Going over budget

We splurged on getting 2 photographers and 2 videographers.

We also decided to get a custom white dance floor with our names on it etc.

Im sure there is much more to come... not to mention we just bought a house too

oh wow! I'm guessing sample sales are different from trunk shows right? I'm in shock! I need to research on that!

Hi Tiffany! Have you tried any sample stores/sales? I got a $2400 dress for $450! I was completely shocked!

I'm beyond scared to splurge as we did for the officiant! Luckily we're under budget and hopefully stating that way!!

I am so afraid of going over my budget as 2017 is a BIG cash outflow year for my fiance and I (Wedding & house? OMG). We already set ourselves a fairly strict budget (in my opinion) for roughly 200 guests. Our top priorities were venue/food and the DJ.

There's always opportunity for you to cut here and there to compensate for going overbudget for your photographer.

Although, right now I am struggling to find a wedding dress within my budget . Why do they have to be so beautiful!!!

Hi Corina, I know what you mean! I think you can totally do it! You should take a look at this idea of making lists of must haves to keep your priorities in mind. Must haves and must not haves You can also use our My Budget tool.

There's definitely this test that you could do too: Tell me how's your wedding and I'll tell you how much it will cost

You'll see, it's a lot of fun! I'm so glad you're joining us for your preparations!! Where are you at in your planning?

Hi Corina,

This can be done! We have a simiar budget and guest list....just remember that you won't have much wiggle room! Your meal and drinks will take most of your budget (goes for pretty much everyone!), so maybe look at buffet options (my FH and I are actually doing a cocktail reception instead of a meal time).

Send me a message if you want some tips/ details about how we are going about things!

We are currently working on setting a budget and would love some of your imput! We are looking at a guest list of 100 guests and I was hoping to keep it around 15000, do you think this is feasable or am I estimating too low?

Hey Erin It's great that you decided to spend more on your venue to get what you really wanted To make sure to stay within your budget, it can really help to make a list of "priorities" and must haves. That way, you can see what is essential and maybe cut on other things. Have you been able to cut down on cost on other stuff?

Hey Melinda I'm so glad you started this discussion! You're right, it can be so hard to stay within our budget once we start looking. A few weeks ago, Melissa made this great post about must haves and in your case your photographer is definitely a must have!

What pictures would you like to take with your mom?

Which pictures are also must haves for your wedding day?

We had set our budget pretty low to begin with, but we had a bit of a reality check when we did some calculations and realized that we would either have a wedding that was not quite the day we dreamed of, of we would need to add to our budget a bit.

We added some funds to the budget, and I don't regret the choice at all. It just means we need to be wise with our spending (which really, we should do anyway). We really wanted the day of our dreams, we only want to get married once, so might as well make it count

We got a great deal with a photographer who does great work, and really connected with us. Our biggest expense will be the bar- open bar for 80+ guests ain't cheap no matter how you plan that! We also want to make sure that the menu we choose (cocktail style, so many small choices!) is tasty and well varied, which is worth the extra expense.

With the new budget we are right in line to fall just within our plan

We splurged on our dj and our photographer! Everything else we are in budget!

I agree with you Melinda! Photography was our top priority! Our photographer was over what we were expecting but we were able to negotiate down a bit because she had worked with someone we knew and was willing to honor their price. (Probably helps that we were in the off season too.) We were able to save in other areas such as flowers and ceremony decorations so overall we didn't end up going too much over budget.

Our officiant was also more than we were expecting but it was totally worth it because he put in a lot of effort into our ceremony and helped us with our vows. He was so easy to work with and our guests are still raving about the ceremony and saying it was their favourite part!

I would say that we so far have been within our budget so far. I would say that depending on everything we have booked we might splurge on a place to have our pictures taken as some places charges fees.

Venue and food for our guests for sure. And the DJ! Those were our 2 most important!

Hi Melinda , I am like you . .. we said what the heck and went over a little in our photography . . we want our pictures to be amazing and be able to look back at those beautiful shots years from now and remember our once in a life time moment !

I've currently spent almost my entire budget on my venue. it was worth it I'm obsessed, but oh god was it expensive!