Weddings can be expensive – really expensive. Figuring out how much yours is going to cost and making sure you stick to the established budget can turn into a real nightmare if you let it. No one wants that, of course. You want to actually enjoy planning and holding your wedding. And while it would be crazy to claim you can entirely cut out the stress from planning, there are a handful of things for you to keep in mind that will at least minimize those stresses.
Making Your Wedding Budget
Coming up with the number seems like the logical place to start, right? Well, it’s not. It’s actually the second step. The first is to figure out who is going to pay for what. Until that’s been established you won’t have any idea how much money is available to spend, something that’s plainly crucial to establishing your budget. Though traditions have certainly changed over the years, it’s still common for the bride’s parents to pay slightly more than the bride and groom and for the groom’s parents to pay much less than either of those parties.
That doesn’t mean your wedding has to break down exactly like that, as everyone’s financial and family situations are going to be unique, but you can generally expect a breakdown that is at least somewhat similar. The best approach is usually to speak to individual family members separately and have each commit to a specific dollar number on their own or for them to foot the bill for a specific portion of the wedding. Next, calculate how much you and your fiancé can throw into the pot.
With that task completed, it’s on to figuring out how far those dollars will get you. If you’re at the budgeting stage then you should already have at least a pretty good idea of what you want. Now it’s time to hone in on whether or not the money you have will buy exactly what you’re looking for. Spoiler warning: it won’t.
Don’t panic, though. All this means is that you have to decide what you really “need to have” and what is more of a “nice to have” thing. This is a process all but the exceedingly wealthy go through when getting married, so set your expectations appropriately. The average wedding costs couples between $30,000 and $35,000, not including the honeymoon. The reception is the biggest cost, usually coming in at around half of your total budget. Lesser but still significant costs include flowers, attire and photography/videography. Smaller still costs like stationery, parking and transportation, the ceremony, gifts and your wedding bands also add up quick.
Staying on Your Budget
The worst plans are those that cannot change when needed. Do your utmost best to stick to the exact number you come up with, but be open to the very likely possibility that you’re going to exceed it by a bit in the end. By establishing a budget and working to stay under it you’ll ensure that if you do, it won’t be by much.
It’s not completely impossible to stay under budget, either, and the best way to try to avoid it is to proactively put about five percent toward unknown expenses. Save this money to be spent on last-minute flower changes, accidents, weather-related expenses and the like.
Another unexpected cost to plan for is overtime fees. If your reception turns out to be as great of a time as you hope it will, then it’ll be easy for it to keep rolling along past the time it was supposed to wrap up. That could cause you to incur overtime charges for your photographer, venue manager, caterer, etc.
And don’t forget that you’ll need to tip most of these people. Even if you tip on the low end, there are still so, so many people who are going to be expecting a few extra bucks that you’ll easily overspend here if you don’t plan for it.
Finally, there are all the little things: stamps, wedding favors, ribbons, marriage license fees, RSVP cards, and on and on. Like tips, these items are cheap on their own, but add them all up and they equal a substantial chunk of budget.
To help you stay on top of all of this, you’ll need a wedding budget system. A simple spreadsheet will get the job done if that’s all you want. But you have to be careful to record every single payment and keep things regularly updated. Another option is to use one of the many wedding budget calculators available online. The best ones tell you exactly how much you should be spending on every item and let you track all payments and due dates.
Cubic Zirconia Jewelry
One expense that can easily put you way behind before you ever get started is your engagement ring. But if you want a big, beautiful stone, there is another option. Instead of buying a “real” diamond, go with cubic zirconia jewelry. Just be sure to get a cz ring that uses the “Russian Formula,” which assures it will capture the light just as beautifully as the real deal.