Splurge vs. save

On Wednesdays I share everything wedding with you: tips, projects, organisation, photos, faux-pas, fun things and golden rules I ‘learned’ from my own wedding. I feel I need to give something back to the fabulous blog community who helped me stay sane and enjoy every second of my ‘big day’.

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Money and weddings – I know this is not an easy topic. Yes, of course you want your dream wedding. Yes, of course everything shall be perfect. Yes, of course it is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

BUT

I wasn’t prepared to take up a loan to pay for our wedding. And I didn’t wanted my or Andi’s parents to chip in a lot of money. So, like everyone else we had a wedding budget.

What worked really well for us was, not only setting a budget (and sticking with it ;-)) but also to decide on items on which we wanted to spurge (because they were so important to us) and items on which we could save (because we had to and because we didn’t mind too much). This conversation between my husband and I was such a great way to understand what is important for the other one (because wedding dreams are so individual) and to be on the same page (because then you don’t argue about certain decisions later on).

Our highly individual splurge-and-save-list looked like this:

Splurge:

• on the invitations & decorations: beautiful materials (silver envelopes, silver dots, ...) and personalised stamps
• on the bride: wedding dress for church (once in a lifetime) and bridal make up (to give me the extra boost of confidence)
• on the groom: suit (ready-made but perfectly fitted by a tailor) and shoes (beautiful soft leather)
• on the party: DJ and great food & drinks (good food + good wine = happy guests = great party)
• on the memories: professional photographer (for visual memories we will treasure forever)
• on the honeymoon: secluded island resort  

Save:

• on the invitations & decorations: email save-the-dates, self-made invitations, programs, table decorations and place cards, flowers and menus provided by venue
• on the bride: wedding dress for registry (self-designed), shoes (hidden under the dress anyway), headpieces (self-made and etsy) and jewellery (all out of my treasury box)
• on the groom: shirt (just a white shirt ;-)) and tie (Italian silk but without a fancy designer tag)
• on the party: no fancy location, no red carpet, no limousine, no dancing lessons
• on the memories: no favours for our guests, no expensive wedding gifts for each other, no professional videographer
• on the honeymoon: destination on the way from Germany to Australia (no extra flights needed)

Despite all the save items I had my dream wedding – actually it was better than everything I had imagined. And you know why? It didn’t have much to do with money. It was the best day because we had all our loved ones with us on this special occasion. Everybody had a good time and they came up with incredible ideas to make our special day even more special and unforgettable.

So, lovely brides-to-be: make your own splurge-and-save-list with you loved one. Set a budget. Stick with it. And focus on the wonderful things you can splurge on. And don’t think about the things you cannot afford. Look on the bright side – you are marrying that very special person in your life. And that is all that matters in the end.