Wedding Planning Unraveled: Styles, Budgets, and Alternatives on Money Matters

Do you fantasize about your perfect wedding day but get instantly overwhelmed by the planning process? We've got you covered! Tune into this episode of Money Matters where we unravel the intricate business of wedding planning. Joined by our panel of experts, we delve into the highs and lows of wedding organization. From unique Louisiana traditions to the underrated justice of the peace ceremonies, you'll be spoilt for choice with our array of wedding styles.

Imagine planning your own nuptials. With the advice from our experts, we uncover how to manage your time to plan a memorable wedding that doesn't result in burnout. Also, we couldn't resist discussing the unique features of Indian weddings and important considerations when snapping up a wedding photographer.

Let's not forget the importance of budgeting. We understand how easily costs can skyrocket, which is why we ventured into alternative options like justice of the Peace weddings. Our experts share their wisdom on adjusting expectations and working within a budget, and how it doesn't have to compromise on your special day's charm. Finally, we touch upon the importance of negotiating with vendors and being flexible with your budget, because creating a memorable wedding shouldn't break the bank! Join us on this episode of Money Matters for an enlightening and entertaining deep dive into the world of weddings.

How to contact our guests:
Rachel Erin, photographer and proprietor of GEAUXWeddings.com
www.rachelerinphotography.com/  or geauxweddings.com/

Christie Mayeux, Justice of the Peace
www.facebook.com/MayeuxJOP/

Transcript

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 0:02

Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that focuses on how to use the money you have, make the money you need and sa ve the money you want. Now here is your host Ms Kim Chapman.

Kim Chapman: 0:14

Welcome to another edition of Money Matters. I am your host, Kim Chapman. Wedding season is in full bloom and if you are prospective bride looking for ideas to make your day unique and memorable, you don't want to miss today's session. When it comes to weddings, there are so many options They're just endless. What do you do? Do you plan it yourself? Do you get a wedding planner? Do you do, maybe, an I do barbecue?

Kim Chapman: 0:36

Today, we're going to talk about it. We're going to talk about everything from doing it yourself to justice of the peace, my guests. Today I have a round table of just highly experienced women that are going to tell you everything you need to know. I have Ms Rachel Bourgeois with Go Weddings, our very own senior talent development specialist, patrice Robinson, that did a DIY wedding. And then, of course, we have Justice Kristi Mayo, who is a justice of the peace. Welcome, ladies, welcome. We have so much to discuss, i tell you. Normally I try and fit everything in 45 minutes. That's going to be a hard task for us today, because I mean, could we not talk about weddings for the rest of the day?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 1:18

Yeah, absolutely All right.

Kim Chapman: 1:20

So, Rachel, we're going to start with you because it's kind of a little more of a traditional sense in terms of dealing with wedding planning and having the different services, somebody provide those for you. So tell us what is Go Weddings.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 1:32

Go Weddings is a directory resource site for brides. We have vendor listings. We have about 31 different vendor categories. We also have different tips, advice, different vice columns for brides. We also have a marketplace, too, which is where brides can initially sell some of their used items or buy certain things that they see on there. For instance, I've had a bride that actually sold her wedding dress. We've had different candles and things like that stuff that can be fairly expensive sometimes. So it is nice to be able to avert if you're a bride and you want to kind of get rid of these things and you don't really necessarily have a need for them after a wedding. So it's useful for a bride to be able to purchase those things.

Kim Chapman: 2:23

And so, while everybody knows the term bride, there's another term called bridezilla. So I have to ask what really attracted you to this industry and how long have you been in the industry?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 2:34

I've been in it. I've had my business now the photography business for 17 years. I actually started a few years before that as an assistant photographer. I fell in love with it. I'm a romantic at heart, so I just I loved it. I love the artistry of it, i love, i like meeting new people too. That was one thing.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 2:55

And yes, you definitely get sometimes the bridezillas every now and then, but you get I'd say that's pretty rare, actually It doesn't happen as often But you get more brides that are just wonderful people. I meet so many. I have brides that I'm actually friends with still through Facebook that I've actually done their family pictures. I get to stay in touch with them even after the wedding.

Kim Chapman: 3:21

Okay, so what does Go weddings offer that is unique.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 3:24

Besides the marketplace and things like that, i think the main thing too is that it is more local vendors, let's say, compared to the knot and things like that, where it feels a little bit more like a corporate entity. Where this is, it's all Louisiana-based vendors, louisiana brides, it's catered to Louisiana brides. So I think also, being a vendor myself and kind of understanding the nuances of weddings and what different things are changing throughout the years, and seeing all these being able to kind of upkeep with the styles and stuff like that, i think it's a different perspective on it.

