Intro

When my brother, sister-in-law and I hatched out the wedding budget for the first time several months ago, we arrived at a number around $14K. I thought I was shocked... but nowhere near as much as my fiance! Yesterday, Brian and I sat down with my dad and step mom and received our allotted wedding budget, $8,000 - we were extremely pleased. Even though it is half the amount of our original number, I could not justify paying $14K for an afternoon party, an amount higher than the down payment we made on our house. I know weddings are supposed to be special, but the money for these things have gotten out of control. I began looking at the Bride on a Budget and Cheap Ass Bride sites only to find these "cheap" brides are working with double digit budgets or the site is riddled with ads for overcharging companies. I wanted to create a blog documenting how I will stay under $8K while still creating an elegant and warm wedding here in Portland, Oregon. With the help from my brother, a professional wedding planner and DJ, I have exactly one year to plan this wedding, the big day is July 6th, 2013.