How To Stick To A Realistic Wedding Budget
When a couple becomes engaged they often have the greatest time of their life planning their wedding, albeit a little stressful. Since, for the most part, it is a very exciting time in most peoples’ lives it is easy to get carried away and end up going over budget. Brides who have been dreaming about their perfect wedding day their entire life often have grandiose ideas of what they have always wanted and sometimes these wants end up costing couples more money than they have earmarked for their wedding.
Once a couple has set their wedding budget they must take steps to stick to it. One of the easiest ways to do this is to set aside a certain amount of money for each aspect of the wedding. Major expenses often include:
- The bride’s dress
- Wedding rings
- The venue itself
- The officiant presiding over the ceremony
Couples who are struggling to divide their budget into different sections can always seek out advice from friends or family members who have planned their own wedding and gain great insights into the best areas to save money planning their wedding.
Setting a maximum amount that a couple is willing and able to spend on each of the major expenses is a good way to stick to a budget. This means deciding on the maximum amount the bride’s dress, wedding rings, venue and the officiant should cost. Once that maximum amount has been set it is time to start shopping for these things, which hopefully is the fun part of wedding planning.
Leaving some room for flexibility is the key to sticking to a budget. For example – if a bride has $1,000 earmarked for her dress and she finds one she falls in love with that is $1,500 but she found a venue that is $500 less than her venue budget, she can spend more on the dress than she had anticipated because she is spending less on the venue than she had anticipated.
Every detail of the wedding should be itemized, right down to the smallest item needed for the wedding. This includes items such as an extra pair of pantyhose for the bride or a basket filled with supplies that could be needed in an emergency such as a mini sewing kit to fix any last minute problems with the dress.
It is important for couples to keep in mind that when planning any wedding it is easy to incur hidden charges. This applies to things such as tipping the florist or any of the wedding vendors being used.
Recording the cost for each purchase dictated by the wedding is also a recommended course of action for sticking to a budget. Failure to do so can lead a couple to go far over budget before they realize it. This can be avoided by staying focused and having realistic expectations.
Couples should avoid checking out venues or vendors that they know they cannot afford. Limiting the choices to what a couple can afford will make the whole planning process easier. Being tempted by things they can’t afford is the biggest mistake a couple can make when planning their wedding.
Did you recently experience the wonders of wedding planning or are currently in the process of planning your own wedding? Consider sharing your wedding budget tips with our readers.