Kim Chapman: 4:07

So Louisiana does have a really, really rich culture. Is it common to have brides that specifically ask for weddings that incorporate a rich culture? And what would that look like beyond our rich culture and food, because we know the reception itself, i'm sure, is full of the culture itself.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 4:21

Yeah, i think you definitely see it within some of the different areas around the state And it's definitely within the food, within the music and things like that. Like New Orleans weddings compared to Lafayette weddings there's definitely some differences with that. But yeah, i think a lot of the things such as like the money, dance stuff like that you don't see a lot of those things up north or even buffets, they do a lot more like sit down dinners and things like that. So with here, it's definitely they are ready to party.

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 4:53

They want to see the second line.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 4:56

I've actually done a few weddings where you could tell there were people from out of town because they had never heard of gumbo. They had never heard of a second line. It was a whole new thing for them. So it was kind of cool to see how they interpreted all that our culture too.

Kim Chapman: 5:12

So if I'm a prospective bride and I'm looking on the website and I come across Go Weddings, what services do you offer? What is going to be the advantage of using this wedding directory?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 5:22

Our services. We don't do wedding planning per se but we do offer tons of information. So there's with the vendors. You can go to their sites. There's galleries, there's all kind of information on there I do try to keep up with. We have a blog and stuff so I try to update that monthly. We do vendor spotlights, weekly vendor spotlights, so we try to keep up with, like I said, give our vendors, try to get their information out there as much as possible and try to just make sure that, like I said, we're kind of updated on all the new things coming out for weddings.

Kim Chapman: 6:01

So I know that they're checklist. So is there a checklist that you provide? Is it all of the services? Is it kind of a A to Z? What would I find? What would I walk away with?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 6:11

I think, mainly getting your vendor information, and it's pretty much going to be everything that you could ever think of for weddings. So if you do want a wedding plate, or you could start with that we have everything from even painters, wedding painters, food tuxes, dresses, even floral preservation that's a new thing. Mobile bars is a new thing. That's another something, and maybe something that people didn't necessarily think about, that they might have wanted for their reception. They may have discovered, oh well, this is something I might actually want to check into and have for their reception.

Kim Chapman: 6:50

How far in advance would you even recommend or look for these, look for their prospective vendors?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 6:56

Some of the vendors you definitely need to almost do a year to a year and a half Definitely photographers, the venue, flowers, i would say Some of the bigger things like that you definitely want to think about doing about a year or so in advance. We book pretty quickly So we still every now and then get some last minute weddings. I personally I just booked one for September, so I know that that's right around the corner.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 7:23

That's right around the corner. So, yeah, sometimes you have some that you know it may have been just a last minute proposal or and they they have to, you know, get it done quickly for whatever reason. But yeah, typically, like I said, your photographers, videographers, things like that, venues you want to book those pretty quick and you know quickly in advance.

Kim Chapman: 7:42

So I'm going to switch over to Patrice and hopefully I get the date right It was January 2022. It was a beautiful wedding. I was there. I witnessed it myself, so this is not hearsay. The wedding was phenomenal. But I was really shocked later when I talked to Patrice to find out that she had planned it all herself, because I went to her saying Hey, who planned your wedding? I want to get them on the radio, i want to get them on the show. And she's like well, i did it. So how did you make that brave decision?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 8:09

I kind of fell into it. I was definitely of the mindset most of my life. Oh you know, if I ever get married I'll pay someone to be stressed for me. I'm not going to do that. But when it actually happened it was just something that was, i hate to say, easier, but it was easier for me to fall into planning it myself because I knew what I wanted. I could see a vision that not everybody could see.

Kim Chapman: 8:36

Well, i have to ask because you know we're all women in the room, i'm sure, as little girls before we even found that significant other. you know we had dreams of what our wedding wanted to be. So prior to you really, you know, even being engaged, did you have a vision of what you wanted your wedding day to look like?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 8:52

I did And it changed and changed and changed. Even back in high school, i could remember a time where my friends and I would go to the library say, i, nerdy, go to the library before school and look at bridal magazines. So it was something that, yes, like most little girls, i had an idea of the things that I wanted, whatever time. It was shaped by my life experiences and the personality changes that I went through as a young woman, blossoming into who I am now. So, yeah, i did and I deviated, and came back and deviated.

