A Proper Wedding Budget is Key to a Happy Celebration
Just like you, I don’t like to work within a budget. I want what I want and don’t like to be caged in by money constraints. That’s life however. If you’re planning a wedding, it’s imperative to create a budget. How you might ask? Read on and I’ll show you.
Tip #1 – A Wedding Budget Planner
I don’t care if it’s a spreadsheet, a document, a napkin or something you keep on your smartphone, a proper wedding has some sort of planner. No, I’m not talking about your Aunt Ruth either. This needs to be a place where you can write down descriptions, numbers, phone numbers, addresses, etc. My personal favorite is this one pictured to the left because it is easy to navigate and organize.
The key to a sturdy wedding budget is to first, decide on what you want to spend. That’s daunting, right? Well, start with the big items and work from there. Location, dress, food, drinks, guests, flowers – from there, you can get into the smaller details like, wedding favors, decor and things like that. Even if you don’t think it’s worth writing down, do it. A wedding budget is not complete if it’s not complete!
Remember, write it down, estimate it, then get to work with what the real numbers will look like.
Tip #2 – Work Within Your Wedding Budget
Once you have everything down on paper and a final wedding budget number is set, you must do your best to work within your budget. Find a way to cut costs here and there and eventually, it adds up to a lot. Once of the biggest expenses and easiest things to cut into is the alcohol budget. Consider having a cash bar, or simply serving wine onlyâEUR¦or perhaps, no alcohol at all. A small change in wedding size can have a huge financial cut to your wedding budget as well.
Tip #3 – Be Realistic about Changing Your Wedding Budget
If you’ve trimmed your wedding budget as much as possible but still find yourself coming up short, there are many things you can do. For example, ten years ago when my wife and I married, we sold gourmet lemonade at farmer’s markets and festivals around the state to raise four thousand dollars over the course of the summer. This money was key and took us from a blah wedding to something spectacular.
Tip #4 – Stop Worrying and Consider the Following
This is probably the biggest tip I can offer. Stop worrying about it so much. Focus on what’s really important in life – money. That may sound harsh or callous, but it’s the truth. Money can pay for your dream wedding a make a wedding budget a thing of the past. Money can afford you the leg up you need to get that job you’ve been after. Money can get you the lifestyle that’s been out of reach for you for so many years. Money is what makes us whole. If you remember that fact and use your money to empower yourself and to help others, then brother, you’re onto something good in this world. Creating a wedding budget is one thing, but what if you NEVER had to budget ever again? We have so many young married couples joining our business and growing as a team, making huge incomes. It’s changing lives.