First we need to ask a few important questions to gather the information we need to get started.

Personally, I feel the honeymoon should be excluded from the average wedding cost in Maryland due to it’s unrelated nature when it comes to necessity to throw a wedding. Do we call it part of the wedding budget or simply your annual vacation that happens to be right after your wedding? Obviously the cost of the honeymoon does NOT count towards the budget, which in girl math basically makes the honeymoon free. There you have it, dear gentle reader. You don’t have to count the honeymoon towards the average wedding cost in Maryland if you listen to me and take my advice. Unfortunately, mostly the whole of the internet disagrees with me and feels that the honeymoon actually SHOULD be included in the average wedding cost in Maryland, so much so that it is actually recommended you budget 10-15% of your budget for the honeymoon. Wow! Pop over to this little forum conversation to see what you think.. Is the honeymoon cost to be lumped in with the wedding budget or not? Click HERE 

Remember that most couples will send invitations out of courtesy and respect for those that they know will not be attending the wedding, such as family that is too far to attend or the ill and elderly who are unfit to travel or attend large gatherings. This will noticeably cut down the actual attendance of guests when compared to the amount of guests that were technically invited. I also have a theory that, due to today’s modern brides and grooms most often paying for part or all of their own weddings, there is less of an expectation and entitlement for family members to invite people that wouldn’t ordinarily be on the bride and groom’s guest list. When it was traditional and expected that parents and in-laws would be paying for most or all of the wedding, it is understandable that it was also expected and traditional for the ones paying for the wedding to be able to invite their friends, their boss, their neighbors and family members the couple themselves had likely never met or just plain disliked. Thankfully, it is widely accepted today that the couple should have autonomy over their guest list and wedding, even if they are receiving financial support from a family member, which means there is a lower average guest list simply because brides and grooms are inviting less people out of obligation and inviting only the people they want to celebrate with.

While your high school Pinterest board from a decade ago may be filled with fluff and grandeur that would easily your average wedding cost in Maryland straight into six-figure la-la-land, real life beckons us to make the wise choice of being honest with ourselves when it comes to choosing a figure to stick to when planning a wedding. While seeing the number $40,000 might have you feeling less than blissfully bridal, don’t let it dull your excitement for wedding planning! I have been to six-figure weddings and I’ve been to weddings that couldn’t have cost more than $3,000 if I’m being generous, and the real reason we are all there is to celebrate the people we love making an incredible commitment to stick with each other through thick and thin. I know what you’re thinking.. “I want my wedding to look NICE!”, and with the right photographer, no matter how many corners you cut to fit everything into your budget, your wedding gallery can be absolutely stellar and really encapsulate the feelings and emotions of the day, which is really what it’s all about, after all. Minted has a great list with an average breakdown of how much of your budget will likely need to be allocated to different areas of the wedding, the biggest being venue and catering followed closely by photography and videography. Check that out here.

 My biggest suggestion to every couple I meet, whether it’s a prospective client or an acquaintance, is don’t skip on the food or the photography. Amazing food in a backyard is universally more enjoyable than crappy food in a castle. The most beautiful wedding in the world can look lackluster or tacky (or god forbid, everything can be blurry and out of focus) if the photographer isn’t skilled. In the end, the things you will want most are to be married to your favorite person, and a really gorgeous photos of the wedding, especially of the two of you together. Figure out what your biggest priorities are (sorry, it can’t be EVERYTHING is a priority.) and make sure you allocate enough in your wedding budget to cover those things first. Make the average wedding cost in Maryland work for you, not the other way around, and you’ll have a fun time planning and the most amazing day of your life to remember forever.

Wanna chat and see if my photography services fit your budget and vision for your Maryland wedding? Check out my pricing page here! Think we might be a good fit to work together? Contact me here and let’s chat!

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