Photographers

I'm feeling pretty frustrated today.  About a week and a half ago I was doing some research on photographers and came across Wedding Bug.  I was absolutely thrilled because the images they posted were brilliant (and suited to my very picky tastes) and had two packages within my budget.  Needless to say I was completely on board!

Today I finally got a hold of them and they let me know that they do not allow their photographers to meet with the bride/groom before the wedding.  So...they just show up and you hope they take good pictures.  I'm sorry but that's a risk too big for me to take.  And because I'm such a visual person AND I'm into photography, having a great photographer who really gets me is vastly important.  I really want that relationship with them.

Needless to say I'm not finding anything under $1,000.  And I can't tell you how frustrating this is.  I tried pushing the photography budget up by $500 to be $1,000 and that would push us over our $2,500 budget no matter what.

So now I have to keep doing research and brainstorm.  Maybe I'll find someone in my budget for that price.  If not I really have to make sacrifices in the budget to make this work.  And that sucks...

I realize, though, that photographers are trying to live off of their price packages.  So I understand why they're so pricey.  But for people like me, who really don't have $1,500 to spend on photography...it just sucks.

I knew my picky tastes would come to bite me in the butt but it's getting really frustrating.

Venue!

Yesterday my fiance, his aunt, and myself went over to a family friend's yard where we were thinking about holding the wedding.  Well...I'm sold completely.  It's absolutely beautiful and for FREE!  Without further adieu, I have pics!

This is her home, so big and SO beautiful

Right inside her home; SO LOVELY!!

This is a picture of the pool house and the pool (it's covered up now), she apparently has a fountain that she can hook up in the pool for the wedding.  Um...YES PLEASE!

One of the two balconies she has in her home

Now for yard images!

This is the other side of the wall with the ivy, it's a nice little private garden area

There's just so much room and so much to work with!  She even has some decorations she'd be happy to let us use such as candelabras, fake ivy, or an arch that we can decorate so we don't have to rent one.  Needless to say I'm completely and positively thrilled to have found this place!

Wedding venue saving tip: Ask around!  Your family (or future family) may have a friend you don't know about that has a giant house, yard, and garden for you to use!  If there is absolutely nobody else, do research online.  Our other option was a place for only $300!  You definitely don't need to spend an arm and a leg on the venue!

Budget: $0

Spent: $0

Wedding Dress!

When we began budgeting the wedding, I decided I didn't want to spent over $50 on my wedding dress.  About a year ago when I was half fantasizing-half planning, I thought $200 was reasonable.  But, as you well know, life happens and our perspectives shift.  So $50 for my wedding dress it was!  Which sounds ridiculous...even to me.  But I had several plans to make this happen:

1. Go thrift store hunting.  I know there are several thrift stores within a 10 minute walk from my apartment that sell beautiful wedding dresses!  Of course 90% of them look like they came directly from 1985...but I knew eventually something would come along that would just blow me away!  And wedding dresses at thrift stores average between $20-100 depending on where you are.
2. Alter a dress I already have.  Because I do photography work, I found a beautiful wedding dress at the thrift store for $20.  I used it for a few photo shoots (with models) but I myself can't fit into.  If I couldn't find anything in the thrift store, I was prepared to alter that dress to fit me.
3. Look at bridesmaid dresses!  After all, they are lovely and much less expensive than an actual bridal gown.
4. Look at prom dresses right after homecoming/prom or on off season.  I know I've seen some amazing prom dresses in an array of styles and colors that are highly discounted because prom/homecoming had just ended or it was off season.
5. It's okay to have a short skirt!  It's no secret that the more material it takes to make a dress the more expensive it can get.  If you're not too picky about having a long gown, look at shorter dresses.  I know you can easily find a nice white sundress for $20-30 at any clothing store around the end of winter/beginning of spring or summer.

Thankfully I actually didn't even need to fall back onto plan B.  When I went to Ohio last week I knew I wanted to look at dresses with my mom.  We went to the local thrift store and, per usual, most of the dresses were beaded, poofy, meshy messes from the 80s.  But there was one.  I wasn't really sure about it at first but decided to try it on anyway.  

It fit like a glove!  And it's actually quite lovely despite the terrible images/messy apartment.  At the end of the day I spent $0 on my dress!  My mother so kindly covered the cost (which was a whopping $25) and now I have my wedding dress!  With that, we saved $50 from our overall budget cost.

Budget Wedding

About a month ago I was surfing through pinterest when I came across this image that has been floating around...

Now, I'm no stranger to the massive cost of weddings; I've watched my fair share of Say Yes to the Dress and Four Weddings.  But the way this image was worded is what really bothered me.  It's as if you really have no other choice than to fork over $5,000 for an engagement ring and $1,000 for a wedding dress.  I realize there are couples out there who are able and willing to spend $27,000+ on their wedding--more power to you!  But not everyone is able and willing.

I am one of them.  The annual salary in my household is less than the cost of the average wedding and I'm completely unwilling to take up a credit card or two in order to finance that "perfect" wedding.   From the beginning my fiance and I knew we wanted a low budget wedding but we weren't entirely sure how to make it happen.  I'm still not entirely sure how we're going to make it happen, but I know with some creativity, help, and compromise it's entirely possible.

My wedding budget is $2,500 tops.  My goal is to come in under my budget by several hundred dollars.

And I'd love to share my journey and knowledge with all you men and women who, like me, don't want to throw away money to achieve that perfect day.  After all, how much money you put into your wedding does not increase your chances for a long, happy marriage (or even having a perfect wedding!)