Wedding planning is making me cry every other day.

I hated the planning part totally. Especially all the talking on the phone. But I found out early in that keeping it as simple as possible made things flow a lot easier (especially since we were on a tight budget). I also found a venue that did all inclusive packages and that helped so much.

Keep calling around for photographers! I was able to find one for a complete steal for 1.5 hours of coverage.

I'm sorry that wedding planning has caused you so much stress. It gets to all of us, try to take a step back for a couple days if you can and give yourself a minute to breathe.

Have you already purchased a dress from one of those shops? If you haven't, I would definitely recommend looking into the dresses on Azazie.com . Most of them are less that $400-$500 and you can try them on in your home for $15 each (covers shipping both ways). If you decide to order one, they do custom sizing for free so you probably wouldn't need any additional alterations!

As for your wedding colors, you could absolutely still change them! It doesn't matter if everyone is expecting purple, all it takes is a quick "hey guys, I've actually decided we're gonna do ____ instead!".

Don't feel like you have to host a certain kind of wedding to please everyone around you. It doesn't sound like what you're planning is really the wedding you want or feel comfortable funding. I would talk to your FH about having a more casual wedding/celebration (if you wanted to elope instead). This should be a happy time for you, do what's best for you and your FH! Best of luck to you

In regards to photographer, we booked with Corner House Photography (we are having our wedding in the Fort Myers area but I'm pretty sure they travel all over the state). Our package of 8 hours is only $1500! Something to consider. I hope it gets better for you. We are planning our wedding across the country too.

Try checking Thumbtack for less expensive vendors. For photography, a lot of times there are vendors who are just starting out, or they are trying to build their portfolio, so they don't cost as much as the big established companies.

Take a deep breath.... now exhale. Often we forget to breathe during these big moments in our lives and it adds to the stress. Honestly, I am at the 6 month mark as well and that's when my anxiety started to kick in. Worrying about the money we're spending, the money friends and family are spending, and every little detail in between that still needs to get done. At the end of the day it'll all come together. I need to constantly reassure myself that it will all be fine.

As far as everyone's opinions, take it with a grain of salt. Be open to suggestions, but ultimately this is yours and your fiance's day.

When I was looking for photography I noticed how expensive it was. Keep getting quotes from other vendors and ask if they'll provide a discount for paying in full (if you can do this). We are getting married in Orlando and found a great photography at a great price and she is soooo nice. Her business is Jesse Giles Photography. Try reaching out and seeing if she travels and what the cost would be or if not, does she know of any fair priced photographers in the South Florida area.

Has the bridal party ordered dresses? If not, it's not too late to change the color. Do what will make you happy.

Remember to breathe! I'll keep reminding myself to do the same lol.

View Quoted Comment Hey Rihanna, no the dresses haven’t been ordered. I’m so behind (according to WW I was supposed to have a food vendor picked out in June ?!? What the actual F?!) because every time I reach out to someone or send an inquiry I’m so shell shocked by the price I break out in hives and start crying. I feel so dumb for not playing into the Disney thing and planning my wedding when I was 5. I’m just telling the party to pick whatever shade of purple they feel cute in. I’m tired and working 50-60 hours a week, it’s impossible to organize all of this. And wedding coordinators want like $500 an hour to do it for you. I’m so angry it’s outrageous. And the looks of pity I get when I go shopping of “oh sorry, we don’t have anything less than $2,000.” Where are all of these brides that have infinite dollars to spend? Are any of them working for their money? Crying *again* just typing this message.

People have such high expectations as wedding attendees. For 30 people we are paying $330 per person, which is $65 per hour for someone to atone our event, drink our alcohol and eat our food and cake. We aren’t asking for any gifts because we’ve been together and lived together for so long (our wedding will be our 7th year anniversary). It just sucks.

That's really unfortunate and I'm sorry to hear it's taking such a toll on you. I've definitely cried myself to sleep a few times here and there myself. I WISH my venue was $3700! As far as photos go, $2100 is pretty much what we're paying but that also includes videography!

I say check out Bark or Thumbtack. A lot of them are decently priced. I actually hired a photographer off of Thumbtack for our engagement photos. I hope everything works out for you Melody!

Do you have the flexibility to move your date to a less popular day of the week? I have found people were willing to give me discounts because it's a slow period for weddings and ours is on a Sunday.

I was successful with looking on the knot for photographer options. They have the ability to sort by price. I did that and then did some Intel on Instagram to check out their portfolio. We are paying $1700 for 8 hours in Vegas with a complimentary engagement photo shoot. The pictures are really good and the photographer is amazing so far. Shes very responsive and personable.

I have found non-traditional wedding dresses on lulu.com and adrianna papell for much cheaper. David's Bridal has a lower price point.

