Inflation?

Back to regular posts! At least for now. My conversation with my mother this weekend really drove home the fact that we are really nowhere in terms of a plan. I feel like I have been talking about nothing but weddings, but maybe it hasn't exactly been in any sort of organized way. Eep!


Speaking of my mother, as I think about her own big day, it does bring one important aspect to mind (aside from location, of course): budget. My parents claim to have executed a $100 wedding in 6 weeks. I recall smiling and nodding at hearing this story, chalking it up to another one of my mother's wild exaggerations and made-up memories/words/songs ("I walk 10 miles uphill to school..."). So I called her on it. "Mom", I said, "Tell me about your wedding budget." I drilled her on the cost of everything, and to the best of her knowledge (with grunts of agreement from my father in the background), this was my parents' actual budget, for a 40-person wedding, planned in 6 weeks, in 1974:

Food - $1.50/plate x 40 people = $60
8 bottles wine = $20
Dress made by a friend $0
White shoes platform owned by Mom $0
Cake made by Mom's Mom $0
Cake decorating (church ladies) $10
Piano player - gift $0
Singer - gift $0
Rental of Venue - Curling Club $0
Punch $20
Photos taken by a friend $20

TOTAL $130

OK, so it wasn't a wild exaggeration after all.

Geez, I've already spent more than that on JUST the shoes. Clearly this is not a matter of inflation. While, yes, a "budget" wedding is certainly important to us (being that we have no budget!), I know that we both want it to be a great party. I can't imagine doing that at $3 a head... Fast forward more than 30 years, and this is equally impressive: 2000 Dollar Budget Wedding - a blog created by an American couple who spent a whopping $2012 on their own big day. Again, pushing it.

I am, at least, inspired.

Luckily, Alex and I are both fairly creative, and can save a little money with craftiness. Yeah, D.I.Y.! I have tricks up my sleeve. I also have a slew of uber-talented friends who, if they love me, will spare time for various gluing/taping/stapling/weaving/printing/hemming duties. I may add "meltdown management" to the job description, as well. Girls, I won't even make you buy papaya taffeta dresses.

So, I bought a binder and dividers today, to serve as my wedding planner and money tracker. Cost: $18. Even creating a budget hits our budget. *sigh*

(from: La Petite Maison)

(For funsies, I think I'll add a running tally to this blog, at the right. I might lie about certain things. Shoes may or may not be the only things that make me unreasonable.)