Getting Started

So what do you do after the question gets popped? After spreading the news to family and friends and coworkers and such?

You get real. Keep yourself in check.

As much as we all love watching shows like "Platinum Weddings", a lavish, gigantic budget event is usually not in the stars. That, however, does not mean that you cannot have a gorgeous, fabulous, and personalized day(s) of your life. The wedding of your dreams is within reach. It's all about working with what you have and prioritizing what you want.

What's important to you? Photography? Ultra-luxe invitations? Fantastic food? Decide what means the most to you and spend in those areas. Cut back where it is not as much of a priority. For example, our venue has nice chairs, albeit not Chiavari chairs, but non-ugly chairs. Chair covers are available, but at $7 a chair x 150+ guests = an unnecessary expense.

Determine the budget for your wedding. What do you think you can afford? What can you really afford? Who's paying? Statistics show that the average cost of a wedding is about $27,000. Since planning my own wedding, I've seen how quickly everything adds up. Decide what your threshold of pain is in terms of saving, and start doing so. Living within a budget in order to plan the wedding you want is totally feasible. Just make sure what you're doing won't make you destitute. No one wants to start a life together in debt. There's enough to worry about with old student loans and credit card bills.

Another way to save is the guest list. If you're paying out of your pockets, you make the call. If parental units are paying, there will have to be more compromise about inviting old Mrs. Studebaker and Aunt Mildred twice removed. Decide if you want a big wedding or a smaller, more intimate one where only closest family and friends get a ticket in. If that's the case, you could throw another brunch or BBQ later down the line to celebrate with EVERYONE.

The choices "sky" is the limit, it's just a matter of making them. Weddings are incredibly personal events. Let your personality and sense of style shine through. Don't let what you've seen elsewhere or on TV dictate what you "should" be doing. There is no "should". Sure there are traditions, but none of it is set in stone. Make your wedding what it is, YOURS.

A great article to get you started planning can be found here from talented Elizabeth Anne Designs.