Let us talk of money

The word that no bride wants to think about, let alone say: BUDGET. We've all got to think about it, some more than others. In our consumer culture, it's hard to think about, especially when planning "the most important day of your life" (or so some people call it...I would prefer not to). When you're watching "Platinum Weddings," where people are throwing around money like it's no tomorrow...when "Say Yes to the Dress" is on, and most of the brides' budgets are over $5,000 (for a dress! That they will wear once!)...yes, it's hard.

Then there's the other end of the spectrum. The amazing ladies who are streamlining everything ($2,000 anyone?) and making me feel like a spoiled, gluttonous brat. This is when I turn to the Scatterbrained Groom and ask him if he would still love me if I showed up wearing a burlap sack and a handful of weeds. (Of course he would...but would prefer that I didn't.)

Most of the experts say that the budget is the first thing a bride and groom should think about, as it dictates the number of guests you invite, your venue...everything!

The Scatterbrained Groom and I are lucky enough to have supportive families that are bearing the brunt of wedding costs. This also means that we are being incredibly careful with our budget, as we don't want to waste one single penny of their hard-earned money. So we have prioritized:

1. Food
2. Open bar (also my father's top priority, so it's way up there)
3. Photography (including a photo booth, which is quite possibly the thing I am most excited about)

So that's it. The big 3. Everything else is being built around these priorities. If we don't think it's worth it, we won't have it. If we can save money anywhere else, we will try our darndest to do so. We're doing well so far...I found my dress on sale, off-the-rack, needing next to no alterations. We're planning on ordering a simple cake from a chain grocery store. We managed to find a DJ offering mad discounts. We will most likely be limiting flowers to bouquets and doing simple candles as centerpieces. We're DIYing our invitations, day-of stationary (programs), and our guestbook...possibly other things too, as they come up. We probably won't hire a limo as our get-away car.

We're still pretty early in the planning stages, but so far we're well within budget according to my estimates. Let's hope we keep it up as this thing progresses.

How did you set your budget and prioritized expenses?

Houston, we have a wedding.

The Scatterbrained Groom has been mocking me mercilessly for having what he calls "Wedding Fever." And it's true - I have taken over much of our living space with all off my wedding planning periphinalia. See exhibit A:

Mission Control. Notice The Knot open on my laptop.

I have taken over the dining room table. Sure, we have an office, but my desk is so covered with actual work-related things that there isn't enough room for the piles and piles of wedding stuff. You gotta do what you gotta do.

The book. I kind of wish I had a 3-ring binder book as this is stuffed

to the gills. But it keeps all of my lists, contracts, etc in one place

so I guess it's doing it's job. Very helpful advice on selecting vendors, too.

The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings- Very helpful resource

First mock-up of our invites (it pains me to have to blur out the prettiest font) -

these will probably change 1000 times before we actually send them out. I'm

pretty happy with the overall look, though.

My stack o' inpiration magazines. I LOVE Martha Stewart.

And this particular issue has great DIY ideas.

The box holds a variety of DIY supplies, mostly for our Save-the-dates

and invitations (I'll be posting lots about these in the future!).

Fruit bowl is not wedding-related.

I know that it's a little out-of-control, but I need to have all of this stuff out, organized, and where I can see it so I don't forget about things. I have a bad habit of putting things somewhere and forgetting where they are...also, unless something stares me in the face on a daily basis, I have a tendency to procrastinate. While all of my to-do lists and supplies are out where I can see them, I think about them every day. Now, this might be annoying to some, but it's excellent motivation for me to keep up with those to-dos. I'm pretty much on track, and even ahead of the curve on several tasks (the invitation design, for example).

So sorry, sweetie - I know the wedding has taken over the front room (and we're still 10 months out! I don't even want to think how it will look once we really get into the DIY zone - paper, flowers, photos, EVERYWHERE). You could always donate your half of the office to the cause...

Inspiration

Because The Scatterbrained Groom and I like to keep things simple, we decided on black/red/ivory as our wedding colors. These colors are super easy to find. Plus, if you're from the south, you know that these colors also represent the University of Georgia - my alma mater and absolute favorite football team. So the colors were an easy decision for us.


I'm still working on my own inspiration board, but I wanted to share a couple that I've seen around the web that I love. I'm hoping to incorporate various ideas from these boards, as well as a few of my own, to create a wedding that is very us.















From Wedzilla blog.
I love the Alice in Wonderland thing going on here...especially since there are a couple Alice quotes we're considering putting on invitations and programs.

The multiple shades of red here really

pop.

This board from Truly Engaging.

I'll post my own board once I get it together. Stay tuned!

News Flash: Hell has frozen over and pigs are flying

Because I'm getting married.

I'm starting this blog as a place to keep my planning in order (as I am, in fact, a scatterbrained bride), vent my wedding-related frustrations, share some of my DIY project goodness, and otherwise discuss wedding planning (as otherwise I would be babbling on and on to my friends, who, God-bless-em, will listen and nod but will probably go crazy).

Let's start out with some basic details about us and our wedding...

Mr. Scatterbrain, my wonderful fiance, and I met while working together at a bar/restaurant. We've been together two years now. We love to have friends over to play board games and to play World of Warcraft (because we are nerds).

We live in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia and are having our wedding near my parents' house, in another suburb of Atlanta. Our main goal for the wedding is for everyone to have fun. Delicious food, freely-flowing spirits, and lots of dancing...those are our main priorities, and where the majority of the budget is going. We have lots of DIY planned, from invites to out-of-town bags, which I'll be talking about as we get there.

Stay tuned as I venture forth into...Planet Bride!