A wedding can be one of the most expensive costs in your lifetime. So you’ll want to establish, and control your wedding budget, to avoid overspending and running yourself into more debt than necessary.
Here are eight easy ways you can control your wedding budget.
1. Set A Budget And Stick To It
You may have just got engaged or been engaged for a while and decided to start your wedding planning. It’s important that before you start looking at venues or calling any vendors, that you set a budget and stick to it. It can be very easy to start overspending on your wedding, but if you’ve got a set budget for each item, then you are much less likely to go over that amount.
While a wedding is one of the most special moments in your life, your partner’s and for those around you, make sure you don’t set a budget that’s impossible to afford or goes beyond your spending means. This will only make the whole process more stressful, and that means you won’t enjoy what should be an exciting period in your life.
2. Pick Your Location Wisely
We’re talking geographical location here, not venue location. From suppliers to the venue itself, things may be a lot cheaper if you do it in an area that’s less costly. You might also want to think about your guests and how easily accessible the venue is. The last thing you want is guests pulling out last minute because they’ve realized it’s hard to get to, or accommodations are limited.
3. Find Out What “Extras” Your Venue Offers
Before officially booking a venue, you’ll want to find out what all the venue can provide. You might find that you’ll save money on other aspects of the budget and perhaps can better control your wedding budget if more is included as part of the venue.
You may also benefit if you’re having a last minute wedding as some venues will offer packages available for the current year or the year after. Out of season weddings are going to be much more affordable but you’ll want to consider the weather and any alternative options within the venue.
[bctt tweet=”Establish and control your wedding budget to avoid overspending.” username=”wedbyjean”]4. Spread The Cost
Paying for everything up front is a big expense so unless you’ve been saving for it, you may not be able to cover everything in one go. That’s where credit cards and loans may come in handy to spread out the cost of the wedding budget. Venues will generally expect you to pay a deposit of around 20-25% in the first week or few months and then the final amount will normally be paid up a couple of months before.
Loan companies can be risky as they may have high interests rates and hidden costs that could make paying the loan back more difficult. On this page, loans may be useful for when an unexpected emergency happens, but if you can keep the majority of it on your credit card, you don’t have to worry about interest rates as much.
While, to help control your wedding budget, I usually advise against putting a large portion of your wedding expenses on your credit card, sometimes that may be your best option. If it is, try to find a card with a great rewards program.
5. Ask Your Friends For Help
You’ll probably be surprised that some of your friends and family members may have hidden talents or skills that can help cut costs considerably and help control your wedding budget. Working with friends or family members will work out best if a) if the product/service you’d like them to provide is very important to you, make sure that they are quite adept at it, or b) it’s something lower on your list of priorities, so a lesser quality will be fine with you.
However, proceed with caution, as you’ll want to make sure the end result is what you want and not what your loved ones think you want.
6. Be Ruthless With The Wedding Guest List
Managing your wedding budget when it comes to the catering is important. That’s because it’s likely to be the second most costly expense. So for that reason, you want to make sure your wedding guest list has been cut down and that you’re ruthless with the guest list. Having fewer people at the reception will save you money on the catering and drinks, as well as linen rentals and centerpieces, that you’ll need to pay for.
Sit down with your partner and go through each potential guest to see if they are important enough to you that you’d want them there on your wedding day and that they are worth paying that amount of money for them.
7. Compare Suppliers And Be Clever
There are a lot of other aspects of a wedding day, from the florist to your wedding cake, where costs can quickly add up. It’s important to do your research and compare what the different suppliers offer for their price. Be clever and savvy with your purchases. You don’t get swept up with the hype of the wedding day by missing out on any deals that a supplier could offer you, or jumping on a deal for something that you really don’t want.
8. Save Money On The Honeymoon
It’s great if you’re already got your household set up because instead of asking for gifts for the home, you can ask your wedding guest to contribute towards your honeymoon. Depending on the number of guests that are attending, this can amount up to a sizeable fund for your holiday away. And if you’ve managed to pay for your honeymoon already, the money you make from the wedding day could go towards spending money, or some fun upgrades!
Saving money for your wedding should be started as early as possible, and consistently added to. Also, never spend beyond your means. Yes, your wedding is important, but it’s not worth getting yourself deep into debt over. There’s no rush when it comes to a wedding, so if you’re struggling for money now, you may want to push your wedding date back and give yourself more time to save up.
* This is a contributed post
I hope you found this information on how to control your wedding budget useful!
Hearts, Joy, Love!
Jean
For planning help and unique ideas for your wedding call or text me at 937-581-3647, or email me at jean@weddingsfromtheheart.net!