Buh-bye Budget

I've been number crunching all night for the upcoming wedding, and I have a feeling I might have some kissing to do - as in, kissing my budget goodbye. I certainly hope it doesn't come to that, but DAYUM, having a wedding in New York is a total wallet buster, and I've done all the "money saving" tips you read about in magazines!! When I was talking with a friend, I let my budget number slip, and she gasped, stating how LOW it was for NY standards. Hmmmphhh, as a new home-owner anything more than ZERO is a wallet strain.

Here are some things I have done to try and keep my budget on the low:

• I booked my photographer early. And by early I mean, three years ago. It was great because I locked in awesome prices for the most important aspect of my wedding. Right now this moment, when it comes to the wedding, I am most excited about working with the photographer we booked. They are a husband-wife team, charming people, and so extremely talented. You can see their work here.
• Next, I'm making all of my paper products myself, duh. 
• Third, get this, I actually disclosed to my vendors what my budget is, and they were willing to work with me. In the last post I was toying with the idea to do my own flowers, but at the end of the day, that's what professionals are for. I told my florist what I wanted to spend, and she was amazingly gracious to work with me. We negotiated for me to deliver the flowers myself, as getting to my venue is going to be murder in the morning before the wedding (you try driving to Jones Beach during the Blue Angel Air Show). By picking up the flowers myself, the day before the wedding, I am saving nearly 20%.  *ugh* lifesaver! 
• I didn't let myself try on gowns over my budget. No way, no how. And guess what - I found the most amazing dress in the world and it was UNDER my budget! 
• Back to flowers - I am using tons and tons of candles as my main decor. The beautiful floral arraignments are going to be an accent to the romantic candlelight. 
• I borrowed. My fiance's cousin (who is also one of my bridesmaids) got married this past year. She is lovingly allowing me to borrow most of the decor she purchased for her own wedding. Thanks Em! 
• Photo-booths are the new "it" thing. So of course I want one. So why not use my own D-SLR camera and tripod, along with some awesome fabric from my mother-in-law's company as a backdrop? Can we say free? I think so!

And here are a few things where I totally splurged (eek!)

• Photography. Even if we got a great deal, it's still double what we budgeted. Do I regret it? Heck no! 
• Music. We originally booked a family friend as a DJ, but after a little venue confusion we had to book somebody else. At the end of the day our DJ is AH-mazing, but again, we're talking nearly double budget, again. 
• Rentals. We're not getting married at a typical catering hall. We need to rent everything from chairs to forks to lights and heaters. It adds up, and really darn fast. 
• My shoes. Don't tell my fiance though, he thinks they were on sale. 
• Transportation. This one makes me angry, I still cannot get over how much companies charge for a car to pick you up and drop you off. The biggest splurge is that we are getting a shuttle for our guests, so that nobody needs to worry about driving after a few cocktails. Worlds ugliest shuttle bus costs more than my antique car & two stretch limo rentals combined. I hate it, I want to spit on the jerks that get away with charging that kind of money.

OK, hope you all enjoyed some of my wedding breakdown. Don't let me cry in your ear too much, at the end of the day I hopefully will not go over budget. I'll also have a fabulous one-of-a-kind wedding.

So, um, back to work?!