Wedded Wednesday

For those of you who do not know, I am a certified Bridal Consultant--a.k.a Wedding Planner. Think of Jennifer Lopez in The Wedding Planner or David Tutera in his show. 

My wedding cost about $3,000. (Reception space was free). My dress cost about $690. My mother in law paid for the flowers, which was $250, and made our cake for free, which was beautiful, she gets paid for making them all the time. It was a small and intimate affair and not too fussy. We had everything under the blue sky go wrong, among it things that took $2,000 from our budget roughly. -- Including our marriage license being locked in Steve's car in a mechanic shop on the Saturday of the wedding... 

To be honest, I have only helped planned a handful of weddings, excluding me hearing about someone getting married and just throwing ideas at them. The community I live in weddings are not as large scale as what you see on TV. We usually use the cultural hall of our church buildings (the gym) and decorate from there. But they can still be great, just a wedding planner is not needed...

But I am bringing you a four part series, Wedded Wednesday. One, to utilize my skills before they disappear and to help any of you who may be getting married. 

This first week, what you do first when you get engaged.

To start, if you are engage, CONGRATULATIONS! I can't tell you how happy I am for you. 

After this the bride starts planning every little detail, but the husband just starts to wonder how he is going to make it to the wedding night. But just take a deep breath, grab a pen, and do this one step at a time. 

First and foremost, tell those that you feel need to hear it now. Parents, grandparents, children and so on. When you go back to work, they will all see it, but at the beginning it is special and should be cherished with those you love most. 

Next, a budget. You can start buying like it is the the last wedding to ever be had, but you need to keep it inline with what you can afford. The overage comes from a home, college, vacations and so on. Of course it should be an amazing day, but robbing from something bigger is not worth it in the long run--sometimes. Set something responsible. Accounting for the following will give you an idea of what to expect:

Reception Space

Church Space

Flowers

Food

Tuxes

Gowns

Wedding Dress

Favors

Tables, chairs, utensils, linens

Gifts to involved parties

Travel expenses from far away family

Honeymoon

Next, you need to pick a date. Any wedding can fit any season. It is nice to get married in the summer, but that is everyone's idea. Sometimes, you can save money on a reception space if you book it in an off season/weekend. Make sure the time works for you and your soon to be husband, but make sure it is not too inconvenient for others, i.e. last week of school for kids, beginning of school for kids, Christmas (can work though), per-arranged trip for parents and that sort of thing. And always have a back up date when you go to the reception space and church!

Lastly today, a theme. A gown like below will not work for a country themed wedding: 

Found on Pinterest

But you can take your guests to a wonderful place if it is executed properly. But keep the overall idea in mind when you are buying decor and flowers. Sometimes you can just see something that is amazing and get it but you know deep down inside it wont work. Trust, I've tried it. But your theme will work around your budget. Remember, everything revolves around the budget. 

Including your dress. If you go over budget on your gown, it will cost you somewhere else. Which I am okay with, as long as you re-adjust money. 

Please email me at goldylocksandthebarrows @ hotmail (dot) com if you have any wedding needs. This series will continue next Wednesday!

Bethany