Brides Tips from their wedding and how they did it on a $10,000 budget

One woman's story-- A wedding Q&A

by Mai Hoang
Yakima Herald-Republic

Kadee Peterson, 24, is a 2004 graduate of Eisenhower High School. Peterson, who now lives in Seattle, has been blogging about her July 24 wedding for Yakima Valley Bride, a twice-yearly niche publication of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

She answered the following questions for the Herald-Republic about what she's doing to keep her wedding budget intact.

Q: What is your wedding budget? Can you explain how you organized it?

A: My budget is about $10,000, it's a loose number. I say loosely because that is (how much) my parents can help me. Kyle (Kadee's fiance) is still finishing up his master's (degree). We will see how much we save.

We tried one of those budget forms, but they're really general. I'm not the best at the budget, but I'm making sure (to track) what I'm spending, where I'm spending and what I have left to pay for.

Q: How are you paying for it? What tips would you recommend in working with parents/relatives/etc. who may be willing to help you pay for it?

A: (My parents) knew it was coming. We have been engaged for two years. We decided to have a long engagement because of cost.

We had to talk to them about budget. They approached us and said 'We'll help you and this is what we can do.' We really just had to make sure when they're giving that much money that we have taken the things they want to see into account.

We've butted heads. That's going to come if a bride and groom (are) getting their main source of money from a relative. They're going to have a lot of say.

But they've help me stay grounded.

Q: How have your parents help you stay grounded?

A: I'm really big into photography. That's something I want to splurge on. Not that it's not important to my parents, but they think it's not worth splurging on things that will go into a drawer. It's a difference of opinion.

When I started looking at photographers, I wanted the best photographer, a 10-grand photographer. They had to say, 'We can't. That's our budget. We can't put all that in one area.' That's one of the first things we butted heads and disagreed on.

We ended up finding a photographer at a price we both liked. Ours is about $1,500. We found someone we were happy with at a price we can both live with.

Q: What are some tips you would share about saving with vendors?

A: You have to know what things should cost in the area (of the wedding) before you can go out and meet with people. If you don't have an idea of what things should cost, you can be taken advantage of.

The second thing is doing a lot of interviews. If you're meeting with three or four vendors, you have an idea of what things they offer. It takes time to meet with people, to give them a call but it helps to know what your options are and helps you weigh what is best for you.

Q: Are there any ways that blogging about the wedding process has helped you in saving money or being smart with your budget?

A: It forced me to do research and find other outlets of information to share with my readers. I wanted to be as accurate as possible with them, which caused me to do (more) research, which I might not have done on my own.

I have found other bridal blogs on how they kept their wedding under a budget and how they did it. Blogs are a good resource because they're coming straight from the person, straight from their mouth. They're talking about their real experience. There are so many resources they share with you. It's finding those outlets that have helped me.

I'd have had brides ask me questions, such as 'Can you do centerpieces on a budget?' It's something I might have not though about on my own. I'm doing the research for them, and it's helping me to find more avenues to save or more information that I wouldn't have researched in the first place on my own.

Q: What money saving tips have you learned from others you've encountered in writing your blog?

There's a lot of DIY (do-it-yourself) in the wedding industry. They just have a lot of tutorials on making your own centerpieces, your bouquet, even your own invites. If you have the time, it can really help your wallet.

There are coupons on the Web for Michael's and JoAnn's (Fabrics). There are programs where you can earn (discounts). It's those little things like getting 10 percent off or 20 percent back that can make a difference.

Q: Any other money-saving wedding tips?

A: A lot of people know people who got married recently. Seek those people as a resource and ask their advice and ask how they did things. You can also ask if they have things you can use for the wedding.