Advice for Planning on a Budget

It’s quickly becoming clear to me that my disability is not as much of an obstacle in planning this wedding as much as I thought it would be. My bank account however, is another matter altogether. I can’t believe what some people are charging for things like veils, invitations, and bridal jewelry.

One thing is clear. Weddings are big money. Businesses know that this is potentially one of the biggest days of your life and count on the fact that you will pay big money to get exactly what you want. They have no shame either. When I was shopping for DJs some blatantly advertised a price that was double their normal rate to book a wedding and most did not include any extra services under that new price.

So how do you avoid going bankrupt while still having the wedding you always wanted? One way that I have discovered, mostly by doing lots of research, is not to go with the most obvious choice.

Instead of looking at hotels or country clubs, I booked my reception at the local community fairgrounds. This may sound a bit funny but the space they rent out for events is nice, it holds 200 people, has its own kitchen, areas for the wedding party to get ready, a bar and accessible bathrooms and the tables and chairs are included. Total cost? Under $400; that’s less than $2 per guest. Plus we were able to book the day before for the rehearsal dinner and to get a head start on decorations at no additional cost.

I also saved a lot of money by ordering my save-the-dates from an online printing company called Vista Print instead of ordering from a catalog or a company that specializes in wedding invitations. They usually specialize in marketing and promotional products for businesses, but because you can upload all your own information you can order just about anything. I was able to purchase 150 postcards, magnets and envelopes for under $60.00 including shipping. I plan to use the same site for my invitations.

Another thing you can do to save money is ask your crafty friends to make things. I have one friend designing my veil and another who has done all the work on my save-the-dates and will be designing my invites as well. Although, I do plan to pay these lovely people for their services, I won’t have to pay the inflated prices that I’ve seen in stores and catalogs.

Lastly, if you really want to save some cash you can do that by making things yourself. I have recruited friends and family to help create my table center pieces and my favors so that we don’t have to spend unnecessary funds to purchase these items.

Being on a budget when planning your wedding is difficult, but if you are willing to do a little extra work you can often get exactly what you are looking for at a pretty reasonable cost. The earlier you start, the more time you have to shop around and find what you are looking for at a price that you can afford.

An Introduction

I am starting this blog out of frustration. Because I know I am not the first woman in a wheelchair to get married and yet in all the vastness of the internet I have found exactly two examples of how some brides have decorated their chairs for the big day and absolutely nothing of dresses that work best for the seated bride. And that’s just the dress. There is also the shoe issue. I will be using both my chair and crutches on my big day and I need a dress and shoes that work for both. This, it seems, has never happened before. I know that this is bound to be the first of several problems I might encounter which require some creativity, luckily I, like many people with disabilities, am a master of ingenuity.

I guess, since I really don’t have many answers at this point I should start with an introduction. My name is Melissa and I am 28 years old. I was born with what they call a “Moderate” case of Cerebral Palsy. I am able to walk, using crutches or a walker, but use a chair at work and for long distances. I met my fiancé, Tom on Myspace when I was 23 almost 24. Last summer we bought a house and I started a full time job at a local nonprofit. This allowed me to come off of SSI and marry Tom without any government strings attached. He proposed in March and the big day is scheduled for September 10, 2011.

So that’s us. Now, that we have passed the one year mark, the planning is starting to kick into full gear. The first big order of business is the the dress. Let the games begin.