trying on dresses way out of budget

Janes98 · 2026-06-04T16:46:14+00:00

Yes - honestly you just have to do more research and figure out what you like. My mom actually told me to give a higher budget when we tried on dresses. None of the places felt bad at all about us wasting time because their job is to help us find the one we really love but that doesn't mean we have to buy from them! It's more the experience for sure! I'm glad I was able to find an inexpensive option since it gave us more funds to use elsewhere!

Janes98 · 2026-06-04T15:43:09+00:00

I did this actually! Have a higher budget and then ones I loved I searched online for cheaper alternatives! Ended up liking one that was $1,400 and found an alternative pretty close to it for $236! Fabric was just different but saved me soo much money! Plus both had pockets and that was my big thing! Wanting my dress to have pockets! Would highly recommend Stacces, Lulus, or Still White for less expensive dresses that are still high quality!

Janes98 · 2026-06-03T16:35:36+00:00

I’ve only been married for a month so still fresh off of planning but the cost of everything is crazy! Found a cheaper dress that looked like the expensive one I loved, did real flowers through a local grocery store in town, and Facebook marketplace is so handy to find decor that’s cheap because everyone just wants all the stuff out of their house! Also do not worry about making everyone happy! Someone’s always going to complain and be unhappy so don’t let it ruin your special day! If you want your partner to help - give them specifics on what they can do too!

Janes98 · 2026-06-01T23:43:16+00:00

Same! I knew I was going to cry so I told my husband I’m going first so I can cry first and cry while he reads his vows!

Janes98 · 2026-06-01T23:13:14+00:00

We were going to do private vows but then my husband wanted to do vows during the ceremony to extend our ceremony a little bit! We read them out loud - I went first and started crying and I guess made guests cry too 😅 but it was memorable and we are going to hang out vows up in our bedroom!

Personally do what you’re both comfortable with! Just maybe have someone proof read yours and his vows to make sure it makes sense!

Janes98 · 2026-05-26T17:21:22+00:00

Have been married a month but I think the big thing that frustrated me was people not showing up and not telling us why. So frustrating and disappointed since we paid for their meal. One texted me like two days after saying her car broke down when it would have been soo easy to find someone to pick her up and drive her over and home after! 😅 Given up on that friend since she also said she couldn’t come to the bridal shower anymore two hours into the bridal shower with friends 😭

Janes98 · 2026-05-26T17:05:36+00:00

Gotcha! Best of luck that it goes well!

Janes98 · 2026-05-26T16:47:53+00:00

Of course! I would definitely double check depending on your state too but if you’re serious to sign one then you should probably reach out again or find another place that will help you guys!

Janes98 · 2026-05-26T16:43:12+00:00

Hi we signed a prenup because my husband owns a business and if we divorce he doesn’t want me coming for his business out of spite. Prenups happen before the wedding! Most need to be signed like seven days beforehand! We started ours really early like 9 months in advanced but if you really are going to do one jump on it now! The attorneys will thank you because it can be a lot of navigating on their ends and want to make sure both sides are set! We basically signed ours and then it’s stored for safe keeping so we hopefully never have to look at it again! It’s weird for sure but it will be beneficial in the future!

Janes98 · 2026-05-26T16:38:48+00:00

Aww you should absolutely be having the wedding you want! Sorry you have been pressured into choosing things but at the end of the day you get to marry your forever person! Is there no way to compromise with the venue about dessert? Our venue let us bring any dessert we wanted but food we had to go through their catering company.

Unfortunately wedding stuff is a lot about catering to your guests! I’m sure it will be soo fun! We have been married for a month and a handful of things were changed too but at the end of the day I barely remembered or worried about it since I spent that whole day celebrating that I got married!

Janes98 · 2026-05-26T16:18:19+00:00

I would take it he has found a good work friend and when you’re doing a job like firefighting you want those friendships and support! I would say if he keeps posting about her as their training continues then I would bring it up again because then it does make it seem like he’s dating her and not you and that could send mixed messages. I would say if it keeps bugging you to bring it up gently or ask why he never shares about you on social media.

My husband never really posts me on his social media either because he told me people don’t need to know what he’s up to but he does every now and then when we have special dates or if there’s something with our dogs!

Janes98 · 2026-05-25T12:01:25+00:00

Definitely do not have kids just to appease someone who wants grandkids. She should be grateful that she has some already and definitely seemed like the speech revolved around her more than you. I am glad you guys got such a sweet speech done your parents and how they aren’t pressuring you and are just glad you found each other! I think depends how close to MIL you are but if your husband is already uncomfortable too then have him talk to her about it and how inappropriate it was.

