One of the very first, and often most stressful, parts of wedding planning is establishing a budget. It’s the piece that sets the tone for the rest of the wedding planning and execution processes and when done right, has the power to alleviate you from further stressors down the road.

However, how exactly does a couple establish a wedding budget? How do couples decide how much to spend on their wedding, then how do they decide where to allocate those funds amongst all of the areas including venue, food and beverage, decor, documentation… there is just so much to consider and it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lost in it all.

In this episode, we talk with Corinne Van Arsdale, planner and founder of New York state wedding planning company Canvas Weddings. Corinne first walks us through all the questions couples should be asking themselves before deciding on a wedding budget, then advises couples on how to avoid budget creep as the planning unfolds. During our conversation, we also address the notion of “wedding tax” and whether or not its true if prices of goods or services  may be inflated just because they are being used for a wedding, and whether or not this could be a secret to cutting costs.

You can follow Corinne and her team at Canvas Weddings on Instagram at @canvasweddings or on their website at https://canvaswedding.com/.

Cover images by Joel & Justyna