Being a wedding pro, I have an inside look on weddings. I’ve developed many relationships with vendors and have heard lots of great advice on weddings over the years. I wanted to take 10 days to share some of those things with you!

Today, we’ll chat about the budget!

Note: I am NOT a planner, but have seen a lot of different types of weddings in my almost 9 years of shooting. The examples I’ve used are based on actual weddings, but I won’t tell you which ones. 😉 Also, note to my vendor readers, I am by no means negating ANY of your vital roles in a wedding, just giving a few options!

One of the BEST pieces of advice I’ve heard on this topic is:

Pick 3-4 of the MOST important things to you and your groom.

A few examples:

Focus on guests budget

• Lots of guests
• Time with guests
• Great pictures

Maybe you have a TON of friends and family who have had a big impact on both of your lives, but you just can’t manage your dream venue.

Solution:

• Find a venue that holds a lot of guests that fits in your budget
• Do a first look so there are less formals to take after the wedding
• Since you’re saving in other areas of your budget, you can splurge on a photographer
• Have your wedding in the early afternoon (after lunch) and serve your guests dessert
• Don’t have alcohol at your wedding
• Have an after party at a local bar where you can hang out with guests (and friends you couldn’t invite to the wedding) and drink

Great food, top notch cake/desserts from the boutique dessert shop with your closest family and friends budget

You and your groom to be are big time foodies, LOVE desserts and want to share those loves with only the closest of your family and friends.

Solution:

• Book your favorite restaurant for the afternoon before their dinner rush and have a set menu
• Bonus points if the restaurant has music pipped in, so you can forgo a DJ
• Get a cake or a ton of desserts from your favorite dessert shop

What Bret and I did with our budget!

I figured you guys might be interested in OUR wedding! The most important thing to us was lots of people and a relaxing day.

Solution:

• To save on a venue fee, we had the wedding at my parents’ house (this is a saver in some ways, but we had to rent a LOT of stuff including – potties, tables, chairs, etc), but it was a very relaxing location. The kids at the wedding got to run around and play all afternoon
• We purchased white linens that have since been used multiple times
• We used the same chairs for the ceremony and reception
• We had a family friend do the flowers
• We had a friend do the cupcakes
• We got lunch meat trays with sides from a local supermarket at $5 a person and my mom had a bunch of her friends make sure all the trays stayed full

Bonus: If you can book a wedding planner BEFORE your book your venue, they can save you even more!

Since I won’t tell you which weddings I’m talking about, I’ll share a picture from ours. 🙂

Photo credit: Shawna Sherrell Photography.

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