Kim Chapman: 9:32

I tell you I still think that's one of the bravest things to do is to plan your own wedding. How much of a factor did cost, even on factoring to it? Because weddings, of course, you know. another one of our coworkers told me about a let's see if I can remember a backyard. I do barbecue and it sounds unique, but it also sounds, you know, cost saving. So how much of a factor was cost?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 9:54

As far as deciding to plan my wedding myself, correct, it wasn't a huge factor for me just because I come from a family that has a lot of talented people and I was in a lot of weddings. So I was literally like living the movie 27 dresses at one point. Seriously, i was in three weddings in one year. Yeah, at one point, you know, and it was like I was on a rolling circuit, you know. So I learned a lot from being a bridesmaid and then also one of the best weddings that I had been an attendant in, she actually employed a lot of our relatives to be vendors and I thought I was like, oh, that's really cool. So just kind of leaning into the fact that I have a lot of talented people in my family was helpful to where I didn't really feel like I needed a wedding planner at that point.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 10:49

I also have a very active husband and he was one to kind of spark a fire under me to start getting things together And by the time that happened it was just like the logical thing was to just do most of it myself. But I had a squad, i had support. My dad's two sisters, my aunties, are always in my, they're my corner men. They're always there. Also, they were very instrumental in helping to make sure that I stayed on top of things. I have two cousins that are that do wedding, wedding coordinating quite often kind of like as a hobby. They enjoy weddings, so I also had them for guidance And, like I said, my husband is very active So he would send me different resources. The biggest resource he pointed my way. He found a book at Barnes Noble and then took me to Barnes Noble to purchase it to kind of say like okay, like I don't know what the problem is, but we need to get things going And that's how things are. So very motivated, was it, and so I guess Rachel, I want.

Kim Chapman: 11:54

that makes me want to answer this question How involved have you found grooms to be with the brides that you encounter, And are they ever the person that contacts you and says Hey, I'm getting married, help me plan this wedding?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 12:07

They do, they do. I've actually I've been in touch with one recent for a recent wedding that that just booked And we're trying to schedule engagement pictures and things like that. It's not, i would say, most of the time it is the brides, but you do. You do definitely get the grooms here and there. Their main thing is needing to make sure that they they pick out their tuxes and things like that. Of course, they always, you know, they want to feel like they're doing something and everything, but every now and then I definitely get some that are more involved. You know in that And I think that just maybe, maybe their personality, they want to take charge a little bit more, and stuff like that.

Kim Chapman: 12:43

So, patrice, how far in advance did you even start planning the wedding? I?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 12:48

actually started probably April 1st of 2021. So it wasn't a full, not quite a year maybe, and that was really at the behest of my husband. I was just really cool, just chilling And like to piggyback off of your former question. Cost really didn't factor in to my decision to plan my wedding myself. It was really my procrastination that kind of spearheaded it. But maybe April 1st of 2021 would be fair because we did book the venue in late March of 2021. So it it was a quick turnaround, which I didn't. I personally didn't know my aunt actually, i didn't get my wedding dress until July of 21. I think I picked it out, i don't even remember, but my aunts were like okay, you know, are you sure there's going to be a wedding in January? Because you don't have a dress, like you don't have any, like all you have is a space.

Kim Chapman: 13:50

So was there ever a point when you looked at the mirror and said, oh my God, why am I doing this myself? I should have gotten a wedding planner.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 13:58

I mean, like I said, i had my squad behind me, so they were there to kind of check in and say, you know, have you thought about this, have you thought about that? And my husband was constantly like, okay, well, you know.

Kim Chapman: 14:11

Trying to get you down the aisle right.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 14:12

Pretty much. He was like well, i want to get this done this year, and so that's really how it ended up happening during the course that it happened. He wanted it to happen by the end of 21, but the dates weren't available. There weren't any dates available that were feasible, so that's how we ended up in January of 22.

Kim Chapman: 14:30

So what would you say was the most enjoyable part about planning your wedding yourself?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 14:35

I'm a pretty laid-back type of person, so I liked being able to kind of freestyle stuff, and I think it helped me to adjust my expectations, even though I'm fairly passive. I'm also type A. It's stuff that don't really match, but I'm a perfectionist. So it allowed me to relinquish some of that perfectionism, just because my expectations weren't hinged upon someone else disappointing me or making my dreams come to fruition, so that took a little bit of the edge off.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 15:11

For me, the most enjoyable part dress shopping with my father probably was one of the most enjoyable things that I did. My father's a widower, so I didn't have the opportunity to have that moment with my mom, but I had several dress shopping excursions and that was probably my favorite one. He wasn't there when I made the final decision, but it was certainly fun to be able to do that. And then I just enjoyed being able to I'm a creative being, so just being able to see things kind of come together and it's like oh, wow, okay, like what I saw in my head is really in front of me. My biggest, i guess, payoff was just seeing how it all, like all of those ideas, converged and really did turn into something beautiful, cause I was a little skeptical at times. I'm like these colors are really strange, i'm sure, to some people. But you liked them, i love them and they worked eventually.

