How fantastic would it be to have a wedding where the biggest expense were the wedding favors? How about a wedding where the biggest decision you had to make was whether to purchase the wine wedding favors or the silver wedding favors. Now for the really big question, what if you could have beautiful wedding for less than a thousand dollars? It can be done and I know someone that did. I asked my friend how he managed to afford getting married when they were just starting out and made less than fifty thousand a year between them. His answer may surprise you.
All For One
When my friend and his wife decided it was time to tie the knot, they did so knowing that they could not afford a big wedding just yet. They also knew that to have the kind of wedding he thought she deserved and that she was secretly dreaming of they would have to work and save for years. They decided that the old adage is true; two can live just as cheap as or cheaper than one. They knew they could combine their utility bills into one and save money. The also knew that two people can share food and waste less than one because the majority of food is already packaged for two. Their rent, cable bill, and almost anything else that we pay for in this world can become less burdensome when two people split the bill.
The Priority List
My two friends then got together and wrote a wedding priority list to decide what they really wanted, and what they were willing to settle for until they could afford it. What they came up with surprised everyone, themselves included. Of course, they would need some help but hey, that is what friends are for. They decided that the majority of their first wedding budget should go to the honeymoon slash vacation that they both so richly needed and deserved. With that in mind, here is what they came up with.
Getting the Basics
They Applied for and received a permit to hold the wedding in Heartland Park in downtown Omaha. It is a beautiful place and the weather was gorgeous. If you are going to have a decorator for your wedding, who could be better than Mother Nature to provide a beautiful setting? Then they purchased the wedding attire. She bought a beautiful dress. It was perfect. She found it at the first shop she visited and I have never seen a prettier bride. He rented a tuxedo. The total bill came to $900.00 just about even. The park permit cost $25.00. Now all they needed was a preacher and friends who were willing to pitch in and make it right.
That is what Friends Are For
My friends paid their own pastor $50.00 to perform the ceremony and his wife, who dabbled in photography and was trying to establish herself as a wedding photographer donated her services in exchange for use of the photos to promote her business. Another friend opened his beautiful and spacious home to the happy couple for the reception after the ceremony and everyone pitched in and brought food with them. One of our friends baked a terrific wedding cake that was a huge success.
And So It Goes
For just under a thousand dollars, my friends had a very nice wedding and a great honeymoon. They have been married for 12 wonderful years and through the vicissitudes, they managed to save enough for one of the finest weddings money can buy. They did what they had to do back then to have a memorable wedding and a great honeymoon and now have the means to do it right but the bride confided in me that she thought no wedding, no matter how big could ever replace the wonderful experience they had when all their friends came together and helped them in a labor of love.
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