Weddingbee Blog

What is the number one rule of wedding planning? Any wedding planner will tell you: “STICK TO YOUR BUDGET!”

Well…we didn’t set a budget.

Canada’s New PLASTIC money! / Image via The Huffington Post

This may have been due to our naivety about how much a wedding really costs, and because we had set ideas about what sort of vendors we wanted to work with and what details we wanted at the wedding. I also planned to DIY a ton of stuff for the wedding, so I really didn’t know how much everything would cost. When we were looking for a venue and photographer, we had a few thousand bucks saved up as a couple, so we were all set (and then some!) for vendor deposits. We then made a savings plan that required both of us to save up a certain amount each month. With that plan intact, we would be able to pay for everything (we thought).

But the thing is, looking back on this magical number we doctored up…it wasn’t going to cover everything. It would have covered our venue, photographer, and dinner…but what about dresses, cake, decorations, hair, makeup, liquor, band/DJ, wedding rings, bridal-party gifts, or an officiant? Clearly this whole no-budget deal just wasn’t a wise choice.

But: we hadn’t even considered asking our parents to help out with the wedding. I guess we both felt like since we had just announced to our families ohbythewayimmarryingawoman…it wasn’t the right time to ask for cash to help out. But, our families made it known to us that they wanted to help.

My mom said she would pay for the dinner, Fiancee Eagle’s mom and step-dad said they would pay for an open bar and our flowers. Her dad agreed to pay for our music. My dad said he would pay for my dress (and so did my mom, so we’ll see who actually does!). Fiancee Eagle’s grandmother paid for our wedding cake. My aunts bought us antique teapots and milk glass, and contributed so.many.brooches. for the four brooch bouquets we are making. We have got to have the best families in the world. They were all so eager to help us out and contribute to our “budget.” We feel so blessed and grateful for all of their unique contributions.

That being said, our savings plan now looks a bit more realistic. Will we be able to afford a $10,000 honeymoon now because our families are helping out? Not at all. But, will we be able to afford a 4.5-star booked-last-minute Mexican resort honeymoon? I really hope so! We also plan to move right before the wedding, but we’ll have to pay double rent for July…or else we’d be moving merely days before the wedding. So that is another thing we’re going to have to be mindful of and save for.

In terms of purchases we make for the wedding, I look for the cheapest deal I can find. Why spend $12 renting a tablecloth when I can buy brand new ones for less than $9 during an online Black Friday sale? I also don’t like to pay over $2 for a brooch for the bouquets, and I would never buy a teapot for more than $8. (I’m sure my mom and aunts are laughing, because I know they’ve spent MUCH more than I’m willing to spend on these items.) So even though we don’t have a “budget,” I have my limits and I’m not acting like Miss Money Bags.

I will admit that while we didn’t initially “set a budget,” we definitely do have a spreadsheet documenting what we spend on everything. I don’t want this whole “no budget” to get out of control, and I want to make sure that we find the best prices possible for everything. We’ve also made sure that whenever someone contributes to our wedding we give them the appropriate thanks and gratitude they deserve…and the spreadsheet helps me with that a lot!

Did you have a “no budget” wedding, too? How do you keep track of what you’re spending?