Kim Chapman: 16:12

So you have a full-time job. You work here at neighbors. How did you find the time? Did you really schedule time? Did you have it on your calendar Every Saturday from nine to 12, it's wedding planning or just did you fit it in when you could?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 16:27

It was kind of a combination of both Between my husband and my aunts and my cousins. They would schedule time with me to discuss about it. So when we really had our first, i guess planning session, my aunts had lunch at the house with one of my matrons, we, one of my other matrons my other matron lives out of town So we had her on FaceTime on our laptop And the five of us sat and discussed things and set timelines and deadlines for things. From then on we would schedule meeting times to follow up on action items and to see what else needed to be done. And then when we added my cousins to the mix, they pretty much started doing the fine-tuning type of stuff asking about transportation or shoes or jewelry, that kind of stuff. But initially it was my two paternal aunts, my two matrons and me.

Kim Chapman: 17:28

Sounds like you had a really good support of team put together, but of course I have to ask. Every wedding day has its faux pas. Mine, i'll share, was the day of my wedding. I waited until the last minute to go and find that long line bra. I was in a dressing room the day before trying on 30 of them And the day of I'm getting dressed And I got dressed at my best friend's house and I accidentally grabbed hers And so here I'm getting dressed and I'm like I tried on so many bras. I think I bought the wrong one because this one does not fit at all, and I'm just in here in tears And then she goes from the room. who took my bra? So that was my faux pas. What was your wedding faux pas And do you think it could have been? wouldn't it have been different had you had a wedding planner?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 18:14

Well, let me also say that my venue came with the day of coordinator, so she helped to facilitate things through the rehearsal And then also as we were walking out, i think she was more nervous than me when it came down. I almost had to tell her like, ok, you have to calm down, it's OK. And in that particular faux pas, because there were several she was like, oh my God, a few attendants were missing And these were people that one would have found to be like critical to the mission, not to me.

Kim Chapman: 18:51

So when you say missing, you mean late. They didn't know where they were.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 18:56

OK, so some of them have been spotted. And then you know, like, apparently there were things that happened that were unbeknownst to me And, to be honest, i've never really spoken to my husband to find out if he actually knew about some of the things that were happening. But in any event, i just said to her OK, well, is he here. You know my dad. I knew my daddy was there.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 19:16

You know. So it's just like, ok, what do you want to do? We can have, you know, this person come back and walk with this person. I was like we have to do all of that, let's just go. It didn't matter, you know, to me it was just like, you know, ok, if this person is missing or that person is missing, ok, they already know, this day is not about them, it's about, you know, me and my husband and God. You know, so this is us and our covenant, and I guess it kind of started our covenant off, you know, under a test. And I was just like, no, you know, let's just, let's do this, doesn't matter. Like, if they, if they come, you can have them sit wherever you find. You know. You know it honestly was like water rolling off a duck's back And some of the other snafu, because one of the individuals that was missing had been missing throughout the day, and it was just like I don't know if I was just like over it. Well, i didn't, honestly, i just never really gave into it. It was just like, ok, you know, that person will materialize if they need to or if they choose to. If not, we are rolling.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 20:25

So nothing that a wedding planner could have saved today. No, no, no, My. One of the things that I guess I still kind of cringe about is my step daughter's hair. She had gotten her hair pressed and straightened out And I did not know that she had a plastic bag on her head I don't have a plastic shower cap or something And she slept in it So she sweated her hair out.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 20:53

So when I came back from the hair salon, I walk in to see my stepdaughter with her natural hair just completely reverted back to its natural state, and one of my bridesmaids, you know, fervently combing her hair. And I'm like, okay, really, you know, like we just spent this money And you know it's like, of all the things to go wrong, this is not anything I could have calculated or counted for at all. And immediately I caught my hair stylist, who was already on the other side of town. She's like I'm sorry, i can't. You know, best thing I can tell you is just pull it back. And I was just like, okay, you know, so with that again away.

Kim Chapman: 21:38

Unless she did hair, it wasn't really anything that she could have saved me from Sounds like my favorite episode of Mike and Molly when she comes in with the big hair. So we spent a lot of time, of course, talking with Rachel and Patrice about. You know what I would consider traditional wedding. You know brides planning weddings all the time. You know they enlist vendors to help them. But justice of the peace, right, justice of the peace wedding. When I think justice of the peace I really think Vegas and Elvis, but that's not quite. You know what a justice of the peace ceremony is like. Is that true, kristi?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 22:12

It is absolutely true, a justice of the peace wedding. There's so much flexibility, so much spontaneity. You can get married any day of the week, any time, any holiday. You can have just about anything you want, as long as the justice of the peace is available.

