Modern wedding theory seems to say that you can have a wonderful wedding if you have a lot of money to spend.
I think that you can have a wonderful wedding if you have a lot of meaning to share. And there are many places where meaning can transcend money.
Some things do cost money and you can not get around that. What you want to decide is how you want to allocate your money choices. Spend money where it's important and save where it's not so important. You can spend your life scouring the Internet looking for alternatives at a cheaper price. There may be things for which you want to do that. But I'm talking about something else. I'm talking about increasing the meaning quotient and decreasing the money quotient. This does mean that you'll be doing more work. But wedding planning is hard anyway. So, do work that's fun to do because you're doing it for your guests – and absolutely you're doing it for that fabulous marriage you're creating and sustaining.
What do you need to know and do before you embark on planning your perfectly-priced wedding? Ask yourself:
- How much money do you really have to spend ? You can not plan a wedding without having the money question clearly defined. You have to have a wedding budget.
- Are you really willing to spend just that amount ? Make an agreement right now not to allow wedding creep. It's difficult. Wedding planning is seductive. There are all those fabulous wedding products out there that make you believe your wedding would be enhanced if you could only have that one thing. Well, maybe it could. What are you willing to give up to get that one thing? You have to keep to your wedding budget.
- What is most important to you on your wedding day to share with your community ? Yep, working on your wedding ceremony and your wedding vows. Keeping your attention tightly focused on the transition your relationship is making from engaged to married helps you with the the onslaught of "buy this to have a fabulous wedding." You have to keep adjusting your wedding budget to fit your marriage goals.
- How are you going to allocate your funds among those things ? Ah, this is always the question. But the answer lies with spending the money on things that you think will make the experience wonderful for your guests and leave them excited to support your new venture. You have to use your wedding budget to allow your guests to delight in your new marriage.
Raise the meaning quotient by working really hard on your wedding ceremony and wedding vows. Share your hopes, dreams and plans for the future with your guests and set them up to concentrate on your marriage and your community. The goal is to enhance rather than deflect that with your party. This is going to make for a wonderful wedding and lead you to a thriving marriage.