The Budget

Overall budget: $48,200

Funding:

• Elena and Aidan both dedicated themselves to setting aside 20% of their income for the two years of their engagement. This left them with approximately $39,200. They wanted to avoid going into debt for their wedding as much as possible and did not want to rely on any external party for the majority of their funding.

• Aidan’s parents are contributing $1,500.

• Elena’s parents are contributing $5,000. She is their only child, so they have more flexibility in how much they can contribute.

• Each set of padrinos is contributing $1,250. It is common for padrinos to contribute in some way to the wedding expenses. This often occurs through the purchase of significant items for the Catholic mass; since the couple is not having a Catholic wedding the padrinos wished to contribute in another manner.

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Factors/Outcomes:

• To reduce both the cost and the environmental footprint of their wedding, Aidan and Elena were highly selective about their guest list, choosing to keep the number of invitations small. This meant that married family members were the only ones to receive plus ones and that children were asked to remain home for the festivities. This will help reduce the cost of catering overall and prevents the couple from adding childcare costs to their wedding budget.

• Certain elements, such as photos and video, were of more importance to the couple than others, such as floral decor. For this reason, they were willing to adjust some of the traditional categories to accommodate their priorities. For example, to adjust their budget accordingly, the reception will have a cash bar for guests, rather than an open bar, as alcohol expenses would have increased the overall budget upwards of $1,000.

• The overall feel of the day was very important to Elena and Aidan and greatly influenced how they opted to spend their budget. Though it meant an increased cost, it was important to the couple to book a natural setting as their intimate ceremony venue and a more lively location for their larger reception. While they could have planned to hold the reception on the grounds of the Arboretum, they want to make transport and lodging as easy as possible for their larger reception guest list.