Linking up with Elizabeth at Life with Elizabeth
for Bridal Talk Tuesday!
I decided to write this post on the budget.
This has been one of the most difficult things so far
in the wedding planning because we didn't
realize how out of control it can get without one.
It's was easy for me to pick things that I thought I wanted
but once I learned the price I was quickly not interested.
Here's an idea of the average wedding costs-
I decided to make a different budget for each wedding venue
that we were considering and it was very helpful in breaking
down the price differences in each place.
My favorite budgeting tool I've found so far is the one on
The Knot. It's user friendly and includes everything that
needs to be included.
This tool helped me to remember to get prices on every different
area involved. And it is also easy to print to be able to show
my parents the progress, etc.
The big ticket items in our budget:
1. Alcohol- so expensive, you don't
even want to know how much our
open bar is!
2. Food- obviously we want our guests
well fed
3. Photographer- this was THE MOST
important thing to me. And [KP] & I
both love the photographer we chose.
4. Site fees- beach weddings aren't as inexpensive
as everyone thinks
5. Videographer- we are splurging a little on this
as I read it is the #1 bridal regret
Once we got the budget nailed down I was one happy
girl! We chose our venue based on what we were getting for
the price and of course, the location.
It didn't hurt that our venue includes the use of these FREE
of charge!
They can be found here for about $7 a chair to rent.
They can be found here for about $7 a chair to rent.
My fiance' thinks I am crazy but I have fallen
in love with these Chiavari chairs. For real. Aren't they
gorgeous?!
Also, it totally makes your day when you get a
quote thats under budget :)
More money to spend on frivolous things such
as these:
Or these:
Any of my other blogger brides make a budget
and actually stick to it?
I hope everyone is having a great week!
I will share some of my Lilly sale finds soon :)
xoxo,
Little Miss Southern Love
5 comments :
I do not even want to begin thinking about budgeting a wedding! Yikes! I'm horrible at budgeting my own life. I love those chairs! And I cannot wait to find my perfect wedding shoe either- def something about which the budget shouldn't matter. Love those stamps! They are a must! xoxo
I agree. Budgeting is so difficult. All of the important things (dress, alcohol, photographer, etc) are so expensive and there are small costs that really add up (gratuity for all your venders, dress alteration fees). We hired a planner and she is fabulous. We had an extensive first meeting and she calculated a budget for us based on the things Corey and I felt were important - then she sent us three to look at with different guest counts and it includes every last little detail. I'm glad we have her or I think I would go way overboard. (Plus she's paid for herself by having the upgraded chair and specialty linen fee waved because she's got such a good relationship with our vender.)
Love your wedding shoes - I think they're an important splurge. I think you and KP are so smart to be thinking about your budget early on. At the end of the day you'll be married and that's all that will matter!
Our budget has been so hard too. Basically the food and alcohol are the same price so it's outrageously expensive. Ahh!! I think part of it is Charlotte.
Wowww I never realized how much the cost of a wedding is these days!! The photographer would definitely be most important to me, too. Sounds like you did a great job budgeting!
I totally understand the love for Chiavari chairs...I'm getting the same ones for our wedding next year! :) So fun!!!
Liesl :)
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