Wedding Budget Tips
So, you have your wedding budget…now what? There are many options for how exactly to invest your budget, but we recommend investing the bulk of it in these top five categories (IN THIS ORDER) for your wedding. #1. Venue
This sets the stage of your day, make sure it is meaningful, a place that you and your partner both have chosen together! This is the first step in decision making as an almost married couple, so in a way, it also sets the stage for what married life will be like too. Compromise, budget, compare, and more will happen when finding that perfect venue! 
#2. Photographer
Be sure to find a photographer that takes time to build trust with you, who knows what you do and don’t want for your pictures. They are capturing the most precious moments in the start of your marriage, make sure you LOVE their style and personality. Nothing worse than a photographer you don't vibe with ruining the mood on your special day. #3. Catering
Listen, food is everything today, tomorrow, and believe it or not, on your wedding day! Guests want food, and they want GOOD food!
So, vet your caterers, go to tastings, and really think about what culinary experience you’d like your guests to experience on your special day!#4. Entertainment
This is a no-brainer! What do you remember most about a wedding you attended 5 years ago? The entertainment of course!!! Get a kick-ass DJ, live band, or even an orchestra to really give the experience and ambiance that you want at your wedding. #5. Florals
Okay, so this is one that obviously can break the budget a lot of times but hear us out. Flowers have meaning behind them, every single one! Flowers bring joy to people with their fragrance, beautiful colors, and representation! Flowers can transform any venue/space from “Oh, that’s nice” to “Holy smokes, what a gorgeous, upscale wedding!”. The number one complaint we see about florals is “I don’t see myself spending a lot of my budget on flowers when they just will get thrown out and die anyway.”. This is why we tell our clients what is so cool about florals! Florals can be multi-purposed throughout your wedding day for various things, and even sent home as favors at the end of the night or donated to your local nursing home or hospital to bring others more joy! 
Closing Thoughts
A few more key places to place focus on when it comes to your budget is hair & makeup, honeymoon planning, and floral preservation! These are less important to some couples but others these categories also play a key role in preserving memories from your wedding day and so it is important not to leave them out of the budget. At the end of the day, it’s important to be frank with each other and share not only how much you can spend, but also how much you’re willing to budget for your wedding. It may well be that your partner has differing wedding ambitions and financial priorities than you. This of course is fine as long as you discuss your feelings early on and try your best to find an honest middle ground. Those who don’t tend to find that planning a wedding becomes more like a series of battles, rather than the harmonious experience it should be.
Honesty is essential too when discussing the overall wedding budget with those potentially contributing to your wedding day. Parents and close family members should be asked respectfully if they are willing to contribute or assist you in financing the wedding. More than likely those who want to contribute will make it known without you having to ask, but they may not have nailed down an actual figure yet.
Plan a time to sit down and talk numbers with your respective family, and so they can prepare properly, maybe give them a heads-up before meeting to let them know exactly what it is you’d like to discuss. In this day in age everyone thinks that cutting corners to save money is a smart move, but this is because we are not budgeting effectively. Invest in your wedding and marriage, allow yourself a budget for all of the MOST important things to you regarding that day and the rest will fall into place.
Ultimately these are only suggestions from a planning professional, but as always budget where you want the focus of your wedding memories to be. 