Budget-ary concerns.

My best friend is getting married in 15 months (in fact, theknot.com just informed her, followed by seven exclamation points. No more, no less, no lie.) She started freaking out, but not really freaking out, because, well, that’s just not her. We were chatting about her budget for the upcoming nuptials, what’s important to her and what she can kind of “skimp” on. (A discussion I’ve just recently had with my mother and stepfather, where they proceeded to laugh because I’m nowhere near getting married.)

When I think about it, and I mean really think about it, it’s hard to pick something to truly hold back on. My initial picks as all-important-must-use-the-big-bucks-on were my dress (because don’t you want to look absolutely gorgeous on your wedding day?), food (because that is definitely something the guests will always remember and talk about the next day) and the cake (because my mom and I happen to be amateur cake decorators ourselves).

Now, I look through the categories and think about others…

• DJ – well, I work at a radio station and music is my life, so that really does need to be top notch.
• Photo and/or Video - #1 I’m absolutely in love with the wedding videos that make it look like a real movie. And #2 it’s something I went to school for, so how am I going to sit back and watch someone botch that up? As for photography, I can’t wait to see professional candids of myself that actually look good.

As for my dear friend…granted she’s getting married in New Jersey and everything is automatically more expensive, she’s paying something like $12,000 for food. $100 a head. Insanity, I must say. However, her cake may be included. My memory is fuzzy.

My friend is like me. There’s no way she’ll sacrifice when it comes to the DJ. She’ll jab the man in the stomach and start playing some of our classic mixed CD’s from our college days entitled such things like “the soft hand” and “the classic what” before she lets him play the wrong song.

I’m afraid for her on the photography/videography front. Our group loves photos. Last time we were together we pulled out every album we had and reminisced over the good old days. Or we would spend hours on Yahoo Photos poring over a night famously called “helllloooooo.” So really, how do you skimp on photography?

The classic “every table has a disposable camera” idea has been around for a long time. And it’s a great way for your friends and family to get involved in your wedding day memories. I know when my mom got remarried in ’94 she didn’t have a photographer at the reception. And your friends can get pretty creative when left with a camera.

Digital cameras have really helped in that department as well. I’m not sure that I know a single person who doesn’t have a digital camera, or at least access to one these days. And this day in age, the Internet makes it so easy to share photos and videos between friends.

So it’s not so impossible to “skimp” on photography. You’ll still get the same memories, but for much less money.