How Frustrating is Wedding Planning
I have been dating my fiancé Evan for some time now. About. 7 years to be exact. With that being said, I’ve had lots of time to plan my dream wedding and make a pretty awesome Pinterest board before he even proposed. I pictured it would be near a beach, in a big white tent, with string lights everywhere and super tall centerpiece with flowers and greenery draping down from them. I pictured walking down the isle to live acoustic music and having wine bottles on everyones table for them to enjoy.
This past September, Evan popped the question and the real planning began. Once we figured out the budget we had to work with, I started contacting all the venues I could find in Charleston, SC. I quickly realized that if we wanted to afford the Charleston tent wedding of my dreams, pretty much everything else was going to have to go and we would all be eating pizza for dinner. This was so frustrating to me because every step of the way, the little details that I never thought I was going to have to budget for were taking up the majority of the money we had to spend! It took a few months of trial and error but I learned some ways to get crafty on how to cut cost on the things that don’t matter in order to save money to splurge on the things that you will have for a lifetime.
The first thing we did was figured out our non-negotiable’s. We wanted a tented reception, an outside ceremony and a place that had a hotel on site or very close for convenience. One we established those 3 must haves, I contacted every venue I could find with those 3 things in our price range. When all was said and done, we ended up picking a venue in Pennsylvania, near our family, that had space for an outside reception, a tented reception and a hotel on site. Now did everything match my Pinterest board exactly? no. But we got our top 3 must haves and we had money left over to make other things happen that we really wanted.
The second and most important thing I learned was to cut costs on things that no one will remember and to splurge on things that will last forever! For example centerpieces and flowers. Now I love flowers and think florists are amazing but I was mind blown when I talked to multiple florists and the bridesmaid bouquets alone cost over $1,000. That’s not even including my super tall centerpieces I wanted with flowers draping down them. Flowers would have easily cost me $5,000 and for what?! For them to die 3 days later. No thank you. So we started to find shortcuts. If you haven't seen Trader Joe’s Flowers and greenery section, you need to. They also let you call ahead to order greenery and bouquets! Once I learned that I could save thousands of dollars that way, I decided going that route instead of the florists sounded pretty great.
Lastly, you need to figure out what is important to you and what you will remember for years to come after your wedding. Is it an awesome DJ that kept the party going the whole night? Is it a photographer who captured all the beautiful moments that will remind you of how amazing your day was? Or is it your dream dress that made you feel the most beautiful you have ever felt? Whatever it is for you, make sure that the things you splurge on will be things that you will remember for a lifetime and not the things that will get tossed the next morning.
Other ways to cut costs?
Don’t have the budget to spend on hand written seating charts and signs? Get them printed by an online company (vista print and others print wedding signs now!)
Don’t opt for the fancier chairs & linens because no one will remember !
Stay simple on centerpieces. Thinking back I can barely remember 1 persons centerpiece out of the 5 weddings we attended last year.
Create your own invitations online!
keep your bridal party small because bouquets and gifts add up quick!
What to splurge on?
An amazing Dj can make or break your wedding .
a videographer who will capture moments that will bring back the love and merriment of that day every time you watch it.
The venue of your dreams that you will remember every time you think back on your big day .
A live painter who will hand you a piece of art that will hang in your home forever. & this is not a shameless plug! Whether you choose me or not, I think everyone needs one!
Honeymoon! because thats actually the only reason we all get married right?
Now what I hope for you is that you are able to make the wedding of your dreams come true and that those non-negotiable’s are possible for you on the most special day of your life. I Hope that everyone can make the wedding of their dreams a reality!