Minding The Pennies
Fab Wedding Advice – Part 4 of a 10-part series
Much as it would be great to have unlimited money for your wedding, almost everyone needs to create a wedding budget or spending will quickly get out of hand and compromise what you’re trying to achieve.
Although it might seem counter-intuitive, it’s generally not a good idea to set a total figure before researching prices. You’re very likely to have under or over-estimated how much things cost, and if it’s the former it can be heart breaking to see items you really wanted having to be jettisoned because your original figure was unrealistic.
Having researched what things cost and what your priorities are (see Part 1 of this series), set a ballpark figure for the basics of venue, food and drink, dress, celebrant, flowers and photographer.
From there, you can add other items. Depending on what’s important to you, you might prioritise a videographer or a band for the dancing. Match that against what you can reasonably afford and start compromising from there.
A contingency of 10-20% on top is ideal to account for the things you didn’t think of and to account for price increases in these high-inflation times.
Once you’ve established an amount for your main costs, if you have some leeway on the budget you can add in the nice-to-haves. That could mean a violinist performing your ceremony walk-in music, champagne for the bridal party, a set of giant LOVE letters, hiring the bride’s room or going more premium on the flowers or the menu.
If you find you’re having trouble matching what you can afford with what you want, it’s advisable to concentrate on the basics and get rid of the frills. Or perhaps you can get some help from your family? You may be surprised how ready they are to lend an extra hand.
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