From One Bride to Another
Hello Lovelies!
My name is Greyson Walsh and I am an associate designer for Garden Rose Events & Design. Apart from being an associate wedding planner, I am also a bride. Even worse, I am a bride on a tight budget. After being engaged for almost a year and a half, I am getting married in May and I have learned a thing or two about how to have a beautiful AND memorable wedding on that itty-bitty budget!
Here are the few things I have learned in the wedding planning process while being a bride on a budget…
Always Be Honest
This is so important because being a bride on a budget meant that I couldn’t get everything that I wanted when I envisioned my wedding day. I had to be honest with myself about my wants and needs. Maybe this looked like not being able to have a plated meal during dinner or having to be creative about centerpieces rather than buying floral arrangements for each table, either way, I had to be honest with myself and make some sacrifices.
Another way I had to always be honest was with my vendors, before each meeting with a vendor, my fiancé and I would talk about what we needed from that vendor and what we could afford to pay them and that meant no compromising. This meant that I had to be honest with them about what we could afford to pay them and they would have to either meet us where we were at or we had to walk away from hiring them, which is totally okay! I have been able to hire a professional photographer for $500, a wedding videographer for $200, a caterer with staff serving a three-course meal for 125 people for $800, and receive a free wedding venue at a guest estate on the river, all because I was simply honest with them about what I could and could not afford.
It is Just One Day
While your wedding day is going to be one of the most amazing days of your life, you have to remember that it is still just one day, one 24-hour day. This one day is going to be filled with precious memories, love, laughter, joy, and it is going to be one that you tell your kids about for days to come. But as a bride on a budget, you have to remember that this day will come and pass and the money you spent on it will affect how much you have for a down payment on a home, student loans, or even savings. This day is all about you and your marriage, and not whether or not Aunt Sue liked the florals you picked for the boutonnieres. While yes, wedding planning is so fun, don’t forget that this day is to represent the beginning of a lifetime!
Have Fun
Lastly, have fun being a bride! Go to wedding expos, eat plenty of chocolate cake samples, and let people spoil you because you deserve it! Being engaged goes by very quickly and this will be the last time in your life that you are only responsible for one person, so go out and enjoy it! Wedding planning can be stressful, but don’t allow it to ruin your engagement season and remember that is why wedding coordinators are here for you! We are the ones that want to do the dirty work, so that you can go and have fun being a bride! Wedding planning should be an enjoyable and exciting process and don’t forget that among all of the stress, it is just one day!
With Love,
Greyson Walsh Associate Wedding Designer and Bride to Be