The First 4 Steps to
Plan an Affordable Wedding
Congratulations!
You’re probably on this page because you are either thinking about weddings or currently planning one. What an exciting time! We celebrated our own wedding not too long ago, and it was one of the best days of our lives (cliche, I know, but so true!) I am happy to share some of the tips and tricks that helped us maximize our experience without breaking bank.
It’s not a secret: Weddings can be EXPENSIVE
The average wedding in San Francisco is $39,000! We did not have anywhere near that amount of money, so when it came to planning our wedding we had to get creative. Here is a list of the things we did BEFORE starting to plan that helped us set a realistic budget:
1. Throw all tradition out the window...and then bring it back in one item at a time
Question everything you know about weddings and put it all on trial
– Do you need a church? – Do you need a reception? Does it have to be at night? – Are paper invitations necessary? – Is a wedding party (bridesmaids/groomsmen) necessary? – Does the bride have to wear a dress? Does it have to be white? Does it have to be expensive?
Be daring, push some boundaries, take this opportunity to break down what “makes a wedding” for you. This process should feel liberating. Identify what beliefs have been subconsciously planted in your mind about weddings by family/friends/society and bring it all out.
Once you deconstruct the concept of a wedding
Go through each topic that came up, and decide what is important to you and what is not:
– Are you and your family religious? Then having the ceremony in a church or temple might be really important to you! – Do you feel that paper invitations add a personal touch? Then do paper invitations! If not, consider E-cards? – Is the bride’s dress important to you? Maybe you realized you don’t care that much about it and would rather spend your money elsewhere (this was me!) – Everybody exchanges gold rings, but maybe you never wear jewelry and are afraid of losing it. Perhaps you will be more comfortable with an inexpensive silicone ring?
2. Picture the perfect wedding day: what HAS to be there?
Write down the top three things that matter the most to you and your partner. These were ours:
1. Guests– be able to invite all the people who have been cornerstones in our lives and relationship
2. Church – for both of our families, tradition and religion are important. For us, it was important to honor our families
3. Dancing – we both love to dance, couldn’t imagine our wedding without a big dance party!
Other examples could include: Location. Food. Wedding party. Bride’s dress. Live band. Photography and video. etc.
This is a fun opportunity to spend time with your partner envisioning your wedding day. Distill the essence of what you two love and value.
3. What does NOT need to be there?
This step will help you decide where you can save some money and time. Identifying what you don’t care about is just as important as step #2.
Only you can decide what falls into this category, there is no right or wrong answer.
You may decide you don’t care too much about:
– Flowers/decorations – a bouquet and couple candles will do
– Wedding mementos – can choose to skip these
– Music – don’t need a band or live music? A phone connected to speakers will work.
– Etc. This is your list, no judgement.
Beware of discussing this step with too many people too early, you may get a lot of “advice” and feel pressured to keep wedding components that are not important to you.
4. Start a budget spreadsheet
Now that you have identified what matters to you (and what doesn’t), it’s time to start a budget!