Kim Chapman: 22:31

So it's not just this cookie cutter, you know, office with you and a hired witness and a bride in the groom? Absolutely not.

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 22:42

It's personable, it's heartfelt. They can bring and most of them do bring lots of people We've had. We can accommodate probably up to 20 people in our chapel. Now a justice of the peace can also perform weddings at venues across the state of Louisiana, and we've done that as well.

Kim Chapman: 23:03

So I'm just curious how many ceremonies in general do you perform a year? I mean, this is wedding season. I mean as busy as I would imagine Rachel is, and you know other wedding vendors at this particular time of the year.

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 23:18

I will perform over 100 weddings a year. Wow.

Kim Chapman: 23:24

That's quite busy. So you said the ceremonies can be. you have a chapel or they can be in your location. What type of decisions, of course, when you're doing a justice of the peace wedding, what kind of decisions would a bride and groom have to make versus you know, your traditional wedding, where there's, you know, thousands of decisions? Is it any different? I mean, do they get to have a photographer? Is there music? What options do they have?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 23:47

Well, in our office they are always welcome to bring a photographer, they can bring their flowers, they can bring a cake. Some of them have even brought champagne. But we do have a setup to where all of the flowers and the church pews, everything is there And they can put their finishing touches on it if they like to. They don't have to because it's all there, and some of them have brought those things.

Kim Chapman: 24:15

So I definitely would imagine that it's cost effective. Are there any other advantages to having a justice of the peace ceremony?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 24:23

I believe so, because there have been lots of people that they just wake up and decide you know what? we've been together for quite a while, Let's get married. And so they go get their license at the clerk of court and they can get married and the justice of the peace office that day.

Kim Chapman: 24:39

Really, and so so how far in advance I mean, if I wanted to get married today, it's Friday. If I wanted to get married tomorrow or Monday, would it be just that simple as me getting a wedding license? or how far in advance, realistically, would we need to approach you to schedule a date?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 24:56

Well, if you're going to have a wedding at a venue, of course, i mean once you scheduled that wedding, you know, book the justice of the peace so we can block that off. But if you're going to get married, just a spur of the moment and the justice of the peace is available, i mean you can get your license. It's good for 30 days, so you have. if you're going to book a justice of the peace, it needs to be within that amount of time.

Kim Chapman: 25:21

So we're talking to it's June, and I know traditionally June is the busiest month for regular weddings. Is there a busy a month for you as a justice of the peace, in terms of ceremonies? Is it June as well? Or is it just really even killed throughout the year, since people can spontaneously get married?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 25:37

Well, I looked through all of my records and it appears that April and October have been my busiest months over the last couple of years.

Kim Chapman: 25:48

Any clue why you think that is. You know we get to, we're planning for June and we're, like you know, forget this. Let's just go to justice of the peace. That sounds about right for April. Any rhyme or reason you think April and October?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 26:00

I think it's just the spontaneity of just people deciding they're ready to get married and they don't want to go through a planning a wedding that will take a year, whatever. they just want to get married right away, and it's the spontaneity of it.

Kim Chapman: 26:17

Do you find that there's this particular age group that does it more so than the other? Do you find it's maybe second marriages more so than first marriages?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 26:26

Well, we have a lot of both. We have a lot of first time couples, and then we also have people who remarry each other, and then we have second and third weddings as well.

Kim Chapman: 26:39

And so I've been to, of course, a lot of traditional weddings, so I can only go off of TV stereotype. We're typically just to set a peace wedding scene, like they're about. you know, three minutes, do you do you? I do, i do So. can you tell us how long on average? how long is the justice of the peace ceremony?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 26:55

It'll probably take about 10 or 15 minutes.

Kim Chapman: 26:58

So not far from TV is not too far from the truth.

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 27:02

And every wedding I've ever done, whether it's in the justice of the peace office or it's at a location, the broad always tells me they want it quick and fast And I'm like I got you, I'll handle this for you And 15 minutes tops.

Kim Chapman: 27:19

So I know, with traditional weddings even do it yourself you know the price tag can be as economical as you want or off the chart. What is the price range, i would imagine? is it more structured for justice of the peace? Is there a set price or does it depend on okay, we need flowers, we need the chapel, we need you to come to our venue. Is there an average price for justice of the peace?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 27:42

Well, if you're going to get married in our office during the week, it's 150. If you're going to get married after hours or on the weekends, it's more. And then, of course, if we have to travel, that plays a role in the amount as well.

