Lately I've been wondering how realistic my budget is. Can I really plan a wedding for $10,000 and still get what I want? Can we afford to have friends and family come to the wedding? I've talked to other people who are married or are in the final planing stages of their wedding who had the same idea I have, "I'm not going to spend more than $10000 on my wedding" and they went over by 5 or 10 thousand.
I know there are books out there that can help you plan a wedding for $10,000 just like there are magazines that have articles on the same. They tell you to cut the guest list, be realistic about expectations and prioritize what you want to spend money on and then adjust accordingly. So my list of priorities are reception, photography, dress and the groom's wedding ring. I've decided to try to have a stress free wedding. I'm not going to sweat the details. Seating charts forget about um, you'll all adults you can seat yourselves. The wedding cake or cup cakes may be a DIY creation the doubles as a Favor. Another favor idea is welcome bags, this way I can create one per group/couple versus one per individual.
The ceremony is planned for a church that his family goes to and with his dad performing the ceremony we will most likely get it for free or next to nothing. We are looking for a unique location for the reception a bowling ally, a favorite place, or a ballroom with little decoration needed. The less we have to spend on decor the more we have for other things. This goes along with not worrying about the little details. When I look into a venue I looked at what is included for the cost and how much we could enjoy the location. I want a place that will be cool for photos but isn't like everyone else's wedding.
When we first got engaged I looked at various wedding supply sites and wedding shops though bridal sites thinking, "oh wouldn't it be cool if we gave everyone a bottle of wine with a stopper and glasses in the welcome bags" and 'everyone is coming to Vegas so what if we had personalized poker chips, decks of cards and the rules to Blackjack and poker." I was falling for all these different details that I started trying to figure out how to make it affordable. The more I think about the style of my wedding the more I can fine tune the details. I want a simple yet elegant ceremony with a fun, relaxed reception.
The one thing that will help me with my budget is that I've talked with my parents about what they are willing to help pay for or if they will help pay for anything. I know tradition states that the bride's parents pay for the wedding but I know that isn't a realistic expectation. However, it is realistic to think that they could pay for my dress and the photographer (two things that are very important to me). This leaves the biggest cost, the reception, to my fiancée and I. On thing I would love to do, cost permitting, is to have a Candy Bar with jars of various candies that we like. A mix of sweet, sour and chocolate.
So fingers crossed we will have the wedding of our dreams on a cost that isn't too crazy.
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