How Can Anyone Afford This!?

Just do what you can afford or extend your engagement a little bit. There's nothing wrong with having a small wedding with just immediate family.

My FH and I are both beginning teachers with student loans, car payments, insurance, so I understand the struggle. The only assistance we are getting is my family paying for the venue ($1300) and his mother paying for the "rehearsal dinner" which is just dinner for the bridal party, our parents, and my grandparents at our favorite local barbecue restaurant (so about $200). The rest of it is on us. We cut the guest list down to 50 to start because the venue is small and lends itself to an intimate wedding. We are having the whole wedding and reception in the same venue. Yes, this may mean we need tents and heaters (Halloween wedding), but it was cheaper than a second venue. I plan on DIYing all of the decorations, but I am an obnoxiously crafty and artsy person. The decorations will also be minimal because it is such a beautiful venue as it is. I'm doing my own hair and makeup because anything is a step up from my day to day. The biggest thing, for us, is budgeting way ahead of time. We have a slightly over two year engagement and we have been setting aside money each month since we got engaged. Not too much, a few hundred dollars. It means we don't have the fluff money to spend each month, but it means we are having our dream wedding.

We set a budget of $5000 to begin with and we shouldn’t end up spending even that much. We have a guest list of 50 people. It was difficult to narrow it down but it made us think about the really important people and who we really felt like needed to be there. We also found a venue with an elopement package. It’s $1200 and it includes so much in that price. Also diy everything you can.

I think people just need to be honest and open with their partner from the beginning. Establish what you can realistically do. Don’t let others opinions dictate what you’ll do for your wedding - especially when they aren’t contributing financially.

View Quoted Comment Did you end up booking at art factory or kolo Klub?

View Quoted Comment Not yet. We are going to kolo on Saturday to discuss!

I know that us gals are all different and have our own way of doing things, but for starters you and your FH should set aside a budget and stick to it. 2nd I would suggest cutting down on some aspects that are really unnecessary. For example instead of 160+ Guest why not try going for a smaller amount? Me and my FH started with 200...then 120...and now with our wedding being in September we just narrowed our list down to 60 ( 30 on his side 30 on mine) granted not everyone will be able to come but I'd rather have money to spend on our honeymoon/ house as opposed to fishing out thousands for 1 day. Also, if you're open too it try setting your date for during the week when venues are cheaper. I live in NYC and the venue i picked prices dropped significantly for having our day on a Thursday as opposed to Saturday ( $7,000 Cheaper) I wish i had a fairy godmother to pay for all of this but hey...work with what you have, turn it out, be fabulous, and remeber it's about you and hubby at the end of the day😉

It sounds as if you are stuck on the guest list being where it's at and it's a major cost for your wedding. Only you know your budget and this is extremely personal. Your choices now are to extend your timeline or have your wedding at a state park or local park (some settings are just beautiful) and then have a barbecue or so after. I think this type of wedding for being so basic gets a bad rap. However, some brides like this feeling while others can be horrified for their vision of a dream wedding. This is really personal and up to you but it sounds like it's important for you to have the vision along with a large wedding; which is perfectly fine. You would have no other choice but to make the date later with this option.

I know how you feel @Amanda. Have you made any decisions yet?