Kim Chapman: 27:58

So I'm just going to put Rachel on the spot and say what do you have on your website that we can get it done for 150? Can't think of anything.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 28:07

You don't have to answer that. So not much, but I can be accommodating to people's budget too. I definitely don't mind doing that.

Kim Chapman: 28:15

So I'll ask you, Christy, what's the most memorable ceremony you've ever performed? And I'm going to ask you another question that I just thought of, but go ahead and answer that for me There are lots, but the most memorable one was my superhero themed wedding.

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 28:34

The woman dressed as Wonder Woman and he was Superman.

Kim Chapman: 28:39

All right, rachel, i'll ask you that same question, but then I'm going to switch back to Christy, because I have to ask about the Elvis weddings. I just have to go ahead.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 28:49

The most memorable wedding. I mean I've seen, you know, all kind of different different weddings and ceremonies, but I think the one that probably stands out the most is a wedding I did quite a few years ago and it was an Indian wedding and it was four days long And so it wasn't like full days or anything, but it was a. The bride was Indian, the groom was American, and so they did the Indian ceremony on a Friday night and then Saturday they did the American wedding and Sunday they do kind of like a final send off from the dad. You know the dad kind of does the ceremony giving the bride away And it just was so different.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 29:36

I think especially the Indian ceremony is completely different than what we're used to. I mean everything there is just the tradition and the culture. It was just really really unique and neat to kind of experience that with them And also the outfits and the dresses were just gorgeous and the colors, it just it blew my mind. I mean it was just, you know, thursday night they did the henna hand and I was like I almost wanted to do it too, just so I could like kind of have that experience. But that one was really interesting for sure.

Kim Chapman: 30:09

So tell us a little bit. You know, since you do do the photography, you know what are the most important things somebody needs to know if they're hiring a photographer.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 30:19

A lot of times brides do go into it pretty much knowing what they want and what style. You know my main thing is asking them basically what are they looking for as far as like coverage for the wedding day, how much time, because my business kind of has different packages to choose from and things like that. Sometimes they want to do pre-bridles and engagements, sometimes they just need a few hours. Like I just got a wedding where they just need a five to eight, you know in town, and so I kind of have to rearrange you know the prices a little bit, just because I don't obviously not going to charge her the same amount, you know, for these long hours and stuff like that. So I kind of do per hour.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 31:02

At that point I've definitely had brides where you know they were on a budget and you know I'm totally okay with kind of working with them and you know sometimes they want to do maybe being able to prepay, you know, do like monthly payments and things like that to kind of just help with the budget and things like that. And I'm totally, you know, open for that as well, because I know that that makes it a little bit easier when brides are dishing out, you know, especially when it gets closer to the wedding and they're paying the venue and they're paying the photographer, and that's a lot of money all at once, because sometimes it is easier to be able to, you know, kind of space out those payments and things.

Kim Chapman: 31:41

And so, on average, how much would you say today, just on average, is the average bride or a couple spending on a wedding today? you know, when you look at all the different vendors that are available, Probably 15 to 25,000.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 31:58

It's probably in that budget And I think that lately, especially in this last year, though I think people are definitely scaling back some.

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 32:07

You know, when it comes to budgeting and things like that, i've noticed that with a lot of my brides They have been kind of shopping around different vendors and, you know, everybody is different. You know, even within the photography business, the photos can range from, you know, $1,000 for a package to $10,000 for a package. I mean, there's definitely photographers out there, which is kind of crazy to me, and I'm actually kind of on the lower end. I actually have a lot of other photographers tell me I need to raise my prices, but I would like to stay at a certain amount, because I do know that some brides are paying for their own wedding versus having parents or family that can help them out. Some people don't have anybody that can help them out and they're doing it all on their own, sometimes also still in school and paying for school or even buying a house. It's all three. And then they wonder why they're stressed out, you know, because they're doing all these things.

Kim Chapman: 33:06

All right, so I'm going to go back to Patrice. Was there anything along the way of the process Because, like you said, always the bridesmaid and finally the bride right That really shocked you Anything in terms of cost that? maybe it was, you know, more expensive than you thought or less expensive? What was your big takeaway in terms of learning moments during the process?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 33:26

I too have friends that are like photographers and stuff, so I wasn't terribly surprised as far as how much the cost of photography and stuff could be, just because it ranges. And one of my friends actually has a mantra is artist's objective, prices are not, and so I kind of feel like you know you spend your money on whatever it is that you value and whatever it is that you want. So, as far as cost we're concerned, i guess, as far as, like, looking at the line items, i thought it was interesting that like they would charge you if you chose to have your ceremony at the event space, like you might get an extra fee for that, or like it was just like little things that would kind of be like oh okay, but as of right now, like nothing is really like sticking out overall as far as cost is concerned.