Have you been able to delegate any responsibilities or planning for someone else to help you?

I am sorry this has not been enjoyable. I know it's hard to not get so caught up in the cost and budget since money doesn't grow on trees. I just keep reminding myself, most people probably won't miss the little details of the wedding so try not to get caught up on the small stuff. As for decor and all things wedding, FB has market places with used wedding items. I have found votives and battery candles for so much cheaper.

Good luck. We are here for you!!!

View Quoted Comment No, unfortunately we are intransigent on the date. 4/4 is very significant to us. It’s FH’s half birthday. It’s the day he asked me to be his girlfriend. It’s the day he proposed. I find it kind of weird that people choose their anniversary date based on what the venue’s availability is.

There is is so much to delegate and do. My maid of honor is planning the bachelorette. We are skipping having a bridal shower AND an engagement party to make it easier on ourselves and everyone else. We don’t need gifts anyway. We are having the wedding in Florida to accommodate our entire friends and family group (we are the ones who left them in Florida to move to Seattle earlier his year).

View Quoted Comment Also, thank you for taking the time to respond.

View Quoted Comment No problem. Just take it one task at a time. I made a list of everything I need to accomplish. I just chipped away at each one individually. Now I'm to the point where I have dates of when I need to do certain things as the date gets closer.

Our date truly has no significance. We wanted to get married sooner rather than later. We decided on a date and it was available. Being that we are getting married on that date makes it significant in our lives now.

I’m sorry, girl. Check out ThumbTack, just like everyone else suggested. They have people that are starting out and really want the exposure. We were able to hire our photographer when we saw him taking pictures at a club. He was just started out and we’d see him around the city. The pictures came out GREAT and it was A quarter of what we we had been quoted for. Just focus on all the big things then tackle the small ones with help.

As far as the dress goes, I shopped the sales at David’s Bridal. They had a rack with beautiful $100 dresses. I ended up finding one that was originally priced at $700.

I know it’s a lot, but you got this!!! Take a step back, enjoy your time with FS and then come back in with a fresh mind. Good luck!!!

I'm sorry you're feeling like this. Planning is overwhelming. Take a step back and breathe.

Try Facebook marketplace for a dress and possibly other decor items. I found a beautiful ballgown with tags still on that fit for 100.00. Also, utilize things like groupon, rakuten etc. You may be able to get some savings.

Whener you're feeling overwhelmed, walk away for a bit. Good luck, you got this!

So my photo person is K&R Photography in Winter Springs Florida. Found she and her husband on Thumbtack. Very very reasonable, for my dress I paid under $700 from Ivy Bridal Shop Altamonte Springs Florida. Keosha was wonderful she stayed within my budget. Very friendly good quality wedding dresses Flowers check out Nurseries that sell to Publix and Whole foods you will save a lot and not pay florist prices. Hope this helps. Do it step by step make a list take a deep breath.

I cried a lot! I cried because of my low budget, I cried when My baker cancelled and I had a nearly impossible time finding another one, I cried when the dress I had my heart set on for months was discontinued, I cried when I found out my band didn't fit properly. I cried at a ton of things. It's totally normal. It's stressful

View Quoted Comment I’m crying every other day. My budget is $5k for me and $5k for my FH. We thought that would be plenty. It’s not even close. We’ve lived in Europe for six months on less than $10K. My father is also passed which makes it extremely emotional.

I’m so sorry this has been like this for you! I think we all have at least a night of crying, sometimes it can be a lot but when I’m feeling like this I try to remember this is something for you to enjoy! I live in south Florida and things could get pricey but with a lot of research you can find some hidden gems, my photographer is solomio photography. Also with the dress you can look online at anomalie! They make it custom for you and prices vary but they are pretty decent! Hope everything get better for you and I’m happy to give you any info I might have

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I lost my parents when I was a young teen, I know it makes planning hard. My budget was about 1500 and we definitely went over that. I knew we would though. My love didn't quite understand the cost of a wedding. If I wouldn't have had Amazon, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree I don't know what I would have done! it's ok to cry, this is an emotional time. It was hard to dress shop without my mom even though i'm 50 years old. It was hard to not have my dad to walk me down the aisle. I definitely feel for you

View Quoted Comment Thank you Stefanie. I checked anomalie and it is too late to order from them (they are only doing dresses for dates after June 20). The hardest part is being 3 hours behind Florida time. I can’t taste any of the food in person or see any of the bridesmaids dresses before the big day. I feel like we are already compromising so much to make it easier for everyone who wants to attend to attend.

Have you tried Blue sky Bridal or brides for a cause? They are both in Seattle and donated dresses for at lower price points.