It’s time for the non-fun but very essential part of wedding planning – budget chats.
Every couple planning their wedding day should have a budget. We would argue that you should spend a good portion of your planning journey using your budget as a guide, but we understand that the heart can sometimes take over!
To keep your budget at the forefront of planning, without removing the fun we’ve got five tips to keep your budget on track and get the most from it…
1. Get familiar with your numbers
Knowing your overall spend is a good start. If you’ve broken each item down to what you want to spend this will make things so much easier and you will know instantly when you have to save in another area if you overspend somewhere else.
2. Create a wedding spreadsheet and share the working document with your other half
Keeping track of everything you spend is the only real way of knowing at the drop of a hat what’s left in the pot. Enclose details of the non-negotiables, the value you have to spend on them, and a list of ‘extra’s should you have money left to spend closer to the wedding date.
3. Keep your wedding guest list in check
That third-aunt-twice-removed really doesn’t need an invite, does she? Every guest brings with them a cost (sounds drastic, but true!), and the easiest way to keep costs within your reach is to only have guests attend who are part of your life and mean something special to you. Don’t twist the budget to accommodate guests you’ll not miss.
4. Seek out the best wedding packages
For the best value for money look for venues who offer comprehensive wedding packages that include extras such as table decor and candy carts. Having these on site and sorted will encourage you to stick to your budget and not be tempted to book unnecessary extras.
5. Don’t make any impulse purchases
We know how hard it is; you’re out shopping and see the sweetest flower girl shoes that are perfect for your little lady. It would be so easy to pick them up right away and possibly not even use them. When you discover items that would be ideal instead of instantly purchasing them take a photo and add their info, price etc to a document in your phone notes. That way you can come back to them and really consider the purchase when you have time.
