Wedding Planning 101: How Do I Do This?
So, Kenny and I have been engaged for about 7 months and we’ve started our wedding planning. We set a date, booked our venue, booked our photographer, and chosen our colors.
Now what?
First and foremost, we needed to set our budget. We’re in our early 20s, I’m freshly graduated drowning in student debt. He’s a trainer and in the Marine Corp reserves, figuring out what to do next in his career move.
We sat down, did some research, and our minds were blown with how insanely expensive weddings are in the Seattle area! From what I remember, the average is $20-30k, which isn’t something we can afford at the moment. We decided to aim for a $15k wedding, keeping it under $20k as best we can. It’s definitely going to be a budget wedding and we’re going to write about wedding planning over the next year and a half! If you want to prep for a budget wedding, come along our wild ride.
So, we’ve got our budget set—what now?
Well, we started venue hunting. Most of the venues we saw were an average of $4k, with a set list of vendors. Some farther out of the city offered much more flexibility in terms of who we could choose. We did fall in love with the first venue we visited, but after some thought, the distance and lack of accommodations for guests just didn’t feel right.
Some things to remember when you’re choosing your venue:
Kenny and I settled on a venue in our hometown—a golf course that was surprisingly affordable (though we also got a military discount since he’s currently in the active reserves). This venue allows us to set up when needed, and hours start when guests arrive. They provide catering at an affordable cost, alcohol service, set-up, and so much more. All-in-all (including bartending service and est. cost of food) we’re under $9k.
Once we had our venue secured and date chosen, we started looking for other vendors, as well as discussing where we’re able to cut costs (after we chose our colors of course!). We’ve got our photographer booked (she’s a college friend of mine!) and she gave us an awesome deal just around $2.5k for photography and videography, including our engagement shoot session! I highly recommend looking around for upcoming photographers because you never know who around you has amazing talent. Shout out to Melanie Co. Photography!
At the moment, Kenny and I have taken a pause in planning since our wedding isn’t until June of 2021. The next few things we need to check off:
Thanks for reading and following along our journey. We’re so excited for this next chapter, and it’s wild to think about the fact that in a year and a half, we’ll be married!
Are you getting married? What are your tips? Comment below!
Now what?
First and foremost, we needed to set our budget. We’re in our early 20s, I’m freshly graduated drowning in student debt. He’s a trainer and in the Marine Corp reserves, figuring out what to do next in his career move.
We sat down, did some research, and our minds were blown with how insanely expensive weddings are in the Seattle area! From what I remember, the average is $20-30k, which isn’t something we can afford at the moment. We decided to aim for a $15k wedding, keeping it under $20k as best we can. It’s definitely going to be a budget wedding and we’re going to write about wedding planning over the next year and a half! If you want to prep for a budget wedding, come along our wild ride.
So, we’ve got our budget set—what now?
Well, we started venue hunting. Most of the venues we saw were an average of $4k, with a set list of vendors. Some farther out of the city offered much more flexibility in terms of who we could choose. We did fall in love with the first venue we visited, but after some thought, the distance and lack of accommodations for guests just didn’t feel right.
Some things to remember when you’re choosing your venue:
- Are there nearby accommodations for your guests?
- How far of a drive is it for guests who don’t want to spend the night?
- Do they allow you to choose your own vendors?
- What service fees are associated with the cost?
Kenny and I settled on a venue in our hometown—a golf course that was surprisingly affordable (though we also got a military discount since he’s currently in the active reserves). This venue allows us to set up when needed, and hours start when guests arrive. They provide catering at an affordable cost, alcohol service, set-up, and so much more. All-in-all (including bartending service and est. cost of food) we’re under $9k.
Once we had our venue secured and date chosen, we started looking for other vendors, as well as discussing where we’re able to cut costs (after we chose our colors of course!). We’ve got our photographer booked (she’s a college friend of mine!) and she gave us an awesome deal just around $2.5k for photography and videography, including our engagement shoot session! I highly recommend looking around for upcoming photographers because you never know who around you has amazing talent. Shout out to Melanie Co. Photography!
At the moment, Kenny and I have taken a pause in planning since our wedding isn’t until June of 2021. The next few things we need to check off:
- Save-the-Dates & Invites
- Décor ideas
- DJ/Entertainment
- Officiant
- Wedding attire!
Thanks for reading and following along our journey. We’re so excited for this next chapter, and it’s wild to think about the fact that in a year and a half, we’ll be married!
Are you getting married? What are your tips? Comment below!
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