 2:Number four wedding planner. Therefore, hiring a wedding planner number four is extremely helpful because they are going to ensure all the checklist items for the wedding are covered. All the checklist items for the wedding are covered. Selecting the best planner in the area is always a promising idea for a dream wedding of this size. The wedding planner is going to be helpful with several things like wedding registry setup, website, wedding announcement and remaining details on the list as well, too, the planner is going to keep you on schedule.
Speaker 2:Number five guest list. You need to decide on the number of guests that you are planning on inviting. You may decide to invite all your family, even the ones you don't even talk to, because this is your big dream wedding. You want them all to know you have found Mr Right. You should invite those friends that have supported you through the good and rough times of your overall relationship. Those are the friends that have supported your relationship with this man for years and they are so excited to see you finally get the wedding you have earned and deserved. We understand that guest list headcount is important because the seating chart impacts the overall atmosphere of your wedding. Plus, headcount will impact the overall cost for the wedding. You can invite all the guests you want, because it's your big dream wedding, as, yes, it is. But to make this wedding official, you must invite the officiant to recite those important vows and say those vital words. I now pronounce you, husband and wife.
Speaker 2:Number six the photographer. Now it's time to lock in a photographer. If you don't, who's going to take all those beautiful pictures of the event so you can show everybody how wonderful it was when it's all over. Number seven florist. Oh, my goodness, you must have a florist to represent your love and freshness, softness and beauty, or at least that is what flowers say to me when I'm going to a wedding. You need flowers for your beautiful bouquet and if you don't have flowers, why have a flower girl if she doesn't have flowers to toss out as she walks down the aisle? Yes, you must have flowers.
Speaker 2:Number eight did you book a DJ or a band? Somebody's got to have that funky music for us to dance to after dinner. Want to dance into the night? Number nine food and drinks. The food and drinks are the next important thing. The caterer must be on point with the food. The food must taste out of this world and be visually beautiful all at the same time. The drinks must complement the menu. The wedding cake must be delicious, melting in your mouth, moist, but not too sweet, just enough to know it's a wedding cake. The cake needs to be at least four layers, or a layer per year of dating and engagement. Now, don't forget, we need an open bar, baby, for all to enjoy. The bartender needs to be able to serve whatever type of drink the guest wants during the wedding. We need to keep the drinks flowing throughout the full wedding event.
Speaker 2:Number 10, wedding party. Next, let's talk about the wedding party. How many bridesmaids, groomsmen and flower girls should participate in the production of this wedding event? The bigger the wedding, the bigger the wedding party. The wedding party should not have to worry about paying for their attire. Nope, they don't need to worry about getting their hair done or getting haircuts, manicures and pedicures it's all paid for. In this big dream wedding, we're going to have all the necessary pre-events for the wedding party and close family friends of the bride and groom. Everything the wedding party needs is covered. Of the bride and groom, everything the wedding party needs is covered. Don't worry about it, just enjoy.
Speaker 2:Of course, the big dream wedding is impressive and perfect in your mind, but I have a question for you who is going to host this event and pay for it all as well? Everybody knows the bride's family pays for the wedding. However, the new modern approach consists of splitting the cost between the family. Nowadays, the bride and groom sometimes even pay for the event themselves, taking the burden off their parents. Hallelujah for that. I'm sure the parents like the sound of their children paying for their own wedding event. This is the fairest way to manage the bill, because two people are getting married, not just the bride, not just the bride.
Speaker 2:So let us discuss the cost of this big dream wedding. It sounds like this wedding is well over $50,000 minimum. We have not covered all the other items required for this wedding, but I think we have covered all the major parts of the big wedding event. I think we have covered all the major parts of the big wedding event. Although we desire this big wedding, we need to be realistic about having a wedding. Just a few questions to consider. Do we need a wedding event? Does having a wedding change the value of the marriage certificate or devalue our love?
Speaker 1:Could we use the money for a house?
Speaker 2:Having a wedding is great. It's fun, it's exciting and your wedding will be everything you want it to be. However, on the other hand, I chose the route of going to the courthouse and banking the money for a down payment on my home. Let me try to explain why I chose the option versus having the big wedding and putting myself in debt for one day where I can use the money for a more valuable, important decision in my union with my spouse, one that will last us a lifetime and have an asset to pass down to the children, we would be building wealth right up front, right in the beginning, instead of having one day of stress and fun. Now, let's say we had a wedding and we invited approximately 150 guests. Now, the proper etiquette is that, for an average wedding, gift from a guest is $150 per guest. If you were to do the math, that would come out to be $22,500. That could be used towards a down payment on a home. Ask for cash to be used for a down payment towards the home. You might even get more than you expected. To clarify, if you were to purchase a home for $250,000, the average down payment would be approximately $22,500. Does that number sound familiar? Yeah, now you can see why having a wedding may not be the most important thing in your union of marriage. Like I stated before, having a wedding is fun, exciting, and you just want to share your love with the world, with the people you love in your life. I get it For me. I chose a home as a foundation for starting my family and our. Happily. Ever after, I got the same thing you did A marriage certificate printed on the same paper, with the same ink, with the same intention, which is to spend my life with this person I love. Yes, I was able to share my love with everyone, just like at a wedding, except it was at my housewarming party. I invited all my family and close friends. The event was catered. We gave tours of the house. It was awesome. The housewarming allowed my guests to see how their wedding gift money was spent and how their gift contributed to the long-term commitment of our new family.
Speaker 2:Why do big dreams make us smile? Maybe because they allow us to live out our best life we see for ourselves, without any roadblocks, such as money, to stop us from having our big dreams. We smile because we know that we can achieve it. Maybe not in this lifetime, maybe the next In the end. I know I should stop having these big-ass dreams and live in my reality, but I'll keep dreaming big, because it has been seen that dreams can come true. If you are still working on a big dream wedding don't give up. Keep dreaming and keep working towards all your dreams.
Speaker 2:A Queen's Opinion is a podcast that allows people, especially women, to think out loud about life situations and seek an opinion without being judged. This podcast is supposed to lift you up, encourage you to be the best person you can be, to inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and into your queen zone. I didn't say my opinion will solve your problems. I am not saying that I am right, but what I am saying is I'm going to give you another view of the situation from a distance. No more thinking or questioning a situation by yourself. Ask the Queen. Go to our website, wwwaquingsopinioncom and click on Get In Touch to leave your feedback or leave a question for the Queen. Don't forget to like us wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for taking time out of your day. I hope you join me for our next episode. Until then, goodbye.