What can I do during the wedding planning process to avoid having to cancel my wedding?
The number one thing that I say that people make the most mistake when planning a wedding is not creating a finalized budget. So before you even decide where you are having your wedding, the time of year that you are having your wedding, any of that, you need to sit down and say, "Financially, what can I afford and what are people going to give me?" And it is one of those things where often parents will say, "Well, lets see how much your wedding ends up costing and I'll tell you how much I can spend on the wedding." And you want to say, "No, unfortunately, I need to know up front what it is you can contribute." And sometimes that is a challenge for people. So you can also ask your family, "Well is there any way that maybe you can take care of something like the flowers or the photographer?" Or what have you. But the biggest mistake people make is not sticking to their budget and not creating one that is realistic. One of the things that people will say to me, "I don't need your help as a coordinator." and I always say, "You do need my help and that is probably the number one thing that you need my help with is creating a realistic budget." We obviously know how much clothes cost but realistically do you know how much a diamond ring costs? Do you know how much a photographer costs? So you may say, "My friend got married four years ago and she was able to spend $3,000 on a photographer. With inflation that photographer may now be charging six...things like that, being realistic, just knowing your means. None of us would go out and say, "I can't afford to buy $60,000 car but I'm going to." It's the same way. You need to do your research, know how much things cost, definitely splurge on some items. I tell my clients, "If photography is really important to you, maybe you are going to spend $6,000 on a photographer and maybe flowers are not that important to you and you'll spend three. Just know what your limits are and know what is important to you and spend accordingly.
