I didn't really announce it (it was during the time that we do not speak of - the condo delay), but Michelle and I got engaged last October, and have been planning ever since for our big day on November 1st of this year.
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| The moment captured by a friend |
Is there stress? Sometimes, when we realize that we'll have to work to get what we want on our relatively modest (yet healthy) budget; but for the most part - we've kept our cool, and are way ahead of where most probably say we should be (or at least the guy at Moores thought we were)
"You're asking your groomsmen now? A little early no?"I should have went with Tuxedo Royale. Anyway - Michelle and I have talked many times about what life will be like when we're married, and the answer that keeps coming up, is....well...nothing!
Maybe it's because by that point, we'll have over two years of living together, and a joint condo purchase under our belt, but for the life of me, I cannot think of anything (aside from a few grams of gold on my finger) that will feel different.
The reality is - in a day and age where most young people don't feel the pressure to be married before living together, or even having children - getting married probably makes less and less financial sense. That being said though - I'll admit it - I'M the one in our relationship that wants the big wedding (well, I use big lightly, we'll only have about 80 guests), I'm the one who is a sucker for tradition. However, I'm also the one that said I was willing to do whatever I had to, to keep our wedding under budget - and so far, so good.
The only thing I believe more in than having a wedding, is not going into crazy debt for one, so the task over the next 9 or so months, will be all about finding the elegance without the price tag.
It's hard to find help out there for people like us - there are a lot of people out there who give tips on cheap weddings, but so many of them cut out things we're not willing to (h'ors d'oeuvres, open bar, wedding cake, etc.) - we want to stay modest, not have a backyard barbecue (no offence to those who have, it's just not for us). So far, we're succeeding - and the key has been knowing where it's important to splurge a little. The venue was important to us (I won't announce where - the selection of that will be its own post), the food is important to everyone, but neither of us care about videography - so its a place we can save costs.
Listen, I don't want to sound like a cheapskate - Michelle and I are in in a fortunate enough place in our lives that we could afford to have a more lavish wedding, but whether it's all the Gail Vaz Oxlade shows we watch, the fact that we own both Wealthy Barber books, or just inherent value of money that we both have from the ways we were raised (very different, but the same in the end), we both see the happiest marriage as the one where our mortgage is paid off just a few years earlier, because we opted not to go with the lace envelopes.
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