Kim Chapman: 34:26

So anything else that you learned, that just was shocking in terms of the process. or maybe a better question would be and we know you'll never need to do this again but if you had to do it all over again right, because that's everything is great What would you change? What would you do differently? Is there anything?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 34:42

You know it's funny. My husband and I were having this conversation recently and he was like I just feel like it was perfect, i wouldn't do anything different. And I was just like, well, i'll just spend more money. I mean, don't get me wrong, i think we still we broke our budget. I mean, i feel like that's just kind of pardon parcel.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 35:01

Just for weddings period You can set a reasonable expectation. Just also know that, depending on, again, your values and what you want, you may or may not entertain coin above that And that's OK. But for me I say more money just because the perfectionist in me replays the day And I'm like, oh, i could have did this or like this would have been dope. You know, like so it's, it's, it's more of just enhancing. But I felt like it was just a really good day and all of the work and the money and the hours and sacrifice, it all paid off. I don't have any, any regrets about the day or the money that was spent. I just feel like if you're going to, if this is supposed to be for forever, and you're going to go through with that, that huge undertaking of planning a wedding and going through the pop and circumstance, go all the way you know go hard or go home.

Kim Chapman: 35:57

And I have pictures in my camera and it looks flawless to me. It was a very, very beautiful ceremony. I can't even imagine what you would have changed, but you know it's still in the back of my mind. I have to go back to Christie. How many people come in and want to do an Elvis wedding?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 36:15

They saved that for Vegas.

Kim Chapman: 36:18

They say Vegas. Is there anything? have you ever, i guess, maybe received a request that you couldn't accommodate? Is there something that's just like, ok, we're just a piece, we can't do this. Is there anything that's kind of like off limits or something? maybe you've not been able to accommodate a wedding request for.

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 36:35

No one has ever asked for anything like that. What I cannot accommodate is any type of wedding reception at our offices. People have asked you know to bring champagne and I'll allow that, but no one has ever asked to bring anything other than you know champagne. But I couldn't allow anybody to bring, you know, an open bar or anything like that. They can't stay there and you know, have a wedding reception, ok.

Kim Chapman: 37:04

So strictly the ceremony. Just the ceremony And is it typical that you would have them back to back, like would you have a wedding at four and one scheduled for four, 30 and one scheduled for five?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 37:16

Yes, especially on the weekends. I could do as many as four weddings at my office on a weekend, Oh wow.

Kim Chapman: 37:24

This has been some really good information. So for trees you know for I do, i DIY would be brides out there that want to plant it themselves. What's your best advice for them?

Patrice, DIY wedding: 37:35

Before I answer that question I did just have, it did occur to me something that was surprising. Credit card fees were surprising to me. So some of and I guess it's not that outlandish or farfetched because a lot of the vendors are small business owners but they pat and I guess, working in finance, i understand that some cost you absorb and some you do pass on to the consumer. But I found it very interesting that some of the vendors actually charge credit card processing fees. Like if you pay for your wedding dress or if you pay for the venue that you and you wanted to use a card, you would have to expect a three and a half percent processing fee to do that. And it was just like wow, ok, like that's interesting To me. It was very interesting just because they're in a lucrative business anyway. It just didn't seem like a cost that they could not have personally absorbed. But also it's just like that's kind of what's become commonplace.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 38:37

Most people will make most purchases at this point through point of sale purchases. So you're using a debit card or a contactless payment or something of the like versus cash or check, and it was just like OK. So that was something that I learned and that was valuable to me And that was something I used to lead with when I would speak to vendors. It's like, ok, well, is there a cost for paying, you know, using a credit card, or I would also advise anyone to just go in knowing that you can negotiate things. It's OK, i'm a person that asks a lot of questions.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 39:13

Anyway, it's just my nature. I'm very inquisitive, but I asked a lot of questions. But some of the questions that I had were almost standard, almost like a little script for me. The credit card process and fee was one of them. If there was a discount for prepayment, because some, some vendors, would discount if you just paid it all upfront And I kind of I feel like that was something that was helpful, but I could see where it could also burn you. My father was like don't ever pay for stuff, you know, until you get finished product And like, well, in this case it's one of those things where you're going to have to pay for the product before you get the finished product anyway. So before your makeup artist is going to do your, your makeup, she requires her final payment before she, she takes a single brush out you know, same thing with your photographer or your decorator or your your baker.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 40:05

So you're going to have to take that risk anyway. I just feel like, why not save some money in the interim? you know, because you're going to, you're going to have to eat the expense anyway. You may or may not be satisfied with the end product. So try to negotiate on the front end so that at least, even if you're not all together, please with it. It's not as hard of a blow.

