Welcome to Wedding Wednesdays with weddingsonline! In today’s episode, we’re tackling one of the most common struggles couples face during wedding planning: sticking to your budget. We know how easy it is for costs to spiral out of control, but don’t worry—we’ve got you covered! Tune in as we walk you through 6 simple yet effective steps to help you stay on track and make your dream wedding a reality, without the financial stress. Let’s dive in and take the first step toward a budget-friendly celebration!
Step 1: Create Wiggle Room
Keep space in your budget for unexpected costs, so you aren’t taken by surprise. There are lots of things you might not have considered and hidden costs. You also shouldn’t be surprised if something completely unexpected pops up that you need to pay for suddenly!
In Episode 81 of the podcast, we covered a list of the expenses couples tend to forget about when they create their budget.
These are some of the things we mentioned:
- Gifts for your wedding party
- Postage
- Underwear and accessories
- Hair and makeup trials
- Meals for suppliers
Step 2: Avoid Inspiration Overload
Steer clear of sites that will tempt you to buy things you haven’t budgeted for. Pinterest is brilliant for the early stages of planning, when you want to work out your wedding style and create a mood board. But if you’re on a budget, you want to avoid the added inspiration that will make you think you need to buy more things for the wedding.
Step 3: Track Your Budget On The Go
Find a system that will help you track your budget on-the-go. Good news, we’ve created a brilliant wedding budget tracker you can use. The weddingsonline app is a free wedding planning app which includes a budget tracker.
Being able to track on the go will help to see what you’ve been quoted, what you’ve spent and what you have left! It really is a game-changer.
Step 4: Start With Estimated Costs And Update Often
Use estimated costs in your budget, and as you receive quotes, update your spreadsheet or app to include actual costs (this is crucial!).
Step 5: Itemise Everything
For example, don’t just list ‘wedding stationery’. Include save the dates, invitations, mass booklets, place cards, postage etc. This way, you’ll know that you haven’t left anything out and you’ll be able to see the details of what each individual element costs.
Step 6: Ask For Receipts
With so much going on, you’ll lose track of what you’ve actually spent. Get your receipts!