7 Things to Consider When Developing a Budget for Your Wedding
Paperia | July 2015
Choosing a budget for your wedding can be a stressful job. With average wedding costs around $25,000, you need to figure out what you’re comfortable spending before you start planning. There are many unknown costs you may not be thinking about until the time arises, so you have to be careful not to blow your budget out of the water on hidden fees you didn’t account for. Here are seven things to consider when it comes to developing a budget for your wedding.
1. Make sure you understand everything you will have to pay for (venue, food, DJ/band, linens, etc.). Making a list of everything is helpful because you see all the pieces that make up a wedding broken down in front of you.
2. Choose the most important thing (photographer, food, venue, etc.) that you will be willing to spend more money on. Having one thing that is priority will help you rank everything else in order of importance so you know what the majority of your budget is for.
3. Make sure you leave leeway in your budget for hidden costs you didn’t know you’d have to pay for. For example, you might not realize how much money you’ll have to spend on wedding dress alterations or that there’s usually a cake cutting and corkage fee. Did you ever think of overage charges that will occur if your wedding runs late or taxes and gratuities? All these things add up and if you don’t have any room in your budget, you’ll be unpleasantly surprised.
4. Much of your budget will revolve around how many guests you invite to your wedding. If you know you have a large family, you’ll have to consider the costs that come with needing a larger venue and feeding everyone. When developing a budget, you’ll have to decide if you’d rather try to save money by having a more intimate ceremony and reception.
5. You should consider doing some research before deciding on a budget to see the average cost of everything involved. Perhaps you have a large backyard you can host the venue at or a family baker who can gift you a wedding cake – having one or more things you can spend below average on will help you choose a feasible budget you can stick to.
6. Don’t assume that by only having a large budget that you’ll have a great wedding. It’s important to set a budget that you’re comfortable with while maintaining realistic expectations. You can have a perfectly beautiful wedding with smaller budgets, so look into costs ahead of time to plan out what you can save on.
7. Consider who, if anyone, will be willing to help out with the costs of your wedding. Perhaps you have parents who are able to help pay for certain things, which will come into play when deciding on a budget.
Once your budget is in place, you’ll be able to start the fun part – planning!
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