We got engaged exactly 20 years ago on Christmas Eve! It’s been an adventure ever since! We dated seriously for about one year before getting engaged. The last three months of our relationship were long-distance since John had moved to Connecticut to start his master’s degree. John’s move prompted us to buy our first cell phones! We spent numerous hours on those flip phones!
John proposed on Christmas Eve morning, and we spent the rest of the day celebrating with family. Given the limited time we had to see each other in person, we started discussing wedding details and decided on our wedding date almost immediately. Our engagement lasted exactly 6 months, which seemed like a reasonable amount of time. However, since most of our engagement was long-distance, it definitely posed some challenges.
Since John was a student and I was working part-time, we didn’t have a huge budget to work with. However, we found many ways to cut costs, such as having the reception at the church where we were married. We scheduled our wedding in the early afternoon, so we were able to serve a luncheon at the reception. Our photographer charged a very reasonable rate, and our cake was generously donated by a family friend who was a baker. Many of our friends contributed their musical talents for free or at a reduced rate, and we purchased several items from Walmart’s wedding department, such as invitations and candles. I was able to find my dress on a discount rack for just $99!
As most couples do, we had fun putting together our gift registry. It was a bit overwhelming thinking through everything we might need to set up our new home. We wanted to keep it simple with just the bare necessities, especially since we knew that we would be on the move with John’s education. Twenty years later, we would say we’ve learned a lot about what we actually need and use. In addition to some wedding budgeting ideas, we’ve also come up with some tips for setting up a minimalist wedding registry. We look forward to sharing some of these ideas with you and hope they provide some insight for your own planning!