The Big B Word

Yup, you guessed it, budget. Dealing with the budget has been an ongoing inner struggle for me.

Even before the engagement, Mr. Pearl and I did our homework, and while I knew that weddings were expensive, the costs really shocked me. When we plugged in our towns zip code, the average wedding cost was between 36 and 60K *gasp* Mr. Pearl and I both knew that now matter what, we could not justify spending this much on one day of our lives. So, we instead decided on the rather conservative estimate of 20K.

While that first wedding decision was early on, it was fairly easy for Mr. Pearl and I to come to an agreement. And while yes... I admit I did agree initially, I am now having some regrets. It physically pains me to spend this kind of moolah on one day of our lives, and I am still trying to convince Mr. Pearl to run away with me so we can elope. He's not really going for that.

So what is the budget break down you ask? Well theknot.com's budget tool has become my new best friend. My favorite thing to do is plug in numbers and see how much under budget I can get us.

Venue/Catering: 9,000.00
Decor/Flowers 1,000.00
Cake: 1,000.00
Ceremony: 500.00
Attire/Beauty: 2000.00
Music: 800.00
Photography/Videography: 2000.00
Wedding Ring: 500.00
Stationary: 200.00
Gifts/Favors: 550.00
Wedding Coordinator: 1200.00

Which leaves about 1200 for whatever else I haven't thought of yet.

The ridiculous goal? Come in UNDER budget. Think I can do it?

Did you ever have regrets about your wedding budget. In ten years do you think you'll wish you were spending more or less?