So You’re Engaged. Now What?

So your sweetheart popped the question over the holidays and now all you can think about is a fairytale wedding.

Just remember that fairytale wedding can have a hefty price tag.

The average length of engagement is one year. Why? Because all of the people in the wedding industry know that if you take a year to plan, you’ll probably spend three times as much money. You’ll have a whole year to think of tiny little details to add (details with not-so-tiny price tags).

So before you spend a year of your life driving your fiance insane and draining every penny you have from your bank account, consider my personal story.

My husband and I decided we wanted to get married in summer (this was in June!). We literally spent a few hours making phone calls. We connected with a pastor, hired a photographer, and found a location. I found a beautiful dress, my husband found a nice suit (one that he’s worn many times since!), and we picked out flowers and cake over the course of just a few days. We made our guest list: 17 people including the pastor. I made the invitations on my computer. We spent all of about three days planning our August wedding.

It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony at a resort attended by our immediate family members, grandparents, and we each had a friend stand up for us. Afterwards we had a nice sit-down meal inside the resort. It was virtually stress-free, didn’t cost a fortune, and filled us with many happy memories.

Yes, there were family and friends who were upset that they were “excluded” from the wedding. Now that we’ve been married nearly 10 years, most of them have forgiven us for it. Some of them were even a bit relieved – no wedding invite meant no travelling, no new outfits to buy and no gifts to give!

You see, in my opinion, the size of the wedding doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you have 10 people or 1,000 people at your wedding. It doesn’t matter if you spend $100 or $100,000. In the end, every couple walks away with the same piece of paper that says they’re married. All that matters is that when it comes to saying “I do” you’re saying it to the right person for the right reasons.

Your wedding is one of the most memorable days of your life. But it’s just one day. Don’t make the wedding more important than the marriage.