Time Keeps on Slipping Into the Future

Drew and I first started wedding planning more than two years before our wedding date. Yes, almost a year before he officially popped the question with a ring. Before the ring we had a wedding date, knew we were going to have a destination wedding, decided on a wedding theme, had wedding colors and already had our venue booked. 

With over two years out, we thought we had plenty of time. Plenty of time to get everything done.  Plenty of time to have enough money to pay for a wedding and honeymoon. Plenty of time to finish restoring and building our tiki bar in the basement to have our Portland wedding celebration at our home. Plenty of time for everything. Now approaching the 6 months until our wedding mark, I am starting to worry a bit about having enough time. And well, I hate to say it, but enough money. 

Weddings are expensive. Even if you are having a really small one, like us. Even if you are doing a ton of DIY, like us.  Even if you have a bunch of friendors for many of the big wedding expenses, like us. No matter what kind of wedding budget you try to stay in, it's still a lot because you pick your wedding budget based on what you can afford. Or think you can afford.  Or even more likely, really hope that you can afford. 

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You try to save for the wedding day, but there are so many things to purchase for the wedding along the way.  You make your own invitations, but still have to buy supplies and pay for printing. You book a venue that doesn't charge a reception fee, but you still have to pay for all of the food and drinks. The list goes on and on. 

I'm not complaining about having to pay for any of this for the wedding.  I'm happy to do it and will be glad to for all of our wedding guests.  I've just gotten to the point where I've become a bit worried about paying for the rest of everything.  There's a big price tag, for us, hanging over our heads that needs to be met by a certain time.  Will we make it? Will we have enough to pay for everything by July 7th?

Once 6 months hits, in exactly 21 days, it will be serious crunch time to start saving more wedding funds! Ya'll will probably notice that we will slip away from our social lives even more than we have in the past 4 months. It's true, we haven't had all of our friends over for a party in over 7 months. Our next party isn't even going to be until we have our Portland wedding celebration. We barely even go out anymore.  It's all to save money for our wedding and everything that goes with it. Still, I worry we won't have enough time and have to cut our expenses in even more ways to make it all come together. Will we reach our wedding deadline?

On the other side of the wedding timeline, we are doing really good. We are way ahead on the wedding to-do checklist. Just this week, our maid of honor and I finished up some really great wedding projects and I sent more off to the printers. We have a few more in the works that we will have completed in the next week or so. Plus, I have a bunch of wedding projects that Amanda, Drew and I will all be working on while I have 11 days off from work over the holidays.  I also was able to get our photographer's plane tickets thanks to finally having enough miles! Lots of checks on our wedding to-do list this week!

There's actually only a few more items that we need to even purchase for the wedding and then it's all about finishing putting everything together and saving for what needs to be paid for while on Maui and the Portland wedding celebration. Fingers crossed it all comes together in time. 

Where you stressed about having enough time and money to bring everything together for your wedding during the planning process? How did you get through that stress? Where you able to make all of your financial goals and wedding deadlines?