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
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