Weddings can be very expensive. This is why it’s always recommended to create a wedding budget before you start signing contracts.
Let’s take a look at some tips to help you create your budget and stick to it.
- Allocate Your Wedding Funds Accordingly
It’s important to first consider where your wedding funds should go. Before the wedding, you’ll want to think about the engagement ring. This isn’t something you’ll want to put a hard limitation on. Finding the perfect engagement ring is important. They’ll have it for a lifetime, rather than one day.
- Talk To Your Family
Oftentimes, family members will offer to pay for parts of the wedding. Have a conversation with your family about how they intend to help.
Their financial support will tie into your overall wedding budget and alleviate some stress from tapping too far into your savings.
- Plan for an Off Day
The weekends tend to be more popular times for people to have weddings. This dramatically increases the prices. For you to plan your wedding without spending a small fortune, consider having your event during the week.
While it may not be as convenient because people will have to take off work, you can be assured that the people who can attend will be the people you want there.
- Consider Other Wedding Expenses
Certain elements of wedding preparation aren’t always initially considered in the budget. Setting up the event with vendors is one thing. However, you still have to think about the tear down and clean up. If you don’t have people readily available to help, you may have to pay extra for your venue to hire a cleaning crew.
There are also travel expenses for your vendors, such as a photographer from out of town or a live band that needs to transport their equipment. Always talk to your vendors about any hidden expenses that may be tied into the cost before signing any contracts.
- Keep the Ceremony and Reception at the Same Place
Many traditions have the wedding ceremony at a church or separate venue from the reception. This can cost thousands of unnecessary dollars.
Instead, talk to the venue and see if you can extend the time to host both the ceremony and reception under the same roof.
- Be Careful With Credit Cards
It’s easy to think you can just charge certain things to your credit card and eventually pay them off. Unfortunately, things can add up.
If you’re not responsible for how you use your credit cards for these expenses, you could end up with more debt and have to pay a substantial amount of interest down the road.
Plus, you also have other life responsibilities aside from just your wedding. Don’t forget to consider all of your regular monthly bills and potential life circumstances.
- Edit Your Guest List
Experts say you should account for $7 for every invitation you send. For every plate at your wedding, you also need to account for at least $25 to $30 per person. That doesn’t include every person who intends on drinking at the open bar or partaking in dessert.
Every guest counts. If you want to trim back on expenses, first take a look at your guest list. The smaller and more intimate your wedding, the more affordable your venue and all other wedding expenses will become.
Conclusion
There are several creative ways you can be smart with your wedding funds. It starts by creating a wedding budget. The hard part is sticking to it.
Have a conversation with your partner before making any commitments with a venue or other vendors to ensure you can financially support your daily livelihoods while making your dream wedding a reality.
