As a Wedding Planner I have planned weddings that had a $60,000 budget, $80,000 budget, $10,000 budget, $5000 budget and pretty much no budget. I struggled for a long time in regards to who would I plan for? This is not a big money making industry. We do it because we love it. And we love the people. It's long days and nights and usually you don't sleep the day prior, day of ... not until tear down is complete and you've accounted for inventory. It is tough but rewarding work.

Also as a planner people think that we all plan the biggest princess fairytale weddings for ourselves. This is not true for the most part. Most of us are either too busy with life or plan so many incredible weddings, we opt for the simplest version. Or you go massively big.

Here's some facts on my 2 weddings:

First wedding: my mom planned it all. I melted down picking invitations and couldn't handle the stress. So I asked my mom to do it. I pretty much said I don't care, make it cheap, pretty and let me just show up the day of. My fiancé picked the colours. I didn't even do that.

Our vendors were:

Catering: our church ladies group. I think my parents bought the groceries and they ladies cooked and served it.

Photographer: the local RCMP ident officer who was our family friend and went to our church. My dad worked around him on emerge calls.

Dresses, Cake, Florals and Decor: I bought my wedding dress from my friends sister in law. Her wedding got cancelled and I loved the style. My mom made some modifications but it was perfect. Cost $300. My mom made all the bridesmaid dresses. Cost of fabric and patterns only. My cake - bought 2nd hand from a lady. My mom changed out the flowers. It was a 3 tiered fake one. Cost $50. My mom made all my flower arrangements and decor. She bought artificial flowers from Zellers and had collected Rose bowls over the years and those were my centrepieces. My aunty made our real fruit cake and I wrapped them with my sisters. The tuxes were rentals. My fiancé handled that. Music was my cousin. We didn't have a bar or a dance. vintage inspire wedding garments retro style

Our whole wedding cost $1500. 250 guests. Church wedding.

2nd wedding: ( I planned this one from start to finish):

We had decided to get married in 2 weeks. I said to my boys, 'want to walk me own the aisle?' They said sure. I asked my daughter to be my Maid of Honour. She said sure. Her and I went to the mall and bought our dresses. Spent $260 together. I phoned friends and said , 'we are getting married and we'd love to have you...can you come?'

I went to the local bakery on the wednesday( 2 days prior) and said, can you make a sheet cake. White icing and pink/white flowers. They said sure. I went to the local florist and said I need those white lilies, 2 bunches, cut short, wrapped with green tape and then white satin ribbon down to the stem. They said what is it for? I said my wedding. They said ok when? I said on Friday and Sunday. I need them to last. They said that's 2 days!?? I said yes. Can you do those ones?? They said we have fresh on Friday and will do them! Then I said oh...well, we have photos tomorrow....so could I take these 2 bunches and get you to do them up for the photos and redo the other ones Friday? So that's 4 in total. And they did.

Our photographer was a beautiful local woman, and as a fellow single mom she gave us our photos for $100. We had our photos taken 2 days prior to the wedding.

My bosses put on an appetizer evening buffet for our 30 guests.
We got married an hour before youth at our small town church and asked the youth pastor to play his guitar for a few songs. Then we went and had the appetizer buffet. We travelled to Sk and redid our vows in front of 15 family on a beach and had steak BBQ. Bought the steaks from Costco.

Actually, one of my couples were getting married that same Thanksgiving weekend. And it was 240 ppl so my focus was on their details. It was fun because the next day after my first set of vows, on our way out of town I stopped in to the venue and wished them luck. It was pretty cool seeing how happy she was. The hotel had 2 Honeymoon suites and when she found out I was getting married and having a very small one, she gave us her big suite and took the secondary one. That was so sweet of them!!

The Thursday night before my wedding, after my wedding photos, I went and set up the other couple's big wedding....completed the set up on the Friday day...then went across the parking lot to the restaurant (partner company- I worked for both venues), and set up my own little reception. the ladies at 4:30 came onto their shift and said get going - we got this....so I went downstairs to the kitchen to go over the appetizers with the chef and they kicked me out and said 'go get married for goodness sakes....we got this!'. Got home at 5pm. Went to church to get married at 6pm.

Spent under $1000 on my 2nd wedding.

I LOVE planning weddings for everyone else .... but me. And if I ever get married again, I will hire a lovely planner and say 'plan it, make it pretty and just let me show up! ;)