How to Plan a Wedding When You Already Have a Kid or Kids

Planning a wedding when you already have a little child to deal with... sounds like the worst thing in the world, right? Actually, it isn't.

As a parent, you know what it's like to have someone who is More Important Than You Are. Your kid eats food and wears clothes (diapers?) and will be attending preschool and college, so on and so forth. All of this adds up to EXPENSES. So: you already have a priority that's far greater than throwing the wedding bash of the century: you're just trying to save up some money for your kid's life. Right?

This perspective will give you an entirely different take on the wedding than someone who is childless. It means that you'll be planning this wedding from the mindset of the frugal and practical. You'd rather spend money on your child than on silly stuff that no one will ever remember. Am I right? Of course I am.

The other thing is: if you already have a child, then having fun on your wedding day will be extremely important to you. I mean, sure, everyone wants to enjoy themselves at their own wedding. But this is a little different. Once you become a mom, the urge to have fun grows from fairly strong to DESPERATE. You have one shot at making this day the most fun ever. You know this going in.

Both of these mindsets – frugal and fun – will be the driving force behind your wedding plans. And, because you have a kid or kids, you've got  limited time to screw around with wedding-plan BS. Instead, all the extraneous crap will fall by the wayside. Your mother in law wants to spend the night before the wedding tying up little bags of almonds? Nope, sorry! No time, got this kid here that I have to pay attention to. Don't want to wear 3-inch heels? No problem... you can't anyway, because you won't be able to lug Junior around the party if you do!

I'm telling you, having kids before you get married is actually a blessing as you plan your wedding day. You will really have your priorities in order, and you'll also have a great perspective on what it really means to get married. This day is not about looking model-skinny, having the dress of the year or the cutest wedding favors ever. Rather, it's about spending a day with family and friends, celebrating your love for each other.

To anyone who already has a child or children and is now stressing about making wedding plans... let the non-essentials go! Your wedding, with all its imperfections, is going to be fantastic. Enjoy yourselves! God Bless. Bookmark this blog for tons of tips.

A Great, Budget Friendly Wedding Photographer in NJ

We found a terrific, budget-friendly photographer for our wedding by looking on Craigslist. I advertised in the Creative section, figuring it was better to "attract" rather than go after someone already in existence. We were open to someone who took pictures as a hobby, but hopefully had a good eye. In my ad, I specified exactly what I wanted, what I did not want, and a ballpark figure of what we wanted to pay.

We chose Craig Pritch over a slew of other photographers who had replied to the ad, because he really was exactly what we had in mind, plus he had this awesome photography website showcasing photos of his travels. We knew that a wedding would be a much different dynamic, requiring different skills and timing than taking pictures of mountains and landscapes... but after receiving a photo album from a friend's wedding that he had taken pics for, we were 100% certain Craig was our guy.

We were not especially picky in our demands on the photographer. I know that many people these days are going for that journalistic wedding photo style, but that wasn't us. All we really cared about was getting some nice family portraits to put in the album, hopefully some flattering photos of us posing as bride and groom, and of course, some candids of people enjoying themselves at the wedding reception.

Our photographer gave us exactly what we wanted and then some. He was right there in front of the action, capturing all those unforgettable moments of the day, and he was relaxed enough to feel like one of the family! We really appreciated the fine work he did for us as well as the competitive pricing he offered.

Thanks, Craig for capturing our wedding day memories so perfectly! We hope this little plug gets you some side business. :)