Traditionally I think it's in bad taste to discuss or announce certain financial information publicly, as a rule I don't discuss it with anyone apart from David; however with this being a wedding blog and wanting to stay true to all aspects of the wedding process, I would like to address this matter as it pertains to our wedding. David and I are very happy, and looking forward to getting married, however the price is the most daunting part. Above all things I would like our wedding to be tasteful, and reflect who we are and above all, our love, unfortunately it seems as though anything in the category of weddings seems to have a 200 % mark up! If our finances were not as, restricted, as they are it would be much easier to make decisions and plan our wedding, but isn't that how it always is? That said David and I knew going into this that our wedding was up to us in a planning and financial respect and in some ways it was a blessing in disguise. It has given us both many opportunities to learn more about each other and fine tune what we want and to compromise. We started planning very early, with the understanding that the sooner we made the bigger wedding decisions the more time we would have to pay for everything.
Having finalized a majority of our wedding plans we sat down together at the beginning of August and calculated what we could actually afford for the wedding vs. what we needed to live. We added our monthly expenses (no extras, just basic bills, gas, food) and compared to what we made and, to put it gently, we realized our budget was much more slim that we initially thought. We have been experiencing a very lean year financially so we realized we needed to make about 30% more than we currently were in order to afford our wedding, or we would have to move our wedding date a year, and get married in 2013. If this were the case we decided we would accept it, after all it is only a year. We were very concerned about our situation, and a few people suggested to me to just go to City Hall, or have a 'Backyard BBQ' wedding. We discussed both and decided that neither was for us. We are having a very simple wedding to begin with, so regarding price the BBQ solution really wouldn't be much of a difference, and as far as City Hall is concerned, it just wasn't what we wanted. We wanted a wedding that was the celebration of our love, with the ones that we love in front of the Lord, not just a certificate from a Justice. I don't mean to sound elitist, I am anything but, however we have dreamed of this day and we became determined and felt that with a little more effort and dedication it could happen.
When you know what you want and who you want to be with for the rest of your life, you just can't wait for the rest of your life to begin! We brainstormed about our economic situation, and in less than a month we were able to produce results. I was able to apply for, interview and secure a position in marketing that was a roughly a 38% increase from my previous salary! To add frosting to our blessings cake David did the same and has interviewed for two different positions (both more beneficial than his last!) and has received an offer from one and should hear from the other by the end of the week! We are so blessed and lucky to have our prayers answered and to have the fortitude and dedication to stay positive while we had these challenges.
We have been very lucky to have people offer amazing suggestions, websites, vendors, how to cut costs, food ideas,etc. We are so appreciative of everyone that has had their own wedding experiences and is willing to share them with us so we can learn and grow. So many people have helped us in ways I couldn't even begin to express, even people I never expected have become so wonderful and made this process so positive. I am so grateful to everyone for continuing to be positive, the financial issue was not one I wanted to broadcast because I was concerned it was in poor taste; I would always prefer to focus on the positive and work on the less-than-positive. The forward-looking and helpful advice and feedback from others was such a saving grace! Too many times you hear about Bridezilla's and about just the gown or the location and the food. You don't hear about the financial challenge a wedding can be, and the obstacles that Brides and Grooms-to-be encounter. I always want to stay honest and true to the happenings of our wedding and the planning process. We found ourselves in a bind, and were so joyful to have the support net of love and encouragement around us, and as David pointed out earlier, "We're moving on up - Jefferson style!'' and so blessed to be!!!
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