Alright ladies and gents-
Let’s talk about it: *shudder*
Wedding Costs.

If you’re money conscious, like me, having a huge wedding is something you’ve always wanted, and are terrified of the thought of the amount of money that goes into planning and “throwing” a wedding. DEAR JESUS! That money though…

I got engaged in early July, and due to my white girl obsession with everything fall, I wanted a fall AND only a fall wedding. Obviously, it was too soon for me to plan my “dream Pinterest inspired wedding” in less than three months. We opted for next September. As an engagement gift, I received a binder from The Knot, aka the holy grail for wedding obsessed women. I obviously hopped right into wedding planning. For anyone in my shoes, or almost in my shoes, I’m gonna break down this realization:

“Well, weddings are fairly expensive, everyone knows that”

flip through first section

“Do you have to only pay for the reception place?”

flip to next page

“AND the church/temple/place to get married ?! WAIT HOW MUCH?!”

google cheap alternatives…then get yelled at by family for googling cheap alternatives

“Ok, soo the most expensive part will probably be my dress, the church, and the reception”

How much can photographers REALLY cost?

“Holy…”

Let’s just elope

**mother cries. You cry. Friends cry. Fiance gets wine for all aforementioned.

Ok, so we get it right? Right. Weddings are expensive. And I curse whoever made this a multi(probably)BILLION dollar industry. After watching my sister, brother, and plenty of friends get married, I’ve picked up a couple interesting tips that you may want to know about.

• Your dress: Is it just me, or are there other people who think its crazy that you spend an immense amount of money on a dress that you wear once? On one hand, it’s insane, and you all know it. On the other hand, when will you wear something as fabulous again? Uh…what about a Tuesday? I happen to know that Lord & Taylor, Macy’s,Bloomies, and Neiman ALL have beautiful gowns, and some come in white. And some come in under $100. If you get my drift.
  • PS- My bestie got married in a gorg bridesmaid gown in ivory. Talk about a savvy diva.
• Your ceremony: Depending on how you want your wedding to go down, there may not be an alternative to spending the cash to get yourself recognized…unless you have a friend and he/she can marry you. Then you’re in luck.
• Your photographer: Your sorority sister takes sick pictures? Score. Get that bitty on lock for your engagement shoot. As for the wedding pics, shop around. Talk to photographers in your area. A cheap package can run you a couple hundred without the insane amount of frills they “add-on” to sell you on your own wedding day. You can do books and different size prints yourself. Snapfish or zazzle makes that stuff super easy.
• Flowers: Check out alternatives for flowers. Broaches, dried flowers, sheet music (ok, that one is hard), burlap (for that rustic type of girl), beads, lanterns (if you want them to look like they live in Hogwarts), or even feathers. If you’re stuck on flowers, you gotta give and take a little. Maybe compromise. Have flowers in the ceremony and an alternative in your reception. Girl (guy), it’s your special day. Get it together.
• Another tip: Get off the internet. Stop looking for alternatives for what you’ve already decided on. You’ll end up spending more money on MORE stuff you probably won’t use.
• Reception Site: Night time wedding on a Saturday? Open that wallet a little more, please! Try a day time on a Sunday afternoon. Or a night-time on a Thursday…in January. The reception hall will be paying YOU.

Anyway, that’s all for cheap weddings 101. Tune in for my next ranting break-down about weddings in a week or so 🙂

xoxo -Kate