Weddingbee boards

I still worry about our budget some, but my worry decreased A TON after we got all the final quotes from our vendors.  Before, when we were kind of waiting to see how expensive everything would be, it was very nerve-wracking because it seemed like everything just kept getting more and more expensive.  Now that we have a pretty solid number for how much everything is going to cost, I feel much better.  Once we got our final numbers, I sat down with the fiance and we decided to move forward with things even though we are over budget.  (Our original budget was a little unrealistic for the type of wedding we envisioned.)

Now, I try not to let myself feel guilty abut the money or second guess our decision.  I know that at this point there is no way I will back out of things to decrease the cost of our wedding.  (Too many deposits have been made.)  So, if I keep stressing about how much we are spending, it's just useless, negative energy.  Also, I keep in mind that in the grand scheme of my life, the money spent on this wedding isn't going to make or break anything.  I mean, when I'm 60 years old, will it be that big of a deal to me that I spent more on a wedding than I intended?  Probably not.  However, I probably will regret it if I worry so much about the wedding budget that I can't enjoy the wedding and the planning process.  Does that make sense?

I am really happy with my choice to have an inexpensive wedding in Las Vegas. I am also very lucky to have a family that doesn't expect a huge "to-do". I know that so many people have those familial obligations that can outweigh their desires to do their own thing. I still get anxious about the budget, even though my costs are very low. I think it's only natural, especially with current state of the economy.

I totally understand what you're going through! We're planning on a small budget, too, and it can be VERY stressful. The thing that my FI keeps reminding me of is that we don't have to come up with the money all at one time -- as long as we make an effort to space out our payments, and to be careful with our money elsewhere, we'll be OK.

I don't know how far along you are in your planning, but my advice is to take care of the big stuff (venue, food, drink), which will be the bulk of the budget, and then everything else will fall into place. I keep reminding myself that it doesn't matter how cute our centerpieces are if we don't manage to feed everybody, and it really helps me keep our priorities in perspective.

One other thing that we've done is to try to "find" money elsewhere. We craigslisted a treadmill that we don't use, for example, and voila! A few hundred bucks to throw into the kitty. We've also gotten rid of some stuff on eBay, and it's really helped -- every penny counts.

I also empathize with the guilt you're feeling about planning a wedding during a recession, but there might be another way to look at it. Every time I feel pressure to buy something that we can't afford just to make things look nice, I remind myself that IT'S A RECESSION and people will understand if we don't have a chocolate fountain and a photobooth and swanky favors and and and... If anything, I've tried to let the recession help me let myself off of the hook from some of the pressure for perfection.

Good luck! We're all in this together, and you are SO not alone. I'm confident that everything will work out for you, and just remind yourself that it's one day and one thing at a time.