Budgeting, Humbling, and Self Reflection!

I feel the exact same way! I am about 5 1/2 months away and realized late last year my Pinterest wedding does not equal what really matters and our budget lol. I definitely scaled back and have been doing a lot of DIY’s which helped with the budget. We are basically done with planning and getting everything together with the exception of an officiant, DJ, and photographer (FH knows people in the business).

Yessss, me too! We don't have a lot of money to afford a $25k+ wedding, and neither do our parents, who are helping with the cost. Of course, as a lady who's dreamed of her wedding for years and years, I want something special and beautiful. But, I could never ask our parents to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on our special day, when we can't afford it ourselves. My vision of what I wanted my wedding to be, has conformed to what we can comfortably afford - and the only thing that now matters to me is that it's just a special, unforgettable day. And it'll be that much greater not having to break the bank (too much) lol!

Probably the only thing I have reflected on is how ridiculously expensive weddings are. It's even worse worse when you're trying to locally elope. When we looked at hotels and other countries a lot of them happy look when packages but here in my state that is very rare. Most hotels which on a business aspect I do understand won't even let me have a small 30-minute ceremony for an affordable price at their venue because they don't want to risk losing a ton more money with a bigger wedding. Or some of them will let me hold a 5-person elopement at their venue and still charge thousands. It's hard finding a decent place that not only is outside but can also be a little secluded and private because my fiance has social anxiety. I realize what a part-time job wedding planning has become hahaha. It's definitely been a creative process on how to be creative and cost-effective.

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Thank you for your input, Kristen. Yes, weddings are so expensive. I think I am in the wrong business. lol! I am definitely balancing between splurging on things I really want and things I have to eliminate or find a creative way to cut the expense. I am a perfectionist and love fashion and décor. Balling on a budget while planning this wedding has become a sport and a job. lol!

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Yes, Amen! I would rather cut costs now, than stress over finances after the wedding.

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Yes, lord! Pinterest is the devil. lol! One of my bridesmaids is an event planner and is crafty, which is a God Send. DIY is a way to go with a lot of the smaller tasks! Thank you for your input!

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Agreed wrong business. It is humbling because I know what I want for my day but not being able to afford it or find a justifiable reason to pay the amount even if I could makes it a challenge.

I feel you, in the beginning, our budget was $10,000, but know it got increased due to family and our customs and culture. We both come from Mexican families and there are a lot of factors that collide with our American way. When searching online and venders here at wedding wired, it is hard to find what I need to meet the expectation of our family and to follow our customs. it is customs to have a rehearsal dinner in America, but in Mexico, we have the after-party that starts after the wedding ends and it goes al the way till morning and later has another after-after party (my family loves to party). the good thing that in the Mexican culture, we have sponsors for the wedding. Each of the sponsors pays for one section of your wedding; like one of your a sponsor pay for the centerpieces. But, it hard to finds sponsors for us and if we do they will pick what they like. I was a pain finding the invitation, my whole family all gave their opinion and they were unhelpful and some negative. ontop of that, the invite list is also a pain with drama with our family and having to banned people have been hard. Making a wedding is hard, but its harder and stressful to pleas the people, like in my case, the family. the funny thing is that they don't see how expensive it is and they believed that they can do better.

View Quoted Comment OMG! I can relate to a lot of what you’ve written. I can’t imagine the hurdle of combining cultures. I love the idea of sponsors, but it does come with strings attached. I’m considered the giving family member who helps everyone out when they are in a bind so asking people to be financially responsible for things they should be responsible for is a struggle for me. A lot of my family members have not attended a wedding before (those who are married went to the courthouse) so they have no clue how expensive it is. I had to come to terms and put my foot down regarding them paying for their own things, which relieves me of stress! I hope you have a great wedding. Make sure you have comfortable shoes since you’ll be dancing all night!

Thank you for this post! Our wedding is in 7 months and I’m working on solidifying our last few vendors. At the beginning of planning, I was so excited that I thought “this just comes with the territory.” We didn’t select anything we can’t comfortably pay for but I’m having a very hard time sitting with the fact that we are spending so much money on one day. Luckily we chose a venue where we can stock our own bar and food is included in the rental, but we live in the DC area and I feel like there are so many upcharges here. Maybe this is true for other areas too. Cake vendors are quoting me almost 1k for a wedding of only 135-150 people, there is pressure to provide a shuttle bus (not necessary but requested by some guests bc they don’t want to drink and drive, etc. I’m planning to save where I can. There is so much on social media that pressures many brides to have a GRAND and SUPER LUXE event and sometimes I sit back and wonder, where is all that money coming from?!! I agree with you—-as long as I’m there with my groom and we are happy, that’s all that matters.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for your comment. I was hoping I wasn’t alone in my feelings. Planning a wedding and preparing for a marriage is an emotional rollercoaster. $1k for a cake? Yikes! Maybe you can find some alternatives. Pinterest may give you some cool ideas. My friend is a wedding planner advised me that some people get cakes from Walmart, Publix’s, some other upscale grocery stores. That can be an option if you are open minded. As far as the shuttle, I commend your guest for being responsible. It is not your responsibility to provide transportation. If there are a lot of people wanting a bus, maybe you can price one out. Divide the cost per each guest and give them the option to put their share to reserve the transportation. Some may not agree with that, but the cost may be similar if they were to use Uber, etc! Or maybe rent a van, pay a friend/family member to drive the other guests to their destination. IDK what will work for you, but I just wanted to provide some alternatives. Social media does effect our standards, even I have to check my thoughts and not compare because I don’t know their story and no situation is perfect. I pray you have the wedding that makes you happy! Sorry for the long reply!