One of the first things you should tackle when planning your wedding is the big one, the budget! You might be thinking, well where do I start? Here is my step-by-step guide to creating the perfect wedding budget.
Where to start
Before anything, you need to sit down as a couple and determine what you can afford. If you can’t afford a £50k wedding, then there really is no point in budgeting for one! Weddings at every budget are beautiful, whether it’s £30k or £3k but the important thing is not to stretch yourself too much - it will only cause more stress and upset.
Contributions is always a tricky subject to bring up, but will be helpful to know up front so that you can include any (or not) in your budgeting. Money can always be a challenging subject to bring up, but you’ll be glad that you did. Explain to your family that you are working on your wedding budget and you aren’t expecting any contributions but if they are wanting to help then it would be useful so that you can ensure you are budgeting effectively. They will likely be impressed at your maturity.
The things your wedding cannot happen without
A wedding budget is a big document, there are lots of things that you need to think about. Once you know what you can afford, and any contributions you may be getting, the next step is to think about those essential and must have things that you want as part of your wedding. When you were dreaming about your wedding, what were the essential things that you can’t see yourself getting married without? After your venue and food - these should be next on the list.
Do you have to have the best canapés and meal? Do you want to provide all the alcohol for the day so your guests don’t need to pay a penny on the day? Do you want a videographer? Do you want your guests to be able to stay on site at the venue? Do you have to get married at a particular place? Do you have to have a specific cake, or cocktails on arrival? Are you desperate to give particular favours?
These should be the first things to be included on your wedding budget - firstly to make sure you can afford your “essentials”, but also then you can see what you are left with for the extras.
Who do you want to celebrate with?
Then another big question (there’s a lot of them when you are wedding planning)…how many people are on your guest list? This will have a big effect on how much your food will be, how many favours you need, how many table settings and decorations you need.
Things that can save you money when you are wedding planning
Get married on a weekday - it’s come more normal these days with the number of postponements and difficulties getting a weekend date. Fridays tend to be similar prices to the weekend as they are just as popular, but you can save a big chunk of money (we are talking thousands) at many venues by getting married Monday - Thursday
What can you do yourself? Any stationery like your place cards? You can learn calligraphy online and spend an afternoon with a glass of wine writing all of the names
Do you need a car? Is your wedding all at one venue?
Although it is custom to pay for bridesmaid dresses, it is now very common to ask ushers and best man to pay for their own suits given that they are likely to be able to wear them again
Do you need to pay for your bridesmaids hair and make-up? Unless you are asking them to have their hair and make-up in a certain way, then etiquette is that you can ask them to pay for this themselves, or do their own
Things to make sure you include in your budget
Food - an essential. Do you want canapés? Three-course meal, sharing platters, buffet?
Venue - many venues will charge a hire fee on top of the food, while others will only have a minimum spend
Invitations and day stationery (if you are not doing it yourself)
Outfits - wedding dress, grooms suits, bridesmaid dresses (although any accessories they can likely get themselves)
Registrar and any legal stuff. Many churches now charge to get married, and if you are having a civil ceremony these generally cost between £400-£500 + £35 per person for registering to marry
Things you might forget to budget for
One thing that many people forget to budget for is gifts when asking your bridal party to be part of the day. You can keep this cost low and it doesn’t have to be extravagant but it should still be part of your budget as things start to add up
Also gifts on the day/in the wedding week for all of your bridal party, parents and your readers to thank them for being such a big part of the day
The ‘little things’ e.g. small decorations, like Mr & Mrs signs for the table, all the gin you need to drink to decorate your tables as make shift vases, small little extras like little gifts for your new spouse, cards
Your honeymoon / mini-moon - although technically not part of your wedding day, it is part of many people’s wedding celebrations. Consider how much you will be spending on this holiday of a lifetime on top of your wedding
Accommodation - with everything else going on, you may forgot the budget for your night’s stay at your venue or a near-by hotel/Air BnB
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