Thursday, October 23, 2008

Wedding Budget

So I've decided to stop stressing the wedding. It should be a blast. It's about 42 degrees here right now and 60 degrees at the wedding destination so that will be a welcome change. Also I get to hang out with two of my best friends from college who I regretably haven't seen as much as I would like in the past couple of years. I get to visit a cool location, stay at an fabulous house and party all weekend.

Part of my stress involves the fact that I will be alone. Boyfriend didn't want to make the trip with me understandably but I have never been to a wedding by myself. I've flown by myself a couple of times so I'm not really worried about that. It's just navigating a new place is always a challenge on your own. I plan to just hop in a cab as soon as I get out of the airport and travel to the house ($20 max).

I can't imagine anyone wanting to leave the beach house that night after the rehearsal dinner so there should be (cross fingers) no bar tabs to deal with. The wedding doesn't start until 5 on Saturday so there is some possibility of sightseeing but hopefully I can tag along with someone who rented a car. I also know from personal experience that the physical act of getting a bridal party ready for a wedding can take all friggen morning and early afternoon so maybe there won't be any time for sightseeing. Since I'm not in the wedding party I may want to escape the madness Saturday morning however. One option is a bike rental ($10) or just walking down the beach.



After the wedding the plan is to go back to the beach house (free transportation!) so I can escape bar tabs once again presumably. Sunday is pretty much open. I would like to do some sightseeing and there is a two hour dolphin tour ($40) which would be awesome but not something I want to do by myself. I really wish Boyfriend was coming. Sigh. Can probably get a ride back to airport with someone at the house but if not that's another $20.


So in total:

Cabs - $20-40
Sightseeing - $10-40
Gift - $55 (including card)
Tips - $5
Snacks - $10

So that's about $150, i.e. every last cent in my checking account. Sigh. But that's a worst case scenario budget. I'm going to try to buy a soda before boarding the plane so that will save me a marginal amount over the $5 US Airways wants to charge me to drink one of theirs. I'll also buy snacks at the drug store tonight.

3 comments:

Jim ~ mydebtblog.com said...

Make sure you buy it after you go through the security check. Probably cost you $2.50 for a stupid 20 ounce bottle, but it's probably better than an overpriced can on the plane. I hope you can stick to your plan. It would make me a little nervous traveling with a very limited amount of money should an emergency come up.

Sallie's Niece said...

Yeah the no free soda thing is a new annoyance - especially since you can't bring liquids into the gate! The last time I flew there was still free drinks. Sigh.

On a positive note the card was under $3 (just got it) and I've decided to skip the $3 gift card fee and just slip in a $50 bill (cash is better than gift cards IMO).

And don't anyone worry too much about me - if things are getting out of control I can probably call my dad.

Shtinkykat said...

I sympathize with your anxiety re: attending this wedding stag since flying solo in a social setting is always nerve racking. But I think you'll find it to be an invigorating experience. You don't strike me as an introvert. :-D