Whether you’re planning on pinching pennies or going all out glam for your wedding day, every bride could benefit from wedding budgeting advice. Even if your budget is unlimited, it’s not every day that you spend thousands of dollars on one event (or maybe it is, in which case, you go girl!). Most of our brides are excited and willing to shell out some cash for their nuptials, but are always looking for a great bargain or way to save some dough. Keep reading for wedding budgeting tips for every bride!
OUR TIPS FOR PLANNING YOUR WEDDING BUDGET
Know Your Wedding Budget
This may sound silly, but one of the biggest keys to sticking to your budget is knowing your budget in the first place. We get it: you have no idea how much weddings cost. For most of our brides, this is their first experience paying for a wedding and they are clueless when it comes to allocating funds. That’s where we come in! It’s important to speak to your family and fiance from the start, to see who is pitching in what. Once you know a number, stick to it, and use it as your benchmark. If you come into some unexpected cash, great, but know your top number at the outset to avoid going over it.
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Allocate Funds Appropriately
One of the most common conversations we have with our couples involves talking about how much things cost. While the bride may have an idea of how much to budget for a dress, couples are often at a loss when it comes to estimating the cost of a venue, caterer, or florist. 9 times out of 10, couples are floored when we tell them how much they should allocate for their venue and food (about 50% of their overall wedding budget). It’s when you learn how much things really cost that you start evaluating how much you can spend. Talk to your planner or recently married friends to decide how much you should set aside for each part of the wedding.
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Decide What’s Important
If you’ve been dreaming of a wedding dripping in beautiful floral arrangements since you were 5 years old, you may want to put a little more money towards your floral budget. If you are insistent upon hiring an amazing photographer (which we would agree with), be sure to keep that in mind while budgeting. From the food to the photos, be sure to let your planner know what you’d rather spend money on and what’s less important. Some things just cost money (i.e. your venue), but there are areas in your wedding budget that can be trimmed, while others beefed up. Knowing what’s important to you and your fiance is the first step to handling this successfully.
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Indulge…
…while also respecting your limits. It’s your wedding day – if you want to have the 5-tiered cake filled with raspberry jam and white chocolate ganache (…drooling…), do it! Just remember to pare back in other areas to make up for that expense. If you are aware of your wedding budget ahead of time, you know how much money you have to spend on certain things. Follow the math, but let yourself have some fun, too!
Don’t Push It
Unless you have thousands upon thousands of dollars stored away in a secret bank account that you’re planning to access, don’t push your wedding budget. If you have $30,000 for your entire wedding, you have $30,000. Include everything in this, from your dress, to your decor, to your videographer. Tacking things on that “aren’t included in the wedding budget” is likely to make you want to pull your hair out later when you go to pay off the bills. Be reasonable and know that we can make a lot happen, no matter your budget!
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So there you have it. Whether your wedding budget is $20,000 or $200,000, a little budgeting advice always comes in handy. At the end of the day, remember, it’s one day, but it is your wedding day. Hopefully that will help you make some of those tougher financial decisions!
Photo fun from a Be More Inspired Styled Shoot.
Design/Coordination || Moore and Co Events
Florals || Blush Floral Design Studio
Attire || K&B Bridals
Jewelry & Accessories || Faye Daniel Designs
Photography || tPoz Photography
Hair & Make Up || Abby de Rosset
Travel || Travel Works International