it's all about the money, honey

So , people who know me well know that I'm a bit of a budget freak. I like playing with numbers in spreadsheets and trying to see what I can make them do. I like seeing how I can make my student debt go away, how I'm going to save for that next fancy purse, or put away money for boudoir photography or whatever it may be.

It may then surprise you to know that I have not yet made a wedding budget. It's worse than that, actually. I have not practically sat down and worked the wedding into my budget.

I have an idea of what I'm comforable spending. I'm not currently going to put a number on here, but it's between 5-10K, so not a heck of a lot, but it's not small. If I wanted to, I could pay out of pocket for the entire affair tomorrow, so I don't even technically have to save specifically for it. Except for the fact that I totally do because a wedding is not a reason to touch the emergency fund.

I'm not sure what I'm dragging my feet about, really. Putting it off is just stupid, frankly - it doesn't help me in the long run.

I think seeing all the numbers on paper is scary. Part of me can't wait to do it - because when you have the budget in place it's really real in a way that is very meaningful to me. It becomes not just something I am talking about, but a plan that I am putting in to action.

Part of it is that I'm not sure how I feel about spending thousands of dollars on a wedding. I mean, really? One day? Granted, it is one of the most momentous days of my life, and I only plan on getting married the once. But it's a lot of money for one day. Which is part of why professional photography is so important - I want a physical reminder that lasts to come out of it. I want to be able to look back and relive this.

At the end of the day, we have also decided that our venue/food really dictate the rest of the budget. We are set on one specific venue - and it's not cheap. Not that it's ridiculous, but we are putting a real chunk of money down on quality food because that matters to us. The fact that we want a small-ish wedding also makes that more feasible.

I guess I need to get cracking, eh?