Kim Chapman: 40:31

Okay, and so I'm going to ask you, rachel I mean, since you have the vendors, you provide this unique list for your own perspective brides Do you have any idea if that is the standard that they, you know, pass that cost, because I do see that a lot now it's becoming, unfortunately, more and more common that you know the credit card fees are being passed over to the consumer. Are you able to speak to that in terms of your vendors, or you're aware if that's pretty standard for them or not?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 40:56

I'm not. I'm not really sure the with the other vendors what their, their money standards are, because at that point, you know, past the having just the website and stuff like that, when, when brides, you know, go to their website and then start to interact with them, and things like that, i myself, though, you know, for the photography, let's say, like taxes and stuff that's all included in the package, because it don't really. you know, they're already looking at a possible, you know, $2,000 package. I don't want to add another percentage to that. I also don't do the processing fees either, because, yeah, that's my choice to whether or not to use the credit card or like Venmo and things like that. So so that's all you know, understood on on my end that they don't have to take care of that.

Kim Chapman: 41:42

And so what are your best pieces of advice for somebody that's you know, maybe they just got engaged and I like, yeah, it's time for me to start planning. what's your best piece of advice for that bride and groom?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 41:53

I think you know kind of making a list of what they want to, you know, initially have in their wedding and start with kind of the big things and work down from there. And you know there's so many different. You know, as far as like venues or flowers and things like that, they really do range in prices and size and things like that. It really depends on if they're wanting, you know, a huge wedding which you could still budget even for having a lot of people and things like that. I've seen the. I've gone for the big weddings to down to the very small, intimate backyard weddings and they're all beautiful. I think you can really make them all your own unique thing and whether it is DIY or, you know, having a planner that just kind of does everything for you. But I think there's definitely advantages with the DIY because, like you said, you have family and things like that. Especially if you have family that can cook and you know possibly even do flowers or invitations and things like that, you know definitely take advantage of that if possible.

Kim Chapman: 42:57

And just as the justice of the peace seems to be the most simplistic of you, know of your options, but would you still have advice for prospective couple, bride or groom that wants to do a justice of the peace wedding?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 43:09

Well, i've had very many weddings in our office and everyone who comes, they always respond that this is not what they expected, and so if you're looking for something very simplistic, i think your justice of the peace is the way to go. If you're looking for something you know immediate, your justice of the peace is where you need to be.

Kim Chapman: 43:34

Well, ladies, this has been very, very enlightening and entertaining. Rachel, i want to give you an opportunity first to just go ahead and tell everybody, if they want to learn more about your website and your business, how can they reach you?

Rachel, GEAUX Weddings: 43:46

The photography, they can reach me at rachelarronphotographycom or again. If you would like to check out the Go weddings again, if you're a new bride and just don't know where to start, you know you can check out the website. You have all the different vendors and kind of start from there and that's the goweddingscom All right.

Kim Chapman: 44:06

And, ms Christie, if somebody is saying you know what I've heard about the traditional wedding and the do it yourself and I'm really intrigued about just having a justice of the peace, how can they go that route?

Christie, Justice of the Peace: 44:18

They can just look up Christie Mayo justice of the peace.

Kim Chapman: 44:21

Okay, and then, patrice, so we're going to have a viewing day. You're going to have a day where we can everybody can come and view your wedding and see just how elegant or do it yourself wedding could be and maybe convince them. brides said hey, maybe I can plan this.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 44:34

Sure, But it'd have to be on a case by case basis. I am very selective you know this about me And then also I'm kind of private, so it'd have to be something like where we're one on one. I'm not going to broadcast it, But I did want to say to the brides out there that think that certain things are without not within their, their reach or purview things are a lot more affordable than you realize. I always thought that fresh flowers would be just an astronomical price, for instance, and it actually was about the same for silk, So that's why I chose to go with fresh flowers. It's like, okay, this is what I wanted anyway, And it actually worked out budget, budget wise. So I would just advise anyone that it's really a lot simpler than you think. Don't overthink it and have fun with it. Use your contacts too, because a lot of my people new people, So that helped me out.

Kim Chapman: 45:34

Well, that sounds like a great plan. I am sure that there are some brides I wish I could kind of be a fly on the wall with some women right now listening to this particular podcast that maybe they wanted to do it, do it yourself and they've changed your mind, or now they're wanting to do the justice of the peace. But I think we've given out some great information. So thank you, ladies, for stopping by and spending some time with me.

Patrice, DIY wedding: 45:55

Thank you. Thank you for having want.