Congratulations! You’re engaged! What’s the next step? I know you’re excited and want to start checking out fairy-tale wedding venues, but hold on a minute. Whether your family is paying for the wedding or you and your fiancé will be shelling out the funds yourselves, you need to create a realistic budget. Money management is very important in the process of wedding planning, and you can go over your budget quickly if you’re not educated on wedding-planning tips.
I know you’ve probably done a lot of research and reading, and just about every budget template you come across has average percentages based on national statistics. That’s fine for finding out how much money is spent on each wedding element on average across the United States, but I’m here to tell you that not every wedding market charges the same fees. So how can those “average percentages” apply to you? Businesses set their fees based on supply and demand, which is why a Hawaiian resort costs more to book than a hotel in Padre Island, Tex. My first suggestion is to research what the vendors in your area are charging. Then make yourself aware of everything you’ll be spending money on.
There will be a cost for every person attending your wedding, and your budget is directly linked to your guest count. Food and beverages are charged per person, and wedding rentals are based on the guest count. These will be the highest costs of your wedding. Give yourself more money if you plan to invite 250 guests than if you plan to invite 100. Conversely, if you have already overspent and need to save money, the quickest way to do that is to cut the guest list.
My next suggestion is to analyze yourself and your spending habits. Do you spend more of your money on clothes than any other area of your life? If so, my bet is you’re all about the dress. Do you go out to eat a lot and love to dance in an elegantly decorated lounge? Then I’m sure you’ll put emphasis on the venue, food and beverages that you serve your guests. Prioritize! This is how you make those percentages work for you. Rank the following items from 1 to 11 (1 being the highest) and then give more of a budgetary percentage to the things you rank higher. Make sure you also keep in mind what local vendors charge on an average.
• Food
• Entertainment
• Liquor
• Décor – Ambience/Floral
• Service
• Photography
• Convenience
• Friends and Family
• Apparel/Hair-Makeup
• Spirituality
• Venue
Now you’re armed with the knowledge you need about local vendor fees and your own spending habits. It’s time to start scheduling those venue tours! If you’re interested in the budget template that I use with my clients – an itemized list of just about every major category involved in wedding planning – feel free to contact me at michelle (at) allisonsevents (dot) com.
Stay tuned for my next article which will be the first in my
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
10 Questions to Ask When Selecting a Wedding Venue – Part 2
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Check out Part 1 of Michelle’s series on 10 Quetions to Ask When Selecting a Wedding Venue, too!
6. How many bathrooms do you have? You may laugh that this question made my Top 10, but it becomes serious when a space you rented only has one bathroom for 250 guests and brings in port-a-potties for the guys! You also need to check the condition of the bathrooms. Is there a sewage smell? Do the toilets flush properly?
7. How many hours does the facility rental cover? This is an important question because there have been a number of times that my clients were told they had eight hours of rental time. But before they hired me for my day-of coordinating they set their actual ceremony and reception time to use six of those hours. You need to make sure you allot time for setting up and cleaning up as well. The average ceremony/reception lasts four hours. I have found that three hours is enough time for set-up (even if it is pretty elaborate), and an hour is enough time for clean-up. A lot of places will allow you to buy additional hours, but be sure to ask about that and the costs if you want a longer-than-average party.
8. How many events do you contract for a day? The last thing you want to feel on your wedding day is rushed. You are already packing in a mani/pedi, hair styling, and makeup application into this one day. Why add the stress of having to be out of a facility precisely at 4 p.m because they have another event scheduled for the evening? In my 15 years in the event industry I have found that the stress level of all parties involved is reduced by half at venues that only host one event per day. Anyway, all the attention should be on you, right?
9. What is the A/V capability of the space? Are there enough electrical outlets for all the vendors? Will too much power usage trip any breakers? You should especially ask this question if you are looking at historical buildings. I learned to ask these questions the hard way! I planned a 1,000-guest Christmas party that had booked a warehouse-type space in an old strip mall. There was heavy audio/visual involved, and we didn’t find out until we were setting up day-of that we needed a generator because the building could not support all the wattage. Yes, there was an additional cost for the generator, and who likes last minute expenses? No one.
10. Who is responsible for clean-up? In most cases YOU are! Another thing I have seen way too many times is the mother of the bride or groom and family cleaning up the venue in their formal outfits. They have had a very emotional day as well and should not have to worry about cleaning up a venue. I make sure that the caterers that I suggest are full-service and will have staff to stay with me through clean-up. Ask if there are Dumpsters on site or if the trash must be hauled away. Again, I make sure that my caterers are aware of this policy for all of my events because I am not taking 10 bags of trash in my car! Be sure to read the venue policies to know exactly what you are responsible for. If there is nothing documented you should still ask. Many of the places I have worked will offer clean-up at an additional cost. Even I offer clean-up at an additional cost. Do not assume that this is just going to get done!
Whew! I know it is a lot of information to absorb but these are all necessary questions that you must ask to plan a hassle-free wedding. Be sure to tune in for the next article in my Vendor Selection series
6. How many bathrooms do you have? You may laugh that this question made my Top 10, but it becomes serious when a space you rented only has one bathroom for 250 guests and brings in port-a-potties for the guys! You also need to check the condition of the bathrooms. Is there a sewage smell? Do the toilets flush properly?7. How many hours does the facility rental cover? This is an important question because there have been a number of times that my clients were told they had eight hours of rental time. But before they hired me for my day-of coordinating they set their actual ceremony and reception time to use six of those hours. You need to make sure you allot time for setting up and cleaning up as well. The average ceremony/reception lasts four hours. I have found that three hours is enough time for set-up (even if it is pretty elaborate), and an hour is enough time for clean-up. A lot of places will allow you to buy additional hours, but be sure to ask about that and the costs if you want a longer-than-average party.
8. How many events do you contract for a day? The last thing you want to feel on your wedding day is rushed. You are already packing in a mani/pedi, hair styling, and makeup application into this one day. Why add the stress of having to be out of a facility precisely at 4 p.m because they have another event scheduled for the evening? In my 15 years in the event industry I have found that the stress level of all parties involved is reduced by half at venues that only host one event per day. Anyway, all the attention should be on you, right?
9. What is the A/V capability of the space? Are there enough electrical outlets for all the vendors? Will too much power usage trip any breakers? You should especially ask this question if you are looking at historical buildings. I learned to ask these questions the hard way! I planned a 1,000-guest Christmas party that had booked a warehouse-type space in an old strip mall. There was heavy audio/visual involved, and we didn’t find out until we were setting up day-of that we needed a generator because the building could not support all the wattage. Yes, there was an additional cost for the generator, and who likes last minute expenses? No one.10. Who is responsible for clean-up? In most cases YOU are! Another thing I have seen way too many times is the mother of the bride or groom and family cleaning up the venue in their formal outfits. They have had a very emotional day as well and should not have to worry about cleaning up a venue. I make sure that the caterers that I suggest are full-service and will have staff to stay with me through clean-up. Ask if there are Dumpsters on site or if the trash must be hauled away. Again, I make sure that my caterers are aware of this policy for all of my events because I am not taking 10 bags of trash in my car! Be sure to read the venue policies to know exactly what you are responsible for. If there is nothing documented you should still ask. Many of the places I have worked will offer clean-up at an additional cost. Even I offer clean-up at an additional cost. Do not assume that this is just going to get done!
Whew! I know it is a lot of information to absorb but these are all necessary questions that you must ask to plan a hassle-free wedding. Be sure to tune in for the next article in my Vendor Selection series
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