Ways To Plan Your Wedding On A Budget

Ways to  plan your wedding on a budget without going broke!

Let’s face it: Weddings have become an expensive affair.

Thousands of dollars are easily spent on food, flowers, dresses, a  venue, wedding planners and that vintage car or limo you imagined you would arrive at the quaint chapel or cathedral in.

Why not dream ?

It’s worth saving for. The Wedding car & Limousine Association have put together a few tips on how you might keep from going broke by sticking to a budget to have the wedding of your dreams.

Most bride and grooms have little to no experience when it comes to planning a wedding and therefore making up a budget seems trivial when they are unsure of what is realistic.

So how should you figure out your wedding budget?

Here are a few simple things for your consideration :

  • Be realistic. Sit as a couple and decide what you can really afford.
  • The further away the wedding date the longer you have to save.
  • Can you make sacrifices now to allocate more money to that on special day?
  • Research, research, research. If you have no clue on how much things cost start finding out the cost of these things now. Ask friends who were recently married. Join social media pages as these can be a mine of information. Also consider visiting wedding fares.
  • Make a list of all items you think you will need for your special day. Keep it real. From the wish list to must haves to, can we compromise.
  • Shop around & get quotes from many different suppliers. Don’t be afraid to haggle. Most will price match. Try to use reputable companies. They might be a little more expensive, but will show up on the day.
  • Organise all your quotes on a spread sheet so you keep track of things. Again, keep it real. That designer dress or special cathedral that will blow out the budget can be possible if you cut back on something else. Don’t just say “x” amount for my dress. Dress alterations are a forgotten cost. You have shoes, underwear, hair and make-up. And don’t forget cleaning and storage of your dress after the event all needs to be factored in.
  • Do we need a weekend mid summer wedding ? Most wedding suppliers have better deals mid-week of off season. So it could be possible for everything on your wish list, if you compromised on the day/time of year.
  • Other hidden costs: Venue clean-up and breakage costs. Corkage fee. Cake cutting fee. Overtime rates. Wedding ring alterations. Name change costs.
  • And the bane of all arguments. Who do we invite. The number of guests will have a huge bearing on the cost. When working on a budget you need to be strong on who and why they should attend.

Big ticket items, but not limited to plan your wedding:-

Ceremony venue

Food and drinks

Reception venue

Honeymoon

Photographer/videographer

Music

Flowers

Wedding dress

Wedding cake

Cars/transport

Hair and make-up

Stationary

Grooms man suite

Maids/groomsmen attire

Bridal entourage gifts

Loosely mentioned above was a wedding planner. “But surely that will add more cost” ?

True.

Some only operate high end weddings, but there others out there who take on smaller weddings. Remember these people Plan your wedding for a living and will often have access to venues and wedding suppliers at discounted rates, so the money they save you will pay off their fee. It can also relieve some of the stress.

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