Who Pays for What?

Lots of girls dream about planning their wedding, however, I'm guessing most of those dreams don't include long, drawn-out discussions about the budget. In the short amount of time that I have been planning my wedding, establishing how much we would spend and who would pay for what, has transformed me from a blushing bride into a raging bridezilla! Money is never an easy thing to talk about, but determining a budget is one of the first things you should do. Don't assume that your parents or the groom's parents are willing to pay a certain amount because when it comes down to the time to write the check, you maybe the one signing on the line.

Traditionally, the groom's family would pay for the rehearsal dinner and the bride's family would pay for the rest. Today, there really are no set guidelines for who pays for what. I know couples whose families each paid half, the groom's family paid for everything, or the couple paid for their own wedding. It really just depends on the couple and the families involved, which can make things more complicated. I didn't want my parents to go broke paying for our wedding, but I didn't want my future in-laws to think that my family and I were expecting anything from them. Like I said, it's complicated!

Choosing the Date

Before selecting vendors and sending out your Save The Dates, you have to pick your wedding date. There are several different factors you should consider when choosing a date for your big day. If you want to have a Winter Wonderland theme, you probably don't want to schedule your wedding for the middle of August! If you have a specific venue in mind, you may want to choose a date based on what they have available. You also might want to consider your bridal party's or guests availability. (You most likely won't be able to find a date that works for everyone, but you also don't want to schedule your wedding for the same day as your cousin's.)

I always envisioned getting married in the fall. I dreamed of fall foliage, pumpkin centerpieces and the crisp fall air. I had it all planned out...then my fiance proposed Dec. 30. When we (I) began planning the wedding, I tried to find some way to make a fall wedding possible. I didn't have an issue with planning a wedding in nine or ten months, but I couldn't sell Matt on this idea. He will be graduating from his Master's program in May of 2013 and didn't believe that we would be financially stable in September or October, so a fall wedding in 2013 was out.

My Love Story

Matt and I in New Orleans, Dec. 30, 2012.

Matt and I first met at the start of my junior year of college. He played on the university's baseball team and we shared a few mutual friends on the team. He spotted me at a party and asked his friends who I was. His friends told him I was dating other people, so things never really took off.

Several months later, the two of us were hanging out with a group of friends. At the end of the night Matt volunteered to walk me back to my dorm room. During the walk back, the conversation seemed to flow effortlessly. Once we arrived at my room, I thought he would come in so we could hang out a little bit longer. Instead, he said goodnight and left. (Later, I learned that I was apparently giving him "strong vibes" that I wasn't interested.)