Paying for a wedding is one of the hardest things to do as a couple. You need to make sure you are on the same page when it comes time to how much you are willing to spend. Most people have no clue about prices and then it’s a very scary thought! How do we pay for this! Today our Traditional Bride Kath is talking about how she has made her decisions and how getting a second income has helped her pay for her wedding.
So here we are, 2016! 9 months til I walk down the aisle! When I opened that tiny box containing my very sparkly future on Christmas Eve 2013, the days, weeks and months seemed to roll ahead forever!! But nope… here it is. And so the panic begins!!
We did nothing for the first year!! In all honesty, having been together the best part of 10 years (with a couple of years intermission!!) we weren’t in any rush, and financially, we knew that on my basic admin wage and The Manfriend’s intermittent cheffing pay packages, we were unlikely to be able to afford the wedding of our (read: “my”) dreams for a long while yet anyway. Or so we thought… 
As if by fate, a friend got in touch with me a month after our engagement, and showed me a business opportunity whereby I could earn some extra cash in my spare time, from the comfort of my couch, with nothing but an internet connection. This was welcomed with open arms by the lazy devil on my shoulder, and I became the owner of my own health and lifestyle business almost overnight! Fast forward til today, we have deposits down on everything, as well as savings, meaning we could essentially pay the whole thing off now. But we are still watching the purse-strings and it doesn’t mean we haven’t had to make some sacrifices! So this installment is all about the P’s… Picking, Planning and Paying those Pennies!
Despite having a modest upbringing, I’ve got pretty expensive taste. Not by choice, believe me, I’ve tried to change, but the lazy devil I just mentioned also likes to live beyond his means, and I’m fighting a losing battle! Show me a page of shoes in a magazine and I will fall in love with the only pair that cost £200!! 
So you can imagine shopping for The Dress… I tried on, no word of a lie, approximately 19 gowns in about 3 hours; long, short, fitted, poofy, fishtail, princess, white, cream, sleeved and non-sleeved, lace, satin, every style and shade going, without checking any prices, truly following my heart (also known as the lazy extravagant devil) and what did my heart choose? The only dress that was over a grand. Typical.
Boom, there go my chair covers!!
And it was the same with the photographer!
I scoured portfolios, studied styles, filters, poses and various packages, then in a wedding fayre, I just so happened to glance up at one picture on display of a bride looking up at her dad making a speech. The love emanating from that one picture took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. I looked at the chap responsible for the pic, deep in conversation with another couple, and swiped his card, booking him in my heart before I even checked his prices. Best part of 2 grand gone there, in a heartbeat, literally! 
Bye bye photobooth!! And I had REALLY wanted a photobooth. I wanted Marryoke. I wanted my friends and loved ones to crease themselves laughing at silly pictures of colourful wigs and goofy glasses, but was that really more important than The Manfriend and I having an album of pictures so perfect that they make our hearts burst with love when we look back at them in ten, twenty, fifty years…? We decided not. But of course, I still want my friends and loved ones to wear silly wigs and goofy glasses, so as per the advice of the creative, penny-pinching angel on my other shoulder; I’m going to make a DIY photobooth of my own, with a strung-up cardboard frame, a cheap box of props, and a few disposable cameras!
Besides, I wasn’t fussed about having a honeymoon anyway!! (Nb, this is a joke. We are still working on this!!)
The point I’m trying to make is, you’re only going to do this once, if you want something special, go for it!! Don’t ever forget the most important P of all… Priorities!!
