New bride

I found this book extremely helpful: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-budget-savvy-wedding-planner-organizer-checklists-worksheets-and-essential-tools-to-plan-the-perfect-wedding-on-a-small-budget/9781623159856.html


As someone just finishing her masters, money was not really flowing lol So learning how to budget and stick to that budget was really helpful with making our wedding planning fun and not stressful

The good thing with the fact that you already know the general vibe you want, this will help you budget the wedding. In order to create the budget, you’ll need to look at your finances from now until 2023 and see how much you and your fiancé can put down in deposits now and pay for later. You’ll also want to consider the services you’ll have and the ones you’ll skip or DIY on, since this will change your budget’s restrictions. Once you feasibly know how much you can have saved by then, then start requesting prices on venues and vendors to get a price range. Then when you’ve got some numbers in front of you, you’ll be able to see if you can make your first choices work with your budget or if you need to revise your ideas. Don’t worry if you have to revise either your ideas or your budget, we all do at some point in the process!
Just some helpful tips too: It’s also a good idea to leave a little extra budget money undelegated because costs always pop up later. Also, if your relatives want to help out financially, don’t build it into the plan, that way if they all of a sudden can’t, you’re not stuck and if they can, you’ve got some honeymoon money!
Good luck!

Before finding a venue or looking at anything that costs money, set a budget. Determine if you want to spend only what you can afford at the moment, or if you want to save towards the wedding.

You don't need a line by line itemized budget yet. Just figure out that magic number that you're willing to part with comfortably without financial stress. That number will dictate how you'll go about everything with your wedding and will help you stay disciplined on not overspending.

Once you have a budget, then break it down item by item. Look at this thread for an idea of average costs. Prioritize what you want and wiggle the numbers around so it works for you.

I would suggest you begin with your venue. Find the venue, and everything should branch off of that.