Weddingbee boards

No need to adjust your screen or go get your glasses; that title is correct. I planned my wedding in one month and spent less that $200 on it. How you ask.... Well I kept it simple; very simple.

I was sitting at home one day and was thinking about how stressed I was already about planning my "dream wedding." Every little nagging detail pushed me closer and closer to the edge. It jus didn't make sense to me. Why would I be miserable planning the happiest day of my life? Why should I sacrafice my happiness and my sanity planning a day that is supposed to be for me and my husband but so quickly turned into what the guests will need. It really hit me hard because I am a hard core people pleaser and I promised myself that I would not start my new married life pleasing other people and here I was already worrying about what everyone else needs.

I remember going to price a wedding venue after finally making my rough draft of a guest list. It came out to be about 150-200 people including a 18 person bridal party. And that was if we sent invitaions out to just family and maybe 10 close friends. The lady who was giving us our tour of the venue said something that I will never forget;" When you sit down and add up how much everything is going to cost and then divide the cost by how many people are coming, its as if you are paying for them to come to your party." We calculated it and even with us cutting back on a few things we wanted we would have been paying about 250 per person to sit in the seats we payed for, watch the ceremony we paid for, bein the pictures we were paying for, eat the food and dessert we paid for, drink the drinks we payed for and dance the night away to the music that we als paid for. All so they can compliment us, give us a toaster and go home. It just didn't seem right.

Fast forward a few months and we have finished our counseling. Now the only thing that stands between us and having the blessing of being husband and wife is a marriage license. As much as I wanted a big wedding being surrounded by my family and friends and laughing and dancing with all of them that wasn't essential. That's not what weddings are(or should be) about in my opinion. Yes it is a time to celebrate but does spending $40,000 on a wedding and getting in debt make you any more married than someone who spends $200 dollars? I know alot of people say its the memories of all the peole there and having everyone around you makes it all worth while, but I can honestly say that my husband is what made it worth while; and thats how it should be. It was nice to have family there don't get me wrong but he was all that mattered to me that day.

I guess what I am trying to say is don't get sucked up in all the hype of having a designer dress, and a grand venue, and the best photographer, and all the other stff people tell us we need in order to have a "real wedding". Sure it is your day to feel special but you have the rest of your life to spend with somone who loves you and will make you feel special every single day. I am beyond satisfied with my wedding and I honestly wuld not change one thing about it.

Remember: "Weddings don't last but marriages do; stay focused."- Pastor Kenneth Wilson

Here are the details to my wedding and how I stayed under $200 dollars:

Dress from Forever 21: $30.00

Earrings from BSS: $5.00

Shoes: $20.00

Hubby's Suit: $100.00

Bouquet(made by my mommy): $15.00

The chapel(the same chapel where my mommy and daddy got married) was free because my daddy was an alumni there and my god-father is an alumni who still works there.

No cocktail hour, no reception, no cake, no dancing, and I still had the best stress-free time of my life!!!

Here are some pics that were taken by family members.

Hope you enjoy!!

P.s. I am so glad that I went ahead and got married because my grandmother, who I helped take care of after she had her stroke, was there to see me get married before she passed away 16 days later. I love you big mama!!

First off, What a beautiful couple!

My reason for wanting what I consider a medium size wedding (about 150 people) is that I many quite a few friends who thought they didn't want a wedding, two kids later and their singing the blues, trying to plan a wedding that quite honestly know one cares as much about anymore because that ship has sailed. I've always felt that a wedding is a once in a lifetime experience that should be shared. I don't want to get married, have kids and then wish I would have had the wedding. Yes, it is a lot of money for us but money is materialistic and comes and goes with the wind. I've always dreamt of my wedding since the time I was a little girl and having the perfect groom to share that special day with makes it worth it so much more.

p.s. I am so glad for you that your grandma was able to be there on a day so special for you.

I just got done posting a rant about our wedding budget! We don't make a lot of $ and it's so frustrating when people tell you if you can't afford a wedding you can't afford to get married. WTF?! What happened to marying your soul mate? Your right why should it matter how much $ we spend on one day. I am so glad I read this, this is about the bride and groom and not pleasing everyone. You look sooo beautiful and happy and that is exactly what I want no stress just casual happy bliss. I crunched my #'s too and figured out $pp and it was a shocker, I never would have thought to do that. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for posting this, you are an inspiration.