words Al Woods
Getting engaged is a hugely exciting time and it is easy for couples to get straight into the wedding planning stage. Rushing into wedding planning can cause you problems later down the line, as you quickly realize how expensive all wedding-related arrangements can be.
Creating a budget is an essential step that should precede the planning process so you can ensure that you are able to afford the wedding of your dreams. Here are some tips on budgeting effectively.
Determine What You Are Working With
The very first step to creating a wedding budget is to clearly work out how much money you have to spend. To do this, you need to sit down with your partner and have an honest and open conversation about how much money you are both willing and able to spend.
You and your partner should ask yourselves how much you have in savings and how much you are willing to spend. Remember you should keep some money in savings to help you out on a rainy day. Once you have established how much you have in savings you can turn your attention to your incoming expenses. You should try to work out how much money you have coming in, which you can then save for your wedding.
Traditionally, the bride’s parents would contribute to the wedding fund. Of course, many of the antiquated rules of wedding etiquette are no longer relevant but you should find out if anyone else wants to contribute to your wedding when making a budget.
Holidays, weddings, vehicle expenses, and home improvements are some of the common reasons for obtaining personal loans in the U.S. If you are thinking of applying for a personal loan to cover your wedding expenses you should make sure that you are able to afford the repayment plan over time.
Create a Guest List
Once you have established your total budget the next step is to determine the size of your guest list. The guest list will have a big impact on the amount of money you will have to spend on other aspects of the wedding, because a larger guest list will mean you have to pay more for the following:
- Venue
- Food
- Drinks
- Invitations
- Clean-up costs
- Thank you cards
You should try to determine the size of your guest list before organizing any other part of the wedding planning process.
Outline Your Overall Costs
Once you have an idea of how much you will be spending on the costs associated with the guest list it is a good idea to write down other wedding costs. Having a list of what you have to pay for and assigning a certain about of money for each expenditure will help you to stay on budget.
Some of the costs you should consider when you are making your wedding budget include:
- Clothing
- Hair and makeup
- Hen and stag parties
- Photographer
- Hotel rooms
- Entertainment
- Flowers
Make sure you take the time to consider every relevant cost so that there are no unexpected surprises.
Set Money Aside
No matter how organized you are, you can’t always predict what is going to happen. Setting aside between 10 to 15% of your budget as a contingency fund will make sure that you are able to continue if you face any unexpected costs.
