Found My PERFECT Dress

Too bad it's only available in a 1941 or 1942 Sears Roebuck Catalog. It cost $6.98.

(My apologies for poor quality here.)

It's perfect, isn't it? The simple pleated skirt, wonderfully flattering blouse, the elegant sleeves, and my goodness, the wonderfullness that is that embroidered cummerbund waist.

In browsing wedding dresses online (I'm totally in the pre-planning-dreaming stages here), I've realized that while I thought I wouldn't care what I wore as long as the reception was fun and we had an awesome photographer, I have been totally unimpressed with wedding dresses. I don't hate them all, but nothing has grabbed me. Nothing looked like what I wanted (not that I could have defined what I wanted--I'm one of those "I'll know it when I see it" shoppers). But this dress. Oh, this dress. This dress confirms, once again, that I live in the wrong decade.

I love this dress so much, I might actually consider paying a seamstress to recreate it. Too bad it won't cost $6.98.

Money. Damn.

So apparently, weddings cost money. A LOT of money. Apparently, the average American wedding costs somewhere between $24 and $26K. And I thought staying under $10K was too expensive...

Obviously, since we've still got approximately 708 days until our wedding (not that I've got a timer set, or anything), we've got plenty of time to plan, and let the novelty of monogrammed champagne glasses wear off. This is a good thing. I love monograms.

On the day after our wedding, Dustin will have only been teaching for about 11 months (this is assuming he gets a job immediately after graduation). I'll be close to finishing my Masters thesis, and I may or may not be entering the workforce soon after. $10000 could pay our rent for a year. It could pay our car insurance, our grocery bills, our health insurance.

The question is, now, do we want to spend $10000 (and probably more) on a wedding ceremony and reception, or do we want to save it for our honeymoon and our student loans?

Right now, catering and photography looks like it will be the most expensive things (I'm excluding our honeymoon in our budgeting here). I'm refusing to skimp on our photographer. Other than marrying Dustin, the pictures are the most important thing to me. I'd originally wanted a plated, catered dinner, but now I"m considering ordering in pizza and beer and calling it a night.

Is there anyone who's had a fun, pretty wedding for $5K (or less!!)?