Budgeting For Your Wedding
Budgeting for your wedding is a hugely important first step in the wedding planning process. No, it’s not exciting, however it is essential unless you’re lucky enough not to need one. In a previous post I gave you money saving tips, today we’re going to look at actually setting the budget.
Where is the money coming from?
You may have been saving for your wedding for months or even years, so you know what’s available there. Are other people contributing? Perhaps parents have offered to help out with the finances for your wedding. Have the money conversation with relevant people early on so that you know where you stand. Perhaps instead of an actual figure they might offer to pay for specific items such as the wine or dress. Write everything down so that you have that information in black and white!
Decide what style you want and if the budgeting for your wedding allows
You’ve maybe heard the phrase “Champagne taste, beer money”? There’s no point hankering after a fairytale castle wedding if your budget simply won’t stretch to it. Perhaps instead of the actual fairytale castle you could have a theme to the wedding. Investigate blank canvas wedding venues where you can style it your way.
Make Lists!
Have three lists:
- Essential
- Important
- Would be nice
Put items you need or would like under the relevant heading. For example Venue would go under “Essential” whereas a harpist for the wedding breakfast might go under “Would be nice”. Prioritise the items.
Do your research when budgeting for your wedding
Go on Instagram and other social media channels and get seaching with those #hashtags! Really drill down into what fits with your style, vision and budget. Having said that, looking at things outside your budget may well give you ideas on how to incorporate some elements more cheaply.
Follow the accounts and businesses that you like and are relevant. Request information from them so that you can start to get an idea of costs involved. Also look at their preferred suppliers lists. For example a marquee company often can recommend suppliers for generators, toilets etc. Some will even organise additional services for you as a package.
A word of caution – when checking out a company’s preferred suppliers list, ask if businesses have to pay to be on that list. Or if they charge other companies commission. For example some venues charge suppliers such as florists, cake makers and caterers commission just to work at the venue. I personally find this practice abhorrent. It pushes the overall cost of a wedding up unnecessarily and to my mind is a greedy practice.
Get Organised
In a previous post I showed ways in which you can stay organised when planning your wedding. One very easy way to keep everything together in one place is to set up an email address specifically for your wedding. If you go to wedding fairs you’ll find yourself asked for your email address countless times. Having a specific email for the wedding stops your personal inbox getting clogged up.
Guest List
Ok, this one can be pretty contentious! In the past virtually the whole of the extended family had to be invited to avoid causing offence. This may still be so now for some. It partly depends on who is paying for the wedding as to who gets to invite who too.
Here’s a fun flow chart I found on myotherhalfblog.wordpress.com which might be useful:
Each person at your celebration is going to need to be fed and watered so it’s important to get the balance right. And to not alienate the rest of your family!
Shop Around
Once you know what you want and need shop around. Price points can vary widely on similar services – but cheapest isn’t necessarily best. Make sure that your chosen suppliers have got proper business insurance, including Public Liability Insurance. Ask to see a sample of their contract or terms and conditions before booking – check for hidden charges.
Get Creative
Are you a DIY Queen like Sara Davies MBE? Or Kirsty Allsopp? Are there aspects of your wedding that you could DIY? Be honest with yourself and your abilities here. Maybe follow your DIY idol on social media and have a look for ideas from them. Give them a go yourself and see how you get on! If it doesn’t work out then at least you tried.
I made some fun posters and invitations for a 1930’s styled photo shoot here a few years ago. As I used to be a stationery designer and still have a commercial sized printer these were easy enough for me to do, and I then added the embellishments to the invitations and other items (ribbon, ribbon slide, and peacock feather). You could perhaps design your own items and get them printed somewhere like Vistaprint and add your own embellishments. Publisher is an easy program to use and you can find all sorts of free to use images on Pixabay.
Happy planning!
