5 Things To Consider When Setting Your Budget

Ways to Save Money & Time…

Planning a weddings can sometimes be stressful and budgets can play a big part in that, especially when you start to realise that yours is running out!

Below are 5 things you should consider when setting your budget, to help you keep on track and avoid some common mistakes…

1. Decide early on what is important

Sit down and think what means the most to each of you. Is it that perfect dress, is it the perfect venue, or is it the photo album that looks like it’s straight from a Vogue shoot? When you have figured out what is important to you both, prioritise your wedding shopping list accordingly. This will really help you allocate your wedding budget to meet your wedding needs.

2. Do your market research

Before you set your budget figure and allocate accordingly, make sure you know roughly what things cost. Wedding prices can be very different to what you expect – and by that I mean usually more expensive! Have a look online for some example pricing. Lots of venues will have their wedding brochure online with example pricing to help guide you. If you loved the flowers at a friends wedding then talk to them and ask if they would be willing to share how much they cost. Be careful though, the cost of weddings isn’t always something people are comfortable talking about.

3. Before your set your budget, be clear on where it’s coming from!

These days many couples pay for their own wedding rather than using the bank of Mum & Dad. Talk to your family first and see if they would like to contribute to your wedding. A popular choice is for each set of parent(s) to pay for one item off the list. For example, one set of parent(s) may pay for the flowers and the other parent(s) may pay for the entertainment etc. Be careful how you approach the subject so as not to make people feel awkward.

4. Allocate a contingency fund

Despite best efforts, even the most carefully managed budget plan can come up against an unexpected cost – like the Aunt that you forgot about but simply must attend the wedding breakfast, or the VAT to be added to some of your invoices! A good figure to allocate is usually around 10% of your wedding budget. This way you should avoid any last minute budget panics!

5. Stick to your budget!

It sounds simple but once you enter the dazzling world of wedding shopping and the inner bridezilla or groomzilla takes a hold (telling you that you must have that designer outfit rather than off the peg, or that helicopter to fly you and your bestman in  – I mean it would save on getting stuck in traffic, right?!) you can quickly find your budget running out!

Be clear as to what you want before you start any bit of wedding shopping, this will help you to avoid spending on things you’ll end up not using.

Happy Planning! ♥