{"id":204302,"date":"2017-06-23T14:00:31","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=204302"},"modified":"2024-10-03T13:19:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T12:19:25","slug":"how-to-never-go-over-your-wedding-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/how-to-never-go-over-your-wedding-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Never Go Over Your Wedding Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello! Let me start by saying that I\u2019m over the moon to be joining the Whimsical Wonderland Weddings <\/em>contribution team and I wanted to start off with one of the most important (and probably most yukky) parts of the wedding planning process: The Budget.<\/p>\n

So, why did I choose this as my first feature?\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t my intention to suck all the fun out of planning your wedding with my very first post, but as a wedding planner I get a really close-up look at the wedding planning journey with lots of couples every year and trust me when I say; nothing sucks the fun out of the experience more than spending a lot more than you\u2019d hoped to spend.<\/p>\n

I know a wedding is probably the most important event you’ll ever host, but I don’t believe anyone should go into debt to get married.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what it\u2019s meant to be about.\u00a0 While the planning process is a lot of work, it really isn\u2019t\u00a0meant<\/em>\u00a0to be stressful, and losing control of the finances can put a serious downer on what should be a pretty magical and fun process.\u00a0\u00a0So here I am, with my guide to planning your budget like a pro to make sure nothing spins out of control.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n\n

The first thing to know about a wedding budget, is that it\u2019s always<\/em> a work in progress.\u00a0 You’re not supposed to know what everything is going to cost from day one.\u00a0 You’re meant to decide as you go along.<\/p>\n

The idea is to have a total figure you want to spend in mind from the outset, and to make sure you don\u2019t go over that total limit.\u00a0 Variables will come into play along the process, so it\u2019s a continuous balancing act to keep things on track.<\/p>\n

With there being no set guideline on what to spend on each bit of your wedding, it can be incredibly tricky to work out where to start, so here\u2019s my step-by-step guide to the evolution of a wedding budget\u2026.<\/p>\n

Step 1:\u00a0 Figure out how much you have to Spend<\/h2>\n

It seems obvious, but before you do anything at all, take the time to sit down together and work out the amount you are happy to spend on your wedding.\u00a0 Take into account the contributions family may want to make, along with what you have available to spend, and that combined total figure should be your maximum wedding budget.<\/p>\n

Step 2: \u00a0Decide on your Concept<\/h2>\n

Once you know what you have to spend, it\u2019s time to start thinking about the type of wedding you want.\u00a0 This should be a really fun, loose, brainstorming session where you think about what you both like and don\u2019t like, what time of year you\u2019re most drawn to and the general look and feel you\u2019re going for.\u00a0 At the end of that conversation you should have a loose idea in mind of what your perfect wedding day will feel like.<\/p>\n\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

Step 3: Write the Guest List<\/h2>\n

You need to know how many people you\u2019re intending to cater for on the wedding day to begin estimating costs, so take the time before looking at venues to create a guest list.\u00a0 The number of guests might be something you need to compromise on later, so it\u2019s a good idea to create an \u201cA List\u201d and a \u201cB List\u201d to give you a minimum and maximum number of guests to work from.<\/p>\n

Step 4:\u00a0 Decide on your Priorities<\/h2>\n

No matter how much money you have to spend on your wedding, along the way there\u2019s bound to be compromises.\u00a0 Before doing anything else, I always ask my clients to each give me a list of their top three priorities for their wedding day so I know from the outset what means the most to them.\u00a0 Some will answer \u201cI\u2019m not worried about having a fancy venue, but I really want to have an incredible band, a top photographer and amazing food\u201d.\u00a0 Others will say \u201cI really want to make sure all my family and friends are there and the other details don’t matter quite as much\u201d.\u00a0 Having this conversation really helps to give a direction for making sure you pick the right venue and allocate your spending the right way from the outset.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

Step 5: Create the Budget<\/h2>\n

Now you know how much you have to spend, the rough number of guests and which elements of the wedding are most important to you, you\u2019re ready to begin creating a budget.<\/p>\n

Do your research<\/em><\/p>\n

Pulling together an estimate of what things cost will take a bit of time and research, but it\u2019s also a good opportunity to shop around and get ideas of what\u2019s available. There\u2019s plenty of resources and budget planners online and suppliers will be happy to give you an estimate of costs if you reach out.\u00a0 Make sure you include everything you will or might need.\u00a0 You can always remove things later, but it\u2019s better to cross things off a budget than to add things on.\u00a0 With the best intentions, costs you hadn\u2019t thought of are going to crop up, so make sure you include a contingency to cover you for the unexpected.<\/p>\n

