We just got engaged in June 2012 and are getting married this September.  To say the least, we hit the ground running with wedding planning. Wedding planning can be highly stressful for engaged couples, especially when you are footing the entire bill.

We have made sure that we put ourselves first, and enjoy this rare time.

John is still in school and I work for an E.N.T. Doctor so we have to find ways to save money for our upcoming nuptials.  I have never utilized coupons, until we started purchasing things for our wedding.  We quickly noticed how expensive things became.

The first thing we noticed about booking our venue, in a short amount of time was that if the venue had the date open, odds are they were going to practically give it away to us. Most places have dates booked 9-15 months in advance (which is normal) but going in and saying “Hey! We are getting married in 11 weeks, what can you do for us?” definitely caught their attention.

We managed to find an amazing venue, with our exact date available, a complete customized ceremony/cocktail hour/reception plan & tons more!

Our tip for budgeting your wedding, especially with a venue being the item that you spend the most on:  Make the venue BEG for your business. If they have the date open, your money is practically “extra” for them. Go in knowing this & see what numbers they can come up with!

Giana and John are both 24 and living in New Jersey.  John was recently honorably discharged from the military. He served in Afghanistan & Bahrain for 4 years, but his manly ways don’t stop him from doing most of the cooking & cleaning.  He has also been a HUGE help with all the wedding planning, going to all the meetings, stuffing envelopes & even licking them!  He’s a hands on groom for sure!  Show them some love in the comments section!

Venue Photos Courtesy of Eagle Ridge Golf Club