Planning Priorities

Q: What’s your biggest budgeting tip?

A: When it comes to setting—and staying on—budget, it all comes down to priorities. 

First and foremost, it’s important to prioritize your marriage. After all, that’s what your wedding is all about! I mean, I get it—it’s super easy to become consumed by the excitement of it all. To get glossy-eyed by the glitz and glam of the perfect Pinterest wedding. To start justifying every single expense with “but this day only happens once in life!” To lose sight of the fact that the price tag of the day has nothing to do with how wonderful your wedding will be, and more importantly how strong your marriage will be. Then all of a sudden you realize you're planning two weddings: the one inspired by Pinterest, and the one you can afford. And that’s not a fun place to be! 

If you, like the vast majority of couples, aren’t able or willing to throw a budget out the window and splurge on every single detail of your wedding, it will come down to choosing your priorities—and focus your time, energy, and budget there. Now, I would love to be able to tell you exactly where to focus your funds. Honestly, I would! Wouldn’t that make life easier?! But every couple is different and, as such, what’s most important to each couple is different. So, it’s really up to you! Together, as a couple, you need to decide what matters most. 

A good trick to pinpoint your priorities is sitting down with your fiancé in front of a list of all possible wedding expenses (just check out page 98 of Issue 1 of Weddings Atlantic for a comprehensive list) and take turns circling your top three things. Once you each have your selections, work together to narrow them down to your three overall priorities. There will likely be overlap on your lists—hurray, those are easy choices! If your answers are all over the place, that’s okay too—this will be your first test in marital compromise. There will be conversations. There will be give and take. But if you think back about your wedding vision, it will be much easier to settle on items that best bring that to life. 

For example, if you’ve both been dreaming of a massive party with all of your friends and family, choose the pieces that bring that puzzle together—such as music, food, and drink—and be prepared to cut costs on your other wish-list items—like those chiavari chairs you’ve been coveting. 

Once you decide what’s most important to you both, take that insight, build your budget, and allocate your funds accordingly.