I’m new to this site but have been reading the forums for a while and I’m hoping I can get some good advice.
My fiancé and I got engaged over the summer. Right now, we don’t have much extra money for a wedding. We throw what we can into an extra bank account and in about a year we’ll have $5,000 saved. A few of his friends got engaged after us and already have their date, venue, and even some vendors already secured. I’m feeling pressured and stressed because we can’t do that. We’re looking at 2021, maybe late March or April, or November-December. We live in the Lehigh Valley in PA and would like to keep our wedding in that area.
I think part of the problem is neither of us know what we want and are having a hard time figuring it out. The style, kind of venue, food, pretty much everything. I never planned details of my wedding when I was younger so I feel a little lost. Our $5,000 budget is making it harder. We were talking about doing everything in my mom’s backyard but when we were looking up the prices of rentals and everything, it was adding up so fast and really wouldn’t be saving us anything.
We won’t be getting help from either of our parents so everything is completely funded by us. I have a lot of cousins on my dad’s side, but I’ve never been close to any of them so I don’t want to invite them. I hate to come off as rude, but we just don’t have the money to invite everyone. We’re looking at a guest list of 50 and will not be making it larger.
I guess my main questions are, how do I find good deals? Is our budget even reasonable? I’ve done a lot of searching on google and have gone to bridal shows, but haven’t found anything that works within our budget. I know the first things to look for are venue and photographer, but would we benefit from a wedding planner since we’re both pretty clueless? What are some good ideas for a cheaper reception venue? Is it okay to not have a date yet or should we determine that first? Is it possible to negotiate with vendors who are over our budget? Any advice would be helpful!
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