How to Stay Within Your Wedding Budget
As you start planning your wedding, you may feel as though your money is flying out of your wallet as fast as you put it in.
You are thinking that you have never planned a wedding before, so how do you know how much to spend on everything so you do not run out of money before you have finished the planning.
No bride wants to be in debt as she begins married life, so here are some handy budgeting guidelines to help keep you on track.
The following are estimations on where your money may go, so get a piece of paper and make some notes, you may be able to make some adjustments as you proceed toward your wedding date, but try to stick to this the best you can so your wedding budget will stretch.
Before you can start spending, you need to know how much you have that you can spend.
Get a good total figure that you have available to use for your entire wedding from the ceremony to the reception.
Don't calculate to high and be honest and accurate with your figures, you will not do yourself any favors to calculate money that will not be accessible to you.
Now, take the figure that you have and start breaking it down.
First if you plan on using a wedding planner, you can count on that using up about 10-20% of your total wedding budget right off the top.
So calculate that first.
The following figures are calculated if you are not hiring a wedding planner.
Your Reception will be about 50% of your total wedding budget.
That will include: Site Fee, Catering costs (tip, tax, etc.
), Bar and beverages, Wedding cake, Valet parking (if necessary) & Transportation from the ceremony site to reception.
Your Music will account for about 10% of you total wedding budget.
This includes music at your ceremony, and reception.
Your Flowers should be about 10% of your total wedding budget.
Ceremony-Site flowers, Bridal bouquet, Wedding party flowers, Reception centerpieces.
Your wedding Attire will be about 10% of your total wedding budget.
Your Dress, Head piece and veil, Lingerie, Jewelry, Shoes, Hair, Makeup & Grooms Ensemble.
Plan for your Photographer to account for 10% of your total wedding budget.
This will include: the Photographer, Videography, Engagement portrait & Wedding album package.
Stationary will be 4% of your total wedding budget.
Invitations and enclosures, Announcements, Thank you notes, Postage, Programs & Place cards.
And, there are always the Extras that will at least be about 6% of your total wedding budget.
Things like: Bridesmaids' luncheon, Attendants' gifts, Wedding gifts for each other, Favors, Wedding rings, Rehearsal dinner, Marriage License, Church/Synagogue fees, Officiant fee, Assistant fee.
If you find that you have money left over in any category, you can choose to apply it to another category, but do not do that until after everything has been arranged, things will always creep up that you had not expected and it is best to have a little money left over than to run out to early.
Careful planning from the start will help to make your planning and wedding day stress free.
Stay on track and you will be glad you did.
Keeping a good notebook with your contracts and purchases will help you realize where your money is being spent.
You are thinking that you have never planned a wedding before, so how do you know how much to spend on everything so you do not run out of money before you have finished the planning.
No bride wants to be in debt as she begins married life, so here are some handy budgeting guidelines to help keep you on track.
The following are estimations on where your money may go, so get a piece of paper and make some notes, you may be able to make some adjustments as you proceed toward your wedding date, but try to stick to this the best you can so your wedding budget will stretch.
Before you can start spending, you need to know how much you have that you can spend.
Get a good total figure that you have available to use for your entire wedding from the ceremony to the reception.
Don't calculate to high and be honest and accurate with your figures, you will not do yourself any favors to calculate money that will not be accessible to you.
Now, take the figure that you have and start breaking it down.
First if you plan on using a wedding planner, you can count on that using up about 10-20% of your total wedding budget right off the top.
So calculate that first.
The following figures are calculated if you are not hiring a wedding planner.
Your Reception will be about 50% of your total wedding budget.
That will include: Site Fee, Catering costs (tip, tax, etc.
), Bar and beverages, Wedding cake, Valet parking (if necessary) & Transportation from the ceremony site to reception.
Your Music will account for about 10% of you total wedding budget.
This includes music at your ceremony, and reception.
Your Flowers should be about 10% of your total wedding budget.
Ceremony-Site flowers, Bridal bouquet, Wedding party flowers, Reception centerpieces.
Your wedding Attire will be about 10% of your total wedding budget.
Your Dress, Head piece and veil, Lingerie, Jewelry, Shoes, Hair, Makeup & Grooms Ensemble.
Plan for your Photographer to account for 10% of your total wedding budget.
This will include: the Photographer, Videography, Engagement portrait & Wedding album package.
Stationary will be 4% of your total wedding budget.
Invitations and enclosures, Announcements, Thank you notes, Postage, Programs & Place cards.
And, there are always the Extras that will at least be about 6% of your total wedding budget.
Things like: Bridesmaids' luncheon, Attendants' gifts, Wedding gifts for each other, Favors, Wedding rings, Rehearsal dinner, Marriage License, Church/Synagogue fees, Officiant fee, Assistant fee.
If you find that you have money left over in any category, you can choose to apply it to another category, but do not do that until after everything has been arranged, things will always creep up that you had not expected and it is best to have a little money left over than to run out to early.
Careful planning from the start will help to make your planning and wedding day stress free.
Stay on track and you will be glad you did.
Keeping a good notebook with your contracts and purchases will help you realize where your money is being spent.