In defense of "Budget Weddings"

I've been reading some discussion about the term "budget wedding," and it turns out some folks are over it, even the champions of all things thrifty can't stand the term budget wedding. Why? Well, it seems there's a reverse reaction -- instead of the pressure to afford all the extravagant details, there becomes the pressure to fall under some price point. Like $10,000, that's all I could spend. And I'm going to try to afford all the things that I feel I'm supposed to have within that budget. Instead, have an honest wedding that reflects who you are. Thus, achieving it under a certain budget shouldn't be the real reason you celebrate. True, true and true.

But let me defend the term budget wedding -- because let's face it. There are people on a budget, especially now. People simply can't afford to spend more than $15k, $10k or $5k. I would love to invite everyone I know to my wedding, have a grand, semiformal feast and host an outdoor music festival, but that can't happen with the money we have. Whatever your price point is, if there's a maximum cap, it becomes a budget wedding. My friend spent $25,000 on her wedding, and even though that's astronomical compared to my budget, it was a budget wedding for her. Her wedding included a guest list of 500 people -- all of whom were family and close friends. She wanted to include a full course feast to send everyone home stuffed. Food and family, that's what she wanted and that was the wedding that made sense for her. But industry insiders would have told her that $25,000 for those must-haves would be insane. She simply had to find creative ways and stretegies to stretch her dollar and have the wedding that she wanted.

This is what this blog celebrates. Not falling under a specific budget, but finding thrifty and practical ways, creative ideas and opportunities to have the wedding you want within the monetary constraints you have. Because so-and-so spent $40K on their wedding, doesn't mean you have to and the same goes for so-and-so who spent $5K. So what if I want the church wedding, the dress with a long train, a sit-down dinner and a professional photographer following us around. Those are the things I want, those are the things that feel comfortable to me and not because someone else told me those are the things I need. So, our tastes are semi-conventional. Don't assume just because our wedding doesn't fall under the usual laidback, hippie-picnic-in-the-park criteria that it's not genuine. Have the wedding you want and I'll have the wedding I want. If we can do it under the budget we can afford, then that's just the icing on the wedding cake.