One of the most stressful parts of planning the perfect wedding is setting a budget and sticking to it. Inevitably, as time goes on, things will end up being more expensive than expected and there will be more things that you want to buy that you hadn’t thought of. Here are five life hacks that will help you stay within your budget:
- Set out your ideal budget and the maximum that you are able to spend.
It is useful to sit down together to come up with an ideal budget that you would like to stick to and a maximum budget that you cannot go over. This gives you a bit of leg room in case of any unexpected expenses. Consider all of your sources, including family contribution and any savings you have, together with your disposable income.
- Put together your guest list before you do anything else.
Before looking at venues or catering, it is essential that you know how many people will be attending. You may wish to create a ‘definite’ list and a ‘maybe’ list of those people you would like to attend if there is capacity.
- Figure out what is most important to you and where you are willing to compromise.
Have a conversation about what your priorities are. It may be that you want to have amazing food but you are less concerned about the entertainment. This all depends on what you and your partner want for your special day. Once you have figured out your priorities, it is possible to identify things that you are willing to compromise on.
- Track your expenses using a Wedding Budget Spreadsheet.
Do your research and put together a detailed estimation of how you plan on allocating your total budget. Make sure to include absolutely everything you might need. It is easy to remove things later but you can quickly lose control of your budget if additional things pop up later. You can do that using our Wedding Budget Spreadsheet which allows you to compare your actual spending with your estimated spending.
You might find that your estimates amount to more than your budget. This is where you can bring in the areas you are willing to compromise on. Could you reduce the number of guests? Could you manage without an expensive photographer?
- Take advantage of innovative ways to save money where you can.
There are lots of tactical ways to reduce your expenses and still achieve your dream wedding. Rather than printing wedding programmes, could you have one enlarged wedding programme board that guests can refer to? Take full advantage of your own talents and of your friends. If you are crafty (or know someone who is), can you use handmade decorations or arrange your own flowers? Is your friend a talented musician who can play at the reception? Can your Aunt bake your cake?
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