Thanks to those of you who are following along our new blog series: “So You Think You Don’t Need A Wedding Planner?” Here’s installment #2! Enjoy!
Reason #2: The Budget Bride says “It is too expensive/we can’t afford it/it isn’t in my budget.”
Who she is: She is motivated to save money by a variety of reasons. She might say something along the lines of:
- “I have other financial priorities than spending a lot of money on my wedding. I’m saving for a new house, new car or my future family. I’m paying off college loans – and will be doing so well into my 40s & 50s.” (Gosh, me too!) She might be afraid to admit that she’s secretly adding to her collection of original Star Wars figurines…or any combination of the above reasons.
- “I’m cheap/thrifty/the master extreme couponer. I actually buy two-ply toilet paper and separate it into single-ply rolls. and I don’t buy anything that isn’t on sale. Ever.”
- “I don’t have parents or other family members jumping up to contribute to my wedding fund, for whatever reason. The minute I got engaged, no one handed over cash, checks or money orders to help pay for the wedding. That’s what is supposed to happen, right??”
- “I have unrealistic expectations of the cost of wedding goods & services.” Okay, okay…so she probably won’t say that, but it can still be true! For many people, it is a shock to find out the range of typical prices for many vendors. Sometimes even the low end of the price range looks and feels too high.
Here’s what I have to say to her:
We totally get it. We love to save money. We know bargain shopping. We do it too! Compliment me on something I wear or something in my house and you’ll likely get a response that goes something like this: “I know, right?!? I love it too! I got it at insert-store-name-here on clearance for dirt cheap/free.99. You should get one, too!”
Saving money is truly an art – and doing it for your wedding has the potential to be museum-quality stuff. With the advent of Pinterest, every bride thinks they can have the best wedding ever for $10,000 or less. I know, I pinned that pin, too. Granted, there are a LOT of ways to make your wedding more affordable and it is increasingly common for couples to pay entirely for their own weddings these days. At the same time, there is a reason why the phrase “once-in-a-lifetime” exists – and whatever your tastes or preferences, you should be able to use it to describe your wedding. That doesn’t mean breaking the bank, it just means strategizing and approaching your wedding the same way you would approach most other large purchases: dream, research, refine, repeat…until you are ready to decide. Work to find the balance between what you want and what you can afford. Anyone can tell you, that is tough to do. We do it all the time, creatively. That’s why budget alone isn’t reason enough to not work with us.
About our services for her:
Our packages and services are very reasonably priced. We have worked with clients who have budgets from $15,000 or less up to $100k or more. We work just as hard for all of them. If you are really interested in working with us, come check us out. Best of all: that part is free! It doesn’t hurt and we don’t bite.
All you have to do is make the appointment. At that meeting, you can share with us what your dreams and desires for your big day are. We can go over your budget with you and take a hard look at what you want and what you need for your money. Since we are motivated by our desire for you to have the best wedding ever, we are not going to sell you services you don’t need or cannot afford. Be prepared, though. We will be honest with you. If you want to have 300 people at a downtown venue and serve them filet mignon with a six hour top shelf open bar on a $5,000 budget, you’re going to have to readjust your plans a little because that simply is not going to happen. We are the friend who will tell you if those jeans make your butt look big and/or you have food in your teeth. Considering all of your options doesn’t cost you anything – so why wouldn’t you?
p.s. We can also help save you money – more on that in a forthcoming post!
You can read the previous post in this series here.
You can skip to the next post in this series here.