No my blog wasn’t in the Times, but the subject we discuss every Monday was!  There was an article in yesterday’s NY Times about saving money on your wedding – How to Take a Cake Knife to Wedding Costs.  While some of the money saving tips in the article may seem extreme, like having your Dad take formal photos (who is going to take the ones that he is in??), the heart of the article is something that I have been wanting to discuss for some time: prioritizing.  In tough economic times it is of the utmost importance to prioritize the different aspects of your wedding and then budget appropriately. 

Many sample budgets like this one available on the Knot  fail to take into account your personal preferences.  For example, the aforementioned budget puts nearly 50% of the budget into the reception.  If a big party with lots of food and alcohol isn’t important to you than this budget isn’t right for you.  You and your fiance should sit down together, prioritize what is most important to each of you and adjust your budget accordingly. 

For example, my “big two” were my dress and my photography.  From there I sort of farmed out things that were of no importance to me – like the place and the cake.  My mom really wanted me to get married at Scarritt Bennett so she offered to foot the bill for that.  Perfect!  An item that didn’t matter that much to me completely off my budget worksheet!  My initial cake baker had to cancel due to family issues and I was so over looking for one at that point I decided I’d just have pie – I prefer pumpkin pie to cake anyway.  My sister-in-law swooped in and offered to find a new baker and pay for it as our wedding/birthday presents.  Fabulous!  For every dollar I was able to farm out, I was able to add it to the things that were really important to me.

All that is to say, while I could never imagine photography NOT being important to someone on their wedding day, every person is different and you have to examine what is important to you before you commit to a budget.  If photography isn’t important to you, go ahead and have your Dad take pictures and spend more on something that matters more to you (although you might want to make sure his equipment is a little more up to date than the Polaroid pictured below, LOL).  But if you are like me and cherish photos as memories, then go ahead and give us a call