Planning an Affordable Wedding (and How to Waste Money Doing It)

Clay Lancaster - Wedding Photographer

Very few people go into their wedding planning thinking, "Man, let's see how much money we can blow!"... if you're one of the very lucky few that can think like that, then bravo, I guess.

For the rest of us, our budget is limited. Especially lately, as our economy slowly recovers and the unemployment rate seemingly improves at the same speed of which we've been able to stop the war overseas.

From experience, I've seen weddings done beautifully with budgets ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. A lot of these budgets are determined based on the bride and groom's level of expectations, and level of creativity.

What are the common elements that seem to eat up most of these pocketbooks?

• the venue
• the food and alcohol
• the flowers
• the photographer
• the DJ or band
• the dress
• the cake

Most of these are a given, in a sense. You need a venue, you want your guests to eat and drink, you want them to dance, you want the decor to look nice, you want to look nice, and you want the day captured so you can share and re-live the memories.

Of ALL of these items, the one I most often hear complaints about is the photography. Why? because once the wedding is over and done with, your photos are the only thing you have left over to remember this important day.

But why do these couples complain? Because they skimped on the photography portion of the budget.

For some reason in this country, most people refuse to spend money on artistic things. We (United States citizens) are so materialistic in our desires. We want immediate gratification from something we can touch, hold, use, etc. So when it comes to paying a photographer to take photos, many people think "oh, well I can take nice photos with my digital camera, and so can half of my guests... it can't be that difficult, so why should I blow so much money on it?'

And then they complain... either to other photographers like myself, or on something like Craigslist as they search for someone to re-take some photos in order to have something they can frame and display to their friends and family.

The reality is this: the $10,000 that you spent on dinner and alcohol for your 200 guests will be forgotten by bed time. The measly $1,000 that you budgeted on a photographer will give you mediocre results, which will be your only source of memories for the rest of your marriage.

Putting it like this makes it seem pretty obvious. Why spend so much of your budget on something temporary, and barely budget for your life-long keepsakes? It makes no sense.

Unfortunately, seeing that (hopefully) you'll only get married once, there really isn't an opportunity for someone to say "I told you so" and learn from the mistake.

As I recently read on the Denon & Doyle DJ website, "...your guests won't be saying 'that was the BEST chicken dinner I've ever had!' " Yet, so many couples spend most of their budget on exactly that. In reality, your guests would be happy with the simple beer & wine options, and enough decent food to keep them from going hungry all night. If you fear that your guests will be disappointed with a buffet and no mixed drinks to sip on, then maybe you need new guests. After all, they're supposed to be there to support you! Not to get a free meal at your expense.

With that said, you ultimately want a fun and memorable day, yes? And with all the planning and expenses that go into such an event, how are you going to document it? With a "budget" photographer? I don't know about you, but I have to wonder: what's the point in putting in all this effort and not even have proper photos of the fiasco?

Bottom line: Your photos are your main source of re-living and remembering the details of your wedding day. Food and drinks will be forgotten by you and all of your guests as soon as it's digested. Spend your precious budget on a venue that you love, a good DJ that will keep people dancing and having fun, and a photographer that can capture the event properly and get all those smiling faces and amazing poses.

Our revised budget list:

• the venue
• the photographer
• the music source
• everything else

Because honestly folks, some of the most fun and memorable weddings I've been to relied on simply beer, wine, and appetizers. The real magic was in the energy and atmosphere (thanks to the DJ), and the amazing photos that the couples were able to share were due to a good photographer.

Hope this puts things in perspective, and Happy Wedding Planning!