PERSONAL FINANCE
Say “Yes”
TO THE BUDGET HOW TO SAVE AND SPEND FOR YOUR WEDDING
I
BY SAM SCHIPANI
was never one of those little girls with a vision board full of cut outs from Bride’s magazine with my perfect dress, hairstyle, floral arrangements and venue for my future wedding. I was too preoccupied creating prehistoric zoos with my dinosaur figurines or contemplating the best hot glued arrangement of fake flowers on my sun hat to make me look like a proper late 19th-century socialite à la “Hello, Dolly!” You’d think given the latter musical obsession that I would have had some matrimonial foresight, but alas. When I got engaged a few months ago (thank you), I immediately wished I had a decades-old wedding binder — and maybe a bridal piggy bank, too. The logistical nightmare of planning a wedding is overwhelming on its own, but the cost is what has me weak in the knees. According to the wedding planning website The Knot, the average cost of a wedding in Maine is $33,500, which is embarrassingly close to my annual salary. But Catherine Gross, a wedding photographer based in Vassalboro, said that a budget shouldn’t stop me from having the Big Day of my dreams. “Getting married is an investment,” Gross said. “Planning a wedding on a budget is subjective because everyone has a
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different budget, but no matter what I believe you can still have the wedding of your dreams just by shifting your thinking and getting creative.” Gross said to create your dream wedding with everything you want and price it out. Let your imagination run wild — a ceremony at Acadia National Park with a Valentino dress and tux, catered by Erin French, that ends with a tasteful fireworks display as Brandi Carlisle croons in the background. Just as an example. Then, it is time to get real with what you can afford as a couple — but that doesn’t mean you can’t splurge on the elements that really matter to you. Kristina Slocum, owner and planner at Purple Orchid Weddings and Events, said that she asks her clients what the most important parts of their wedding are to them. “Is it the food, the experience, the photos, the design?” Slocum said. “From there we can allocate how much should be spent in each category. Budgets for food, flowers, photos change with every client.” Slocum said that having an idea of the number of guests you plan to invite early on will help formulate that target number. “The venue, food and booze [are] typically your largest expenses,” Slocum said. “Make sure your venue can hold the size
