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keh65 · November 2014

6fsn · November 2014

General advice is to plan the wedding you can afford and anything they put in can be used towards extras.

mrsconn23 · November 2014

I think you need to either a) assume that you will be paying for your wedding and pay for the one you can afford or b) find out if your parents are going to provide this 'ball park' figure toward your wedding your mom 'threw out there'.

I recommend not booking another wedding related thing until you know your budget and where it's coming from. If you *really* want this photog, you may want to cover the cost yourself.

Also, you say that you've been 'planning on your own'. More often than not, money provided by parents (or a 3rd party) comes with strings attached. What you want to spend $$ on and what they'll let you spend $$ on may be 2 different things.

It may be hard, but you need to sit down with your parents and get a real number on what they will contribute to your wedding. Also, you need to find out what they are willing to pay for certain things (my parents helped with my wedding (covered about 2/3 the cost), but my mom wanted to keep certain things (like cake and flowers) below a certain $$ amount). You also need to come up with an amount of $$ you're willing to put toward your wedding. It may give them some relief to know that you're willing to put some skin in the game and that will give you more control over your wedding.

Heffalump · November 2014

Excellent advice above. Don't count on any money until you have the check in hand. And to be honest, you're going about this a little backward: you need to start with a budget, and then plan from there. mrs.conn's advice about getting one is very good, and if you can't make any headway with your parents on this, then that is a huge red flag that you can't count on their contribution. Good luck.

mrsconn23 · November 2014

DD?! WTF?!

6fsn · November 2014

What?

Heffalump · November 2014

Huh?

dharmabunny · November 2014

You can only plan with the budget you know you have.

It's going to be really hard to budget on hypothetical money. Y'all need firm numbers and should wait on vendor selection until the freaks (oops, I meant medical specimens) are deceased, have been properly preserved and authenticated by the museum director. Then, and only then, a fair price will be offered.

Surely, the museum curator made y'all aware of how it works.