Thursday was a huge day for us in our wedding planning - we confirmed our reception venue and put down the deposit! So exciting....and expensive...and stressful... My parents have given us a VERY generous budget to work with while planning our wedding. Unfortunately, everything out here in VA is more expensive than in the midwest and the budget isn't going as far as we'd like it to. So far, we have the church, reception, and the photographer and we're already stretching it thin. In my mind, on Thursday, I thought "I need a few more things for the day of - a dress, entertainment, flowers, transportation - we can't be getting this close to budget this soon..." Ok, that is the nice, summarized version of all my thoughts. Enter stressed, frustrated, (kind of mean) Kristin...
In response to my (over)reaction, some people just said "don't worry, things will work out" Me: "HOW?! Money just doesn't appear!" I appreciate the thought, but that doesn't do it to calm me down. <insert various frustrated, impatient and sometimes rude comments here :-/ > Finally, I got to thinking about the decisions we had made. Our reception venue is exactly what we want and it includes things like decorations and centerpieces that we can choose from and use on our day. Our photographer's contract includes an engagement session, bridal sitting, and tons of prints - even engagement prints we could use for Save the Dates. Potential huge savings! Oh, and we have a year to save up. We have known from the start that we'd need to save money to contribute for the wedding so now it's a matter of making a plan. Both James and I are coaching this spring. Our stipends - go to savings. I was just hired to teach summer school - money can go to savings. Our next year's tax returns - savings. Those things will add up quickly! We can do it...and that isn't even considering any changes to save money in our everyday lives. We need to be careful with how often we go out to dinner, drinks, and travel. We don't have a very active summer planned - only one vacation to the beach planned. This reduced spending will add up over a full year. It's a matter of keeping things prioritized and looking at the big picture.
Turns out my patient family and friends were right, everything will work out. But in the moment, I needed something to back that statement up. James and I will need to be more careful with our future decisions and realize that the extra $100 for this and $500 for that add up in the end. Our wedding will be perfect, just how we want it, and we will not have to break the bank for it. I am getting excited about continuing to plan and figure out new, fun, creative ways to make this day our own!
No comments:
Post a Comment