Although your wedding day will be one of the most memorable days of your life, keep in mind that you will have a lifetime of memorable days with your husband or wife to be. Have fun with your budget. Think of it as being creative instead of being cheap.
Below are a few tips and ideas to help you create the perfect wedding for you and your fiance while staying within your means.
Set a Budget!
Be realistic and set a budget you can and will stick to. It can be based on a percentage of your current savings or your monthly income. If you don't have the funds already saved up, feel free to set up a wedding account with your fiance and commit to contributing a percentage of your income every month. You will be surprised by how much you can save over a period of time.
Take the budget and prioritize!
A helpful tool may be an online wedding budget calculator or a wedding planning guide book.
Determine what the top 5 things you care about are, prioritize them and allot a budget. One of the most popular is probably "THE GOWN", other priorities include photography, flowers, food, music, number of guests,venue location, stationary, hair and makeup and of course bridal gifts and favors.
If your parents will be paying for the wedding, you can ask them what their budget is. For some, the reception may not be as high of a priority as life after the wedding. If parents offer to contribute $20,000, consider only spending $15,000 and put the extra $5,000 towards new furniture or even a nicer car. Who knows, you can always decide to elope and use the entire fund towards a down payment on a house!
Keep your eye on the ball!
Everyone will have her moment of weakness and run into an item that is not in her budget but she just can't live without. If that happens to you and it's a small percentage of your budget, indulge yourself, but don't forget to remove a few stems of flowers from each of those centerpieces you had your heart set on. Your willingness to compromise will be the key to how successful you are at sticking to your budget. You don't necessarily need to compromise on quality. Many times, you can simply compromise on the color, or quantity of an item, but still get the quality you are looking for.
For example, instead of having a five course meal, make it 3 or even 2 courses instead. Or instead of hiring a mediocre photographer for 8 hours, hire a great one for 5 hours instead. Another option is always to select a smaller package.
Negotiate!
It never hurts to ask. People in the wedding industry are usually quite familiar with budgets and are willing to work with you. This holds especially true with photographers, florists and wedding venues. Always remember to be respectful. Never underestimate the power of flattery. People are much more likely to help you out if you appreciate the quality if their work than if you criticize it. Explain your situation and maybe your florist will throw in a flower girl basket and lend you some accessories. A little research can go a long way as well. Find out what level of service or quality of product you are looking for. Find the industry average for it and ask to have it for a little less, very nicely of course. Never aim too low, anyone who takes pride in what they do will be insulted and are less likely to want to work with you.
Beware of Seasons and Location!
Choose flowers that are in season or a venue during its off season. For example, if your dream is to have ab each wedding, have one in October when it's still relatively warm (at least in California) and it will be a lot less expensive than having it in July. Seasonal and local flowers are always a lot less expensive as well. Keep an open mind and listen to the advice of professionals you have chosen to work with. You will find that when you find the right people to work with and build a relationship with them, they do have your best interests at heart.
Find a location just outside of a major metropolitan city so that hotel rooms for guests who should not be driving home will be more affordable. With the money you've been saving, you may even be able to pay for a few of those hotel rooms!
Resource from Beau-coup.com
Below are a few tips and ideas to help you create the perfect wedding for you and your fiance while staying within your means.
Set a Budget!
Be realistic and set a budget you can and will stick to. It can be based on a percentage of your current savings or your monthly income. If you don't have the funds already saved up, feel free to set up a wedding account with your fiance and commit to contributing a percentage of your income every month. You will be surprised by how much you can save over a period of time.
Take the budget and prioritize!
A helpful tool may be an online wedding budget calculator or a wedding planning guide book.
Determine what the top 5 things you care about are, prioritize them and allot a budget. One of the most popular is probably "THE GOWN", other priorities include photography, flowers, food, music, number of guests,venue location, stationary, hair and makeup and of course bridal gifts and favors.
If your parents will be paying for the wedding, you can ask them what their budget is. For some, the reception may not be as high of a priority as life after the wedding. If parents offer to contribute $20,000, consider only spending $15,000 and put the extra $5,000 towards new furniture or even a nicer car. Who knows, you can always decide to elope and use the entire fund towards a down payment on a house!
Keep your eye on the ball!
Everyone will have her moment of weakness and run into an item that is not in her budget but she just can't live without. If that happens to you and it's a small percentage of your budget, indulge yourself, but don't forget to remove a few stems of flowers from each of those centerpieces you had your heart set on. Your willingness to compromise will be the key to how successful you are at sticking to your budget. You don't necessarily need to compromise on quality. Many times, you can simply compromise on the color, or quantity of an item, but still get the quality you are looking for.
For example, instead of having a five course meal, make it 3 or even 2 courses instead. Or instead of hiring a mediocre photographer for 8 hours, hire a great one for 5 hours instead. Another option is always to select a smaller package.
Negotiate!
It never hurts to ask. People in the wedding industry are usually quite familiar with budgets and are willing to work with you. This holds especially true with photographers, florists and wedding venues. Always remember to be respectful. Never underestimate the power of flattery. People are much more likely to help you out if you appreciate the quality if their work than if you criticize it. Explain your situation and maybe your florist will throw in a flower girl basket and lend you some accessories. A little research can go a long way as well. Find out what level of service or quality of product you are looking for. Find the industry average for it and ask to have it for a little less, very nicely of course. Never aim too low, anyone who takes pride in what they do will be insulted and are less likely to want to work with you.
Beware of Seasons and Location!
Choose flowers that are in season or a venue during its off season. For example, if your dream is to have ab each wedding, have one in October when it's still relatively warm (at least in California) and it will be a lot less expensive than having it in July. Seasonal and local flowers are always a lot less expensive as well. Keep an open mind and listen to the advice of professionals you have chosen to work with. You will find that when you find the right people to work with and build a relationship with them, they do have your best interests at heart.
Find a location just outside of a major metropolitan city so that hotel rooms for guests who should not be driving home will be more affordable. With the money you've been saving, you may even be able to pay for a few of those hotel rooms!
Resource from Beau-coup.com