Let us start the wedding madness...

So, I have quite a few loved ones recently engaged....and I am getting the "what did you do for your wedding" questions. So let me show you all the lovely things we did for our wedding. I wanted to post all this stuff at the time but I did not feel I needed to start a blog just for wedding stuff, plus I was consumed with reading the Weddingbee....
Let us start with the budget. These are good things to make, especially if you are poor and not quite sure how much money you will have...also, it's good to keep track of...because if you start to spend so much money you could make a down payment on a house, take a step back..... and MAKE A DOWN PAYMENT ON A HOUSE! Your wedding will be amazing and wonderful beyond your dreams, no matter what the price...but it is one day. ONE. Help yourself out now so you are not struggling the first year of marriage....
Budget: Ours originally was $3,000. My father graciously gave us $5,000 and in the end of it all we spent about $6,225. (I say ABOUT because it was probably $6,356 or some random number like that but you get the point.)
Also this is just what we spent. Our friends and family gave us beautiful gifts and parties that all added to the wedding. The rehearsal dinner was amazing and put on by Patrick's father and step-mother, my beautiful bridal showers (by Kelsey and by Mary-Alice) and my bachelorette (again Kelsey) and Patrick's two bachelor parties (by Nathan and Jim).

The Budget:
Location: $1,000
Food: $2,500
Dress: $500
Groom's Attire: $200
Cake: $200
Gifts: $25
Rentals: $1000
Decorations: $150
Invites: $150
Flowers: $150
Photography: $500

Total (about): $6,225

Tada!