A Broke Budget

According to costofwedding.com the average couple spends $19,581 on their wedding.  In Nashville, that average is even higher, with most couples spending between $19,864 and $33,106.  I sincerely hope I'm not the only person who looks at those figures and cringes.  Maybe it's because we're young, and entering the work force when the economy is down.  Or maybe it's because we know that money would be much better spent on a down payment for a house.  No matter the reason, this budget was definitely not an option for us. 

This still costs less than a real bouquet

Instead, we agreed very early on that we were going to spend as little money as possible.  Why don't we just elope?  Because I really do want to share this moment with my family and friends.  For me, I want to be able to look back and really remember something beautiful and romantic, and to share with our children down the road, so they can see this special moment too.

Though my parents have offered some help for paying for the wedding, I know that they're also not rolling in the dough, and I don't want to lean on them too much.  And quite aside from draining their bank accounts, I want to put my own money management skills to the test.  I want to make sure that Joshua and I are able to work together for something big that we both want.  After all, if we can't pay for a one or two thousand dollar wedding, how will we ever get a down payment for a house?

I'm hesitant to put a hard number budget for our wedding.  For one, if I wind up going over that number, I don't want to kill myself over it.  For another, I don't want to find myself under the budget, and feel like I can splurge on unnecessary items because of it.  However, like I said before, we're trying to stay within the one to two thousand dollar range.  This will include everything except the engagement ring and the honeymoon, hopefully.

With this budget, I am NOT throwing a lame backyard potluck wedding, or a wedding in the church we don't go to using the room in the back and only serving punch and cake.  I'm talking about a beautiful, expensive looking event, with a lot of DIY and help from family and friends.  At the end, I'll do my best to round up all my expenses and share the end results with everybody.  With any luck, this will be fabulous.