Weddingbee Blog

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Today, I want to talk about budgets in general. There is an interesting trend that I’ve noticed in the “wedding world”: those with large budgets can tend to be criticized for their choices. I don’t think that’s really fair.

First off, I will say that I consider myself an extremely low-budget bride.

Yes, I realize that there are people out there spending much less than me and would consider my budget ginormous, but weddings in Austin are expensive and I’m working my ass off to make it as cheap as possible. So yes, I am most definitely a low budget bride.

However, it really irritates me to see other people put down brides who are spending a lot on their wedding. It’s mean, spiteful, and downright unnecessary. If a bride has $10,000 to spend on a dress - more power to her. Lord knows if I had a huge budget I’d totally be buying Julianna by Christos - I’m not entirely sure of the price, but I’ve seen it used going for well over $2,500 so it’s not cheap! My point is, if a bride has the money to have an extravagant wedding, what’s wrong with that? Sure, it’s only one day, but it’s a freaking huge day. If you want to spend $75,000 on that one day, and you have the means to, then I think that’s awesome.

I’ve seen a lot of negativity towards brides with larger budgets lately, especially when the bride or groom’s parents are paying for the wedding. I’ve seen so many people referring to “mommy and daddy” paying for weddings and people indicating that it’s ridiculous, childish, or immature to allow your parents to spend a ton of money on your wedding. When (and if) I have a daughter someday, I would absolutely love to be able to buy her a Pnina Tornai dress, hold her wedding at the Driskill in downtown Austin, or buy her some Loubies to wear with her dress. Just because someone has the means to throw a lavish event and wants to do so for their son or daughter, that’s no reason to criticize them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with allowing your parents to pay for your wedding if they want to, and allowing them to spoil you as much as they want. If they do not have the means to throw you an extravagant wedding and you’re still trying to get them to, that’s a whole different story.

I feel like so often people assume that budget determines everything. You can’t assume that a small-budget bride is going to have terrible shoes, a run-down venue and no extras. In that same sentiment, it’s completely unfair to assume that a bride with a high budget is going to outsource everything, have letter-pressed invitations with a hired calligrapher, and a custom-made dress. (Not that there’s anything wrong with those things - I’m a huge proponent of all three! ) I know plenty of brides with big budgets that are still taking on tons of DIY projects and making their weddings extremely personal and unique. Plus, who says that weddings with no DIY projects are somehow “less” than those with tons of DIY projects? Just because a bride doesn’t take on a ton of crafts that does not mean that her wedding isn’t as good as one where everything is homemade. Just sayin’.

But, I digress. I know I’m kind of babbling here, but I just hate to see other brides being made fun of for something as ridiculous as how much money they’re spending on their wedding. I feel like we should all support one another, regardless of silly things like money. We’re all in this together here. We all have a common goal - a beautiful wedding. How much or how little we spend on our way to accomplishing that goal is completely immaterial. We should be supporting one another and cheering each other on regardless. It makes me so sad to see a bride who is discouraged because someone told her she’s being ridiculous for spending X amount of money on her wedding. It’s really just sad.

So, less fighting, more hugging. Mmkay?

I know I can’t be the only one that feels this way! Why do you think that there tends to be such a negative attitude towards those with larger budgets? And I know this can be a touchy subject, so let’s all try to play nice, please!