Budgeting for your Venue<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the most difficult parts to budget for in this initial stage is the venue and catering because there’s no average cost for any of this.\u00a0 My simple, fail-safe formula for knowing what any couple can afford to spend on their venue is this\u2026<\/p>\n

VENUE HIRE + CATERING = no more than 40% of the total wedding budget<\/strong><\/p>\n

That 40% is really a magic number, so keep it in mind and don\u2019t tempt yourself by looking at venues which are over that budget.<\/p>\n

Assess the damage<\/em><\/p>\n

I like to think of the first draft of a budget as a \u201cwish list\u201d, so I always ask my clients to tell me everything they want and then we cost it up.\u00a0 Once you have the \u201cwish list\u201d version of the budget, you\u2019re either going to be happy with it or having a panic attack, but either way it\u2019s always good to have that reality-check moment before you start booking anything.<\/p>\n

If you look at the first version of your budget and it\u2019s more than the total amount you had in mind, then start thinking about the parts you\u2019re willing to compromise on.\u00a0 Are you happy to reduce the number of guests?\u00a0 Would you be happy with reducing the size of your wedding party?\u00a0 Could you do without the fireworks?<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not trying to make any firm decisions at this early stage, but what you are<\/em> trying to do is get a realistic picture of what everything costs so you\u2019re making decisions with your eyes open and not compromising in the wrong places.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

Step 6: Find your Venue<\/h2>\n

Now you\u2019ve got the beginnings of your budget, an estimate of guests and an idea of what you\u2019re looking for – you\u2019re ready to start venue shopping. The venue sets the scene for the wedding and\u00a0everything\u00a0else fits around it, so take your time to make sure you choose wisely and don\u2019t book anything else before you\u2019ve secured the venue.<\/p>\n

After you\u2019ve figured out which venue (or venues) you like then you need to work out what your wedding would cost\u00a0at that particular place<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Some venues will include things that others don\u2019t, some venues will require transport and others won\u2019t. Don\u2019t just assume the pretty chairs in their brochure are included, ask the questions so you know what everything is going to cost.<\/p>\n

If the venue has in-house catering, make sure you\u2019re done an analysis of an approximate cost per head for this, and if the venue uses external caterers, take the time to get some approximate prices so you\u2019ve got a very clear picture of all costs associated with the venue before you pay a penny.<\/p>\n

Remember, the total amount you spend on the venue (including anything you have to hire in) and the catering should be no more than 40% of the total budget for the wedding. Use this as a target when venue shopping to make sure what you select is affordable.<\/p>\n

Step 7: Adjust as you go along<\/h2>\n

Once the venue is booked, it\u2019s time to start looking at the other things you\u2019ll need and it\u2019s a good idea to book the essentials first.\u00a0 This is the wedding planning equivalent of eating your vegetables, but if you book the must-haves first, you know what’s leftover for the little extras.<\/p>\n

As you go along, you\u2019ll refine your design and begin to make choices and some things will cost less than you expected (yay!) and some will cost more. The idea is for the total amount you\u2019re spending on the wedding to balance out overall.\u00a0\u00a0When you\u2019re playing with an event budget, it\u2019s amazing how easily you can save hundreds or even thousands by just tweaking a few details and adjusting here and there, so thinking of your budget as a balancing act is the best way to get the most from it.<\/p>\n

Please leave a comment if you have any budget planning questions and I’d be happy to answer them for you!<\/p>\n

Many thanks to <\/em>The Hendrys<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for providing the photography for this post.<\/em><\/p>\n

*This is the first in the wedding planning feature series from Whimsical Wonderland Weddings<\/a> expert contributor and wedding planner Sara J at Love Street Weddings*<\/em><\/p>\n

Further reading:<\/h3>\n

Download the free wedding budget planner spreadsheet<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello! Let me start by saying that I\u2019m over the moon to be joining the Whimsical Wonderland Weddings contribution team and I wanted to start off with one of the most important (and probably most yukky) parts of the wedding planning process: The Budget. So, why did I choose this as my first feature?\u00a0 It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":204307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6773,3186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget","category-planning"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":204307,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/whimsical-cdn.wedissimo.com\/2017\/06\/the-hendrys-001-300x200.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}