Today I am going to talk about the dreadful word we all hate, budgeting. Having a budget for your wedding is extremely important, and I could not recommend planning for it enough.
When we got engaged I pretty much already had an idea of everything I wanted. From the décor, to the catering, to even the dress, I had a pretty solid vision. Let me just be flat out honest & tell you, I do not come from a wealthy family who can afford a 50k wedding. And even if I did, I wouldn’t want to spend that much on something that lasts a couple hours! We are middle class, like the normal American. Hint why you never see me carrying $1,000 handbags 😉 Any who, I knew it was going to take help from all ends of my family & myself to make my dream wedding happen. I cannot thank my family who has contributed enough! This day is going to be extra special, because of them!
With that being said, I got with each family member from the beginning of the wedding planning process & started discussing numbers. Out of all the wedding budgeters out there, WeddingWire’s was definitely my fave! You can plug in your budget for everything from your hair/makeup to even your honeymoon! This made it super helpful knowing what we had to spend from the very beginning & being able to go through vendors we could & could not afford. You can create a free account on WeddingWire’s website & the process is pretty self explanatory from there. They even have an app which has honestly been my lifesaver!
Now, I have had several of you ask what was important to me & what did not make my budget. So keep reading if you want all the juicy details!
What did not make our budget?
A videographer. This was something I realllllly wanted, but after doing my research on videographers I found out that they were not even close to being within our budget. If you ask me, 3k-5k for a 4 minute video is ridiculous, which is why it just did not make the cut. Don’t get me wrong, I found some videographers who were affordable, but I was not 100% in love with their work. Therefore, we decided not to move forward with them. However, I am excited because my stepmom has a friend who’s son has a passion for creating videos. He is in high school & I am happy to say he will be recording our big day! I love supporting others dreams, so hopefully this will be Logan’s big debut for his future career! 😉 WeddingWire also helped when trying to find top notch vendors, so I utilized this a ton!
What was extremely important to me for our big day?
Food, alcohol & dancing. If you know me, you know I love to host & throw parties. So obviously I want our wedding to be the best & biggest party yet! If we are being realistic, most people attend weddings to eat a good meal, indulge in some tasty drinks (for free) & dance the night away! Therefore we are most definitely having these three things & making sure our guests have the time of their life! However, we have still done this on a pretty strict budget, & let me tell ya- it is doable! 🙂
Did you have a specific budget for your dress? If so, did you go over?
Yes, we had came up with a budget that my mom was pretty stern on. However, when we went to try on dresses & I tried on the dress (which happened to be a tad over budget with the veil) she & my stepmom insisted I get it. And eeeekkkk I cannot wait to wear it & share it with you all!
What is normal to spend on flowers?
Not sure if I know what is normal or not, but I do know that flowers are what make weddings absolutely beautiful. I got several quotes from florists & was on the floor at how much they were going to cost. I mean it is hard to reason with spending a lot of money on something that is just going to die & get thrown away. Luckily, one of my bridesmaids moms works at a flower shop, & got us an extremely good deal. We will forever be grateful!
What should I spend on a venue?
This was another thing that I could not reason spending a lot on. I looked at a ton of venues online that were absolutely beautiful, but were outrageously priced. I mean 10k for a building? It’s just silly if you ask me. This leads me to saying why we are having a Sunday wedding (Sunday’s are typically cheaper than Saturday’s). Sunday funday, right? 😉 At first I was not for the idea at all, but then it slowly grew on me! I decided whoever wants to be at our wedding will be there no matter the day. We narrowed it down between a Friday & Sunday wedding, & Sunday ended up winning because it is typically easier for people to make. Simply because they are not rushing from work & what not.
Now that I have blabbered on & on you are probably sick of me, though I do hope this information was helpful! Also, if you are bride-to-be, you definitely need to register for WeddingWire, because I promise it will be your saving grace!
Have a good #WeddingWednesday 🙂
Thanks to WeddingWire for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.