Weddingbee boards

We ended up spending almost twice what we originally wanted to spend.  We were able to pay for all but $4k - that went on credit cards.  6 months after the wedding and it's paid off.

I cut in areas that weren't noticeable - our favor boxes weren't that special, we didn't have a videographer, we cut an hors d'oeuvre to save about $3 per person.  But I splurged on chivari chairs and our linens.

We are officially $2.10 over budget, with 4 months left to go.  I purposefully overestimated so that we'd be able to come in under budget.  So I sort of tricked myself into it!  Then my dress ended up being half what I was expecting, and I found great hair and makeup people at great prices.  We also budgeted for FI's tux, but it's going to be free since we are renting for all the GM.  Those little things add up! 

We originally weren't going to have a videographer either, but we fit that in, too.  

I am not being very specific about receipts though.  For example, I just bought some crafting things to make TY cards, and I am not counting that towards the budget, since I'll be able to use the stamps for other projects.  Is that cheating?  Probably!!

Well I thought we could do it for $10k, but my FI was like $14k is how much it will probably cost. And he was correct. It's amazing that it's still costing so much considering I am DIYing so much and even cut flowers from my budget. That's southern california for you.

We were slightly underbudget, but only because less people came then we expected. 

We came in under budget for the wedding, and a lot of people seem to confuse having a total desired cost with having an actual budget.  Anyone who works in planning or project management will tell you that budgetting a project is the first step.  If you're trying to avoid overspending, the smartest way to do that is monitor and track your spending. For ours, I craeted four columns to track each type of expense in the budget:

1. estimated cost

2. actual quote

3. deposit paid

4. wedding day balance

This way, I always knew where we stood, and when I came upon a cost where I didn't want to skimp (like the food and beverages) I quickly adjusted something else to try and accomodate.  

I won't lie though--if you want to stay within your budget, it comes down to negotiating with yourself. I recognize it would have been glorious to have a more elaborate decor, a videographer or a fancier meal, but at the end of the day, we spent what we were comfortable spending, and we've been able to move forward on other financial goals without feeling hobbled by wedding expenses/debts after the fact.  If you want to see my budget, PM me and I can show you how I laid it out!

We're under - yay! With all the major vendors booked I'm thrilled to be under... and am trying to keep it that way with all the bits and pieces coming up.

We lucked out with our photographer being $600 under-budget, and I found an amazing baker who works from home - that chopped our cupcake budget from $400 to $100! We've also been very lucky, recently having our dinner wine unexpectedly gifted to us...

When first starting out we did something similar to West Coast Bride above - set up a spereadsheet and made an itamized budget. We're filling in it as we go, and it's really handy - giving me a clear picture on what I can spend where. I also find thinking things over helps... I talked myself into spending $2/pp for candy bar bags... then realised how ridiculous that was with our budget, as much as I loved them (they were reusable baggie alternative - very cool!). Fortunately I gave myself a cooling-down period prior to ordering.