It has been three months since I got engaged and the surrealness of my pending marriage has not worn off yet. In a few short months, I will become a wife, that still sounds crazy to me! This is my second engagement/marriage and this time around wedding planning has been vastly different.
My fiance and I have planned a short engagement so we are in full wedding planning mode. We pretty much have nailed down all of the major items but still have a long to-do list. My priority is to ensure we plan a wedding that is going to make both of us happy. Unlike my first wedding, which really wasn’t a wedding at all. I got married at the courthouse because of a major time crunch.
Despite my love for all things extra I am opting to keep my wedding simple and classic. Ten years ago I would have probably planned a wedding that was over the top and pretentious. My fiance and I have no desire to spend an excessive amount of money on a wedding. The average cost of a wedding in our city is $27,000 which is an absurd amount of money to spend on one day. We’d much rather put that money towards a new home. Here’s how my fiance and I have managed to keep our sanity during this process:
Wedding Planning has Been Casual
Of course as soon as my fiance and I announced our engagement everyone wanted to know the wedding date, which we decided immediately. I definitely engrossed myself into all things wedding for the first few weeks of my engagement. That tapered off once we decided on the ceremony and reception venues. There hasn’t been too much agonizing over which vendors to use. We know exactly what we want and have been hiring people that can execute our vision.
We Set a Realistic Budget
Once we decided on having a traditional ceremony and reception, we set our budget. And quickly found out that wedding venues are crazy expensive. Several different scenarios were considered before we found the perfect ceremony and reception venue. I was discouraged initially because of the huge price tags attached to most of the venues I fell in love with. That was until we found a beautiful outdoor location that cost less than $200 to rent. On top of coming across a brand new location for our reception, in which the owner didn’t charge a rental fee, we just have to pay for the bar and we can bring outside food, which is major.
I Didn’t Stress Over My Wedding Dress
Of course, I was all about my dress as soon as I got engaged and did stress about it just a little. However, not over what I was going to wear. I was more stressed about finding a dress that was within my budget. If left to my own devices, I could easily spend $3,000 on a dress. However, Bae and I have goals and I don’t want to spend an excessive amount of money on a dress I am only going to wear once. After about a thousand internet searches I ended up finding my dress at David’s Bridal and I came in under budget! My wedding shoes are a different story I am ready to risk it all to have the perfect shoe but I am going to reel it in and do what is sensible, maybe, lol.
The Honeymoon is a Priority
We started planning the honeymoon before our ceremony and reception venues where selected! We made a list of locations and started pricing them out one by one. Only to realize that most of them were out of our budget, which is why we axed the idea of having a destination wedding. However, I came across a travel deal through my bank, USAA, that was too good to pass up. The total cost of our five day-four night Caribbean honeymoon, flights included $588.
Our Guests List is Limited
My fiance and I are adamant about celebrating our first step into marriage surrounded by our favorite people which is why we opted for a smaller wedding. While I’d love to invite all of my Navy friends and every one of my first cousins that’s not realistic for my budget. It was tough deciding who made the cut and even harder figuring out who would be allowed a plus one. Not to mention deciding if we’d allow children, which we ultimately decided against. Our guest list was made based on what was best for us.
I’m actually proud that I haven’t gotten caught up and gone off the rails planning a wedding that I’d probably regret in five years. My focus is on marrying one of my favorite people and having a great life with him.
If you are married, what was the favorite part of your wedding, what is your biggest regret?
11 Comments
CONGRATS!!! I’ve been following you for almost a 5?yrs and I’m happy for you.
Thank you!
I’m so excited for you! I too have a 2nd time around marriage! We wanted a simple wedding ceremony as well. We realized venues were cheaper for weekdays and holidays, so we got married on a Labor Day Monday! Since our guest list was smaller for the actual ceremony, I had other “showers” for the guest not coming. My favorite part was realizing I was marrying a man who was sound financially and had bigger plans for our future besides an expensive one day event! Still the best decision I ever made! It’ll be worth every minute of the process!
Thank you! If we weren’t so committed to the day that would have been a great idea. Venues down here are so freaking expensive. I swear weddings are the biggest scam ever lol. I’m mostly excited about the reception, I’m ready to party with my fam.
I just got married in May after being with my now husband for 11 years. We did everything exactly how we wanted it. We spent money on the things that mattered to us (food and photography) but kept costs way down by inviting only 30 people and finding deals wherever we could. That way we got what felt like an extravagant wedding on a tiny budget. Overall I am so happy with how everything went and honestly don’t have any regrets because we did everything the way we wanted and didn’t let others tell us what to do. I hope your day goes the same! When is your wedding?
Hello,
I am so happy for you. I kept it simple yes budget friendly. I made my own decor for the most part. How did you get a sweet deal on the honeymoon, I haven’t taken one yet! Can you please give me details. Lol
Thanks you are beautiful.
Thank you. I was gonna go the DIY route but I didn’t wanna commit. I wanna just wanna coast into the wedding lol.
Hello,
Hey congrats ma’am. I kept it simple yes budget friendly. I made my own decor for the most part. How did you get a sweet deal on the honeymoon, I haven’t taken one yet! Can you please give me details. Lol
Thanks you are beautiful.
Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! I’m sure you will have an amazing wedding and still be under budget. Sounds like you are on the right track. You are one of my favorite bloggers and I always look forward to hearing and seeing what you are up too. Keep up the wonderful work!!
Thank you Nicole!
Congratulations!! First I’m so glad you are back with wonderful blog posts. My husband and I made a major rule at our engagement. We didn’t want to owe anyone when it was all over.
We also attended different wedding shows which is perfect for wedding giveaways and discounts.
Congrats again xoxo