Setting a Budget
Step 1 Calculate the amount you and your future spouse have to spend on the wedding. Include contributions from family and friends.
Step 6 Determine how much to spend on the reception. Nearly half of a wedding budget is typically spent on the hall, catering, wedding cake, and favors.
Step 2 List all of the items and vendors you will need and dedicate a percentage of your budget to each.
Step 7 Don’t forget the little things, like transportation for the wedding party, valet parking, gifts for bridesmaids and groomsmen, and gifts for out-of-town guests.
Step 3 Research the vendors for every item. Prices for food, flowers, music, and photography can vary greatly. Step 4 Determine exactly how many people you plan to invite. A good portion of the expenses, such as catering, invitations and postage, and centerpieces, depend on the size of the guest list. Step 5 Consider costs for attire, such as the wedding dress, headpiece and veil, shoes and accessories, jewelry, hair and makeup, and the groom’s tuxedo or suit. Plan to spend about 10 percent of your budget on attire. the space: Some hotels will reduce or cut the rental fee if you use their food service, or if you fill a certain amount of guest rooms.
Consider an unusual time of day or day of the week
It’s no surprise that many people choose to get married on a Saturday, but choosing a less popular day can save you money.You also might have an easier time negotiating prices with various vendors, and not just for the reception site. If you choose a day that fewer other couples will fight you for, you can potentially see a decrease in the cost of almost every aspect of your wedding. The downfall of choosing a Sunday or weekday wedding date is that you may have less people who can come, but if you want to stick to a small budget, this might actually be a plus. You should also consider having your wedding and reception in the morning or at lunch. You may save a lot of money by doing this as well.
Ask for help
If you want to stay within a small budget, it is absolutely essential that you ask for help. If you had a fair amount of money but wanted to cut costs, you could simply pick a less well known photographer, or use some pretend flowers instead of real flowers. However, if you don’t have much money to spend, asking for help will allow you to have many of the aspects of a wedding that people want, without paying nearly as much. Ask a friend or family member to be your photographer, or provide live music (or even make your playlist for you), or even bake your cake or make your invitations. If you can, consider borrowing a wedding dress January/February 2016
Adjust each percentage to reflect your priorities. If floral arrangements and bouquets are particularly important to you, you can add money there and cut back in other areas. You may want to purchase wedding insurance to protect yourself from the unexpected. You may want to hire a professional wedding planner to make sure all goes as planned on your special day.They will be able to give you excellent recommendations and will save you lots of time and frustration. or suit instead of paying for one. As long as you choose friends who truly have talent in the area you need assistance with, your wedding guests don’t ever have to know. You should also consider doing whatever you can yourself. Pinterest has many ideas for DIY Weddings.
Remember that your wedding belongs to you alone
While your wedding day should really be about you and your partner, many couples get sucked into the competitive aspects of having a wedding. Some people have more available funds, and there is nothing wrong with keeping your wedding budget small. If you and your partner enjoy a small, intimate and relaxed setting, invite your guests to be part of a potluck instead of providing food. This will depend on what type of experience you want at your wedding, but don’t assume that guests need to be pampered and given a full meal in order to be happy. As fun as it is to be a guest at a wedding, the special day is supposed to be about you.You could spend $50,000 dollars on a wedding, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your friends will have any more fun than they would if you spent $10,000. Many guests want to be there to celebrate you, and may actually be more impressed with personal touches than anything else. You can certainly cut costs on any wedding, no matter your budget. However, if you have a set budget, and it happens to be small, your best bet is to try to do as much as you can yourself or with the help of others, and to think small, instead of trying to cut costs as you think big. suburban family | subfam.com
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