My Glorious Wedding Mistake

Yes, that is right, a mistake. I chose the Travis Room at Vintage Villas before I had written out the guest list to its completion. It's true, I know better, but I love, love the Travis Room, and I honestly didn't think our guest list would keep expanding. Even after we got the guest list down to only people we knew for eight years or longer we were maxing out the venue. So the past couple weeks Brandt and I had several conversations and I had to make a few embarrassing phone calls. The good news is Vintage Villas had their larger Event Center still available and I think my wedding vendors had a great time laughing at me. :)



We could have invited less, but we would have offended a few people. Weddings are like funerals in the sense that they are both times in people lives that can bring out the worst and the best in each other. Families true colors will come into being and whether you are selfish or generous the bride's and grooms behavior will be spotlighted. So, Goodbye Travis and Hello, Event Center!


Here is what I have learned or already knew, but ignored and payed the price:

1. Duh, write a COMPREHENSIVE guest list before you choose the facility!
2. If your venue has two reception areas available ask for the cost of both of them.
3. Do not order your invitations until you get closer to the date and you have finalized EVERYTHING! (I should have waited)
4. 25% of the people you will invite will probably not attend, but also remember, if you invite them, they will come!
5. Do not invite people you have not spoken to in the past year. Email counts as talking, but Facebook does not!
6. Add in the plus ones, especially if they have been dating your cousin for 3 years! A wedding is a social gathering and can be uncomfortable for many single people. I cannot tell you how offended I have been when I have been invited to a wedding, but Brandt wasn't, even though we had been together longer than the special couple.
7. A nice touch is to offer babysitting for the children.
8. You probably don't want to invite an ex!
9. A head table adds something great to a room, but if your wedding party are all married, opt for a sweetheart table instead and sit your wedding party with their partners.
10. If you don't want them there, don't invite them.

BIG WEDDING! No Debt!

That's right, I said, no debt. I will say it again, NO Debt.

The urban myth says "a bride's wedding day is the happiest day of her life". I hope not. How would the birth of my child or hopefully the day I see my own grandchild being born compare to my wedding day? How about the day Brandt told me he loved me for the first time or the day we moved into our first house? How about every day knowing we don't live beyond our means and I can stay at home with my daughter and work part time?

I have seen many couples take out $30,000 to $40,000 worth of loans to pay for their dream wedding. Too often, I see couples forget there is a marriage after the wedding. Do I want to start our life together in debt? No. Do I want to have a college education fund to help my children go to college? Yes! Do I want to be at every PTA meeting, stay at home with my kids, and volunteer at school to give them a wonderful foundation? A Resounding yes. Do I want to have a mortgage I can afford? You bet. This is how Brandt and I agreed to live our life and set a budget accordingly.

I have found discussing a wedding budget and every day finances with Brandt was one of the best things we could do for our relationship. Money is the biggest cause of divorce and we needed to come to an agreement before we realized we didn't agree! We have situated our finances based on our strengths. His strength is saving and mine is spending: he deals with stocks and bonds, I deal with coupons and sales.

While I will be sharing my budget tips and highlighting each of my vendors in future blog posts, here is a short list that got us started.

1. The number one thing that saves money on an Austin wedding: Choose a Friday or a Sunday wedding to get married. This saves a couple lots and lots at the venue and with all of their vendors. You can also look at having a daytime wedding! We chose a Sunday evening wedding to get the most bang for our buck. It is in our budget and we we are extremely happy.
2. The second: Choose a month that is not in the peak season for Texas. Months that could potentially save you money in Austin are: January, February, July, August, and December.
3. Some venues have several sites to get married. Our venue is Vintage Villas and they offer "The Travis Room" as opposed to their larger event facility. We chose "The Travis Room" that still holds 100 people and has the most amazing view.
4. If a particular wedding item is stressing me out and it isn't necessary, then I have to rethink if I want to pay for said item.
5. We also chose to go semi-formal instead of formal so we can save a little more.
6. We also talked about what is important to us as a couple and the 3 vendors we did not want to go cheap on: food, booze, and music.

Out of all the weddings I have attended, well over 1000, the only things I remember is if the food was good, if the party was fun, and if the room was pretty. This is our focus.