Confessions of a Budget Savvy Bride

My fiance and I are 21 year old college students planning for a wedding in less than a year with a $5,000 budget...Can we do it?

The average wedding costs around $28,000! So far, this is what we have spent with a little help from my parents. 

1. The wedding dress- The budget for the wedding dress was supposed to be $350 or lower. I found "the one" at David's Bridal for $500. Yes I went a little over my expected budget for the dress but if it's "the one" you might as well splurge a little. 

(Just in case the fiance reads this post)

 2. The Venue: We have spent $1,000 so far on the venue and that is just the deposit. Altogether the venue costs $2,000. We originally wanted the wedding on a Saturday, which would cost us $3,000. We saved $1,000 for booking the wedding on a weekday! Our wedding will be held outside with the reception in a barn at High Country Orchards  in beautiful Washington State. 

3. Hand-making our own decorations: So far I have spend $70.86 on decorations. Mostly the supplies needed to DIY. So far I have DIY'd my bouquet, bridesmaid's pinwheels, groomsmen's boutonniere, invitations, save the date, guestbook and tissue paper pom poms/ flowers. Phew! And still more to do!

4. Photographer: I am very lucky to be having a photographer who is a friend of my moms. She takes amazing photographs and her style of photos is exactly what I want. She is offering us a wedding package that is $800 and she is giving us a free engagement photo shoot! Check out her cute blog!

So far we have spent $2,370.86! That leaves us with $2,629.14 to cover our rings, more decor, catering, favors, tux rental, minister, bridal accessories and bridal party gifts. It's gonna be close and I hope we can do it. 

xo

China