My plan is to propose to my girlfriend of three years, this coming May. We'd probably be married a year later. My girlfriend wants the dream wedding with banquet hall, DJ, photographer, flowers, etc. Unfortunately neither of our families will help pay for the wedding, so we're on our own. She'll be earning her master's degree in May - so she's currently going to school and working part time. She has no money saved. I have some money saved, enough for an engagement ring and any emergencies that should arise. While discussing how to pay for a wedding, her first suggestion was take out a loan - I told her I'm opposed to starting our life together in debt to pay for a party when the money could be better used on a down payment for a home. While she agrees about the home part, she still wants a fairly expensive wedding ($10,000 range?). The more I think about it, the less confident I am we'd be able to afford what she wants. I don't know when she'll have more than a part time income coming in, and wedding planning requires down payments that I know we don't have. I'm not going to pay for everything. I'm planning to talk to her again about my concerns, but I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how we can have the dream wedding at an affordable price.