Recently my husband Jim & I went to a home improvement store to check out new kitchen cabinets, counter top and knobs, possibly a new back splash as well…soup to nuts! I was very excited because our cabinets are 19 years old. It was time for a new look! When we met with the sale consultant the first thing, I told her was what our budget was. My husband shot me “the look.” You know that look. The spousal “daggers in the eye balls” look. He said, “she doesn’t need to know that.” I said, “of course she does!” Look, sharing your budget is not like divulging a state secret. It was critical that she knew our budget because I didn’t want her selling me a Martha Stewart kitchen when I couldn’t afford to have Martha in my kitchen. Because if she were to sell me a Martha Stewart kitchen and, in the end, Martha wasn’t in my budget, I’d be pissed at the consultant and then disappointed that Martha wouldn’t be in my kitchen. I mean, who doesn’t want Martha Stewart in their kitchen? Who doesn’t want to BE Martha Stewart in the kitchen? If I have to have Jaclyn Smith in my kitchen, that’s fine. I’d want to know that ahead of time before I thought Martha was going to be in my kitchen.

Why am I sharing my little kitchen saga with you? Because sharing your budget with your wedding vendors is really important for many reasons:

#1. Saving Time

I don’t have many mantras but the one I live by is “I don’t like wasting money, I can always make more, but don’t waste my time, because I don’t know how much time I have.” (I know, it’s a little dark, but true). For both you and the wedding vendor, discussing details that you cannot afford is a recipe for disaster and a waste of time for both you and your vendor. For an example, when it comes to flowers, Pinterest has made peonies and garden roses a very desirable bloom in bouquets. Rightly so, they are beautiful blooms! But, along with those beautiful faces comes a pretty hefty price. A peony or garden rose before we add in any labor, runs about $18.00 a stem, just one stem.

#2. Sticker Shock!

Let’s say, as a bride you show me your “board” and its’s the Pinterest bouquet with all the peonies, garden roses, dusty miller, ranunculus, astilbe and dahlias. As the bride you may not know the names or their prices, you just know you love that look. So, without discussing your budget, I email you a floral proposal based solely on the Pinterest photo and the bouquet is $495.00. Now, comes the sticker shock. Your initial thought is, “That’s outrageous! She’s a thief!” If you had shared your floral budget, we could have determined if that was something you could afford or you and your florist could discuss substitute blooms but still keeping true to the look you are after.

This is one of the gorgeous but really expensive favorites on Pintrest.

#3. Trying to put a square peg into a round hole or in other words, blowing up the budget.

Look, there’s all kinds of rational to blowing up the budget. “You’re only getting married once” or “you don’t get a redo.” Having said that, it’s pretty important to stick to the floral budget that you and your finance have established. I’ve witnessed one or two uncomfortable encounters between couples where the bride was trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Being married is hard enough at times and you don’t want money tensions during the wedding planning, that’s just bad “juju.”

In conclusion, I hope I have made some valid points and for the brides who say, “I have no idea what my budget is” …….mmm, really? Are you sure? Because there is plenty, and I mean plenty, of information, blogs (including one by me) that give guidelines and suggestions on what your budget should range on all spending aspects of your wedding dollars. So, do your research, go see your vendors with your budget. It’ll be better for everyone in the end. Thanks for reading my “B” word blog!