The Most Important Things

I've been thinking a lot about wedding budgets lately.  I've been serious enough to attempt to fill out a budget sheet with various numbers just so I could get an idea of how much to save and for how long.  Eventually, when we get this planning thing started for real, it'll be useful to get realistic estimates.  But for now, the numbers aren't looking fun yet.  To help with this, I'm going to break down the most important things and the least important things for me.

Top 3 things I'd spend my wedding money on (no particular order):

• Day-of wedding photography
• Food (catering mostly... my cake priorities are not as high)
• A great DJ/emcee

Standard wedding costs I'm happy to nix completely:

• Videography
• Engagement photos
• Flowers
• Engagement party (added 9/8/11)

I know my only 2 readers might will think I'm crazy for wanting to nix those first three things, but they're really not that important to me.  The flowers are probably unavoidable, but I've never been much into florals and am open to alternatives (e.g. fans for the bridesmaids, non-floral arrangements, feather boutonnieres).

I'm also considering hiring a wedding planner--not just a day-of coordinator.  The mister and I are capable of planning really tiny events, but when it gets to be, for example, 15+ people (ahem, birthday events), we stress out.  Neither of us like to haggle prices, either, so negotiating contracts seems daunting.  We'd want to enjoy our wedding day, and putting the coordination responsibilities on our friends and family is only going to keep them from enjoying the day, too.  And they say that the planners end up paying for themselves in the cost savings they can get you--if we're going to spend x amount anyway, I say we get a little extra peace of mind with that.

All in all, the most important thing to me is that everyone (guests, wedding party, groom and me!) all have a great time on our day.  I don't think that would be best served with the nicest invitations, the prettiest wedding video, or grand floral decorations.  So I'm going to put my money in where I think people will enjoy it the most: delicious food, a fun DJ/emcee to keep the night going, and great wedding photos for guests to relive the moment a little longer. :)  But I still want a reasonably nice environment for all of this to happen... on a budget.  Crossing my fingers for the planner of my dreams.