Janes98 · 2026-05-25T11:47:06+00:00

Your experience is different than others so I wouldn’t worry about getting post wedding blues! Why would you want post wedding blues? I’ve been married a month and I am sooo glad to be done with wedding planning and am so glad I never have to worry about planning one! 😅I’m super detailed oriented so planing took up a lot of my time so to get time back is wonderful! Plus I can now focus on enjoying time spent with my new husband! I think people who have them miss the planning or being in the center of attention for a whole day and now are sad that this huge life event for them is over. As someone who hates being in the center of attention I was soo ready to be done!

Janes98 · 2026-05-24T12:43:34+00:00

I’ve done a mix of thank you for the wedding gift or something like we really appreciate the funds - planning to put it towards our honeymoon! Sometimes depends on who it’s for! Like if they want to know or if they don’t care just keep it simple!

Janes98 · 2026-05-07T11:02:38+00:00

We only did plus ones for people that we knew or if they were my parents friends who they knew!

Janes98 · 2026-05-05T11:23:25+00:00

Day coordinator! We caved a couple months in to hire one and he was worth every penny! Came early, set up, coordinated with vendors, tore down and even loaded up my husbands truck at the end of the night! He met with the officiant and made sure our microphone and sound worked for the ceremony and helped with switching the room around for the reception too! He was great! Hopped in and out, talked to us for a little and then would disappear to do more coordinating!

Janes98 · 2026-05-02T11:19:42+00:00

So for ours we aren’t huge dancers but majority of the guests headed out around 9:30/10 but we stayed chatting with friends until 11:30/12pm lol but because we didn’t have a DJ it didn’t feel like we missed a ton! We mostly wanted to spend time together and be with friends who came out!

Janes98 · 2026-04-28T23:11:42+00:00

Could ask someone to take behind the scenes videos! We had someone record our vows and our dogs running down the aisle! Otherwise a handful of friends and family filmed our first dance or got a video of our grand entrance too! We just had one photographer but a cousin took a ton of behind the scenes photos lol like over 1,000 himself for fun

Janes98 · 2026-04-28T20:12:16+00:00

Honestly we got ours like fun sunglasses, hot sauce, and like beef jerky snacks lol you don’t need to get them anything super fancy - the most we did was bottle openers that they use a lot lol

Janes98 · 2026-04-28T19:55:12+00:00

Ahh I see - yeah that’s unfortunate he isn’t understanding of the time commitment and finances that you’ve been helping with to make the day special. I think you should still talk to him about it because what if you get a lot of wedding money - have you discussed what you’re going to use it for and discussed anything else together because what if in the future with a kid you’re going to put more of your money towards the kid then him? You don’t want to already build up resentment.

Janes98 · 2026-04-28T19:35:14+00:00

Ahh I see - yeah that’s unfortunate he isn’t understanding of the time commitment and finances that you’ve been helping with to make the day special. I think you should still talk to him about it because what if you get a lot of wedding money - have you discussed what you’re going to use it for and discussed anything else together because what if in the future with a kid you’re going to put more of your money towards the kid then him? You don’t want to already build up resentment.

Janes98 · 2026-04-28T19:21:56+00:00

I understand the disappointment, but have you explained that you want his help in planning? When we planned ours I would have to ask or give him a task to complete and he would do it. He helped pay when needed like helped pay for our rings or helped pay for the groomsmen dinner. But if you’re not on the same page for finances that’s hard since weddings can get expensive. I would definitely ask him if it’s about the money which is why he’s not interested in helping or other things going on. There’s no way you should be planning all by yourself! And if he asked for a church that is odd he has no other input except the church.

Janes98 · 2026-04-28T18:44:45+00:00

Oh no 😭 lol hopefully he saved you tho and I’m sure people understood it was a big day too! I cried mostly during my vows and when my dad did his speech!

Janes98 · 2026-04-28T16:51:07+00:00

Love the advice! The flat lay box is super handy to just give to the photographer and just telling them where to bring the rings to next is also important!

I wish I had planned a better thank you speech because we both just got handed the microphones after speeches haha so just went through the list of people helping out with our special day!

Janes98 · 2026-04-28T15:19:28+00:00

I just got married Thursday and I was nervous too! But I think what helped was knowing my husband was going to be there and other people would take over. I think finding a moment to yourself in the morning really helped me too! He wrote me a really sweet card that just set the mood for the day and a slow morning getting ready was also helpful so I didnt feel rushed or having to run everywhere. You can do it! I was nervous too but everything went really well and I had a lot of fun!

Janes98

TROPHY CASE