Hi all!
My fiance and I just got engaged a little over a week ago, but it's been a long time coming. We started talking about marriage and our future together around the 6 month mark, and he popped the question right after our first dating anniversary. Now I'm trying to start the planning process because our goal is to be married by the end of the year. That being said, I have NO IDEA where to even start with our budget. We are both 28 and are working full time, so we are planning to pay for the majority of things on our own with a little help from our families. We both have some money in savings, me with a little more thanks to my parents allowing me to live with them rent-free (thanks mom and dad!) since college. However, I don't want to totally empty my bank account for the wedding. I don't want us to start out married life with unnecessary debt. We live in a fairly small-ish town in Tennessee, and we don't want to make our guests travel too far, so some of our options are limited in terms of venues. I don't really even know what amount would even be a reasonable number for a budget which is making the planning process pretty stressful so far. Any tips or advice?