Well, We Tried, But We Didn't Make It...

... Under our budget that is. =)

When Jacob and I determined our budget for the wedding, it was very random and uneducated. We didn't know how much anything wedding-y cost. We thought about how much we'd be willing to go into debt for one day, and how much money we already had to contribute.

We landed on $5,000.

Then we started shopping for vendors.

WOWZA! Talk about sticker shock! Everything was SOOO expensive and I had NO idea how we were going to pay for a wedding of approximately 100 guests for only 5k. I did a LOT of comparison shopping, entered (and won) a LOT of online giveaways, made some sacrifices, and did some DIY stuff (which is not really my cup of tea). But, in the end, we were still over budget, but not much...


6%!!!**

And ONLY because the vendors that we did get were AWESOME and we decided we wanted to thank them with larger tips than we originally planned for. Had this not been the case, we would have been less than $100 over our budget.

** This is not counting the cost of printing and sending out thank you cards... which I still need to figure out.

I am VERY ok with this number. Especially considering that we did NOT end up going in to debt for this wedding! Thanks to fantastic friends and family, bargain shopping, savings plans, solid employment, and Uprinting's online giveaways, we were able to pay for everything in cash, out of pocket. THAT is the way that I want to start our new life together! =)

I'll go through the breakdown more in-depth later (once I finally figure out how to go about starting my re-caps), but for now, here's the percentage breakdown:

Apparel (including rings):
26%

Decorations:
2%

Bridal Party/Parent Gifts:
2%

Flowers:
0%
Flowers were home grown and arranged by a family friend

Music:
9%

Photography:
9%

Reception (including favors & DOC):
33%

Stationary/Printing:
3%

Transportation:
0%
We drove our own cars... *gasp!* ;)

"Other" Expenses (including hair/makeup, license fees, etc.):
15%