The How, What and Who of a Wedding Budget Plan
After you and your fiance have announced your engagement and start showing your friends your beautiful ring, the questions will follow thick and fast. Friends and family will start asking you when you plan to get married, where it will be held, who are the bridesmaids and groomsmen, and whether you’ve chosen a dress.
So, at some stage, you will have to start planning for the big day, which is based around a budget. You and your fiance will decide how much you wish to spend, how much you can afford and where the money is coming from. Will your families help?
Define Your Wedding Vision
Of course, every bride and groom have their own unique wedding vision. You may want to pay for extravagant attire and the best photographer while saving on venue and flowers. Or you just want to splurge on your honeymoon and host a really simple wedding. The key wedding budget savings secret? Know exactly what you are saving for! Establish your top priorities and cut costs in other areas. Finding a high-interest rate savings account will help you achieve your wedding budget goals. It is actually possible to have your dream wedding without breaking the bank!
Work Out Your Wedding Budget Breakdown
Not sure where to start for your wedding plan? The best thing to do first is to decide how much you want to spend on each aspect of your wedding. Do you want to spend $5,000 to $10,000 on your honeymoon? This is an average honeymoon cost, but you can choose to spend more or less than that. Do you want to pay over $10,000 for your wedding reception? Or are you willing to pay for a custom-made wedding gown which can cost $6,000+? It helps to split your total budget into categories. This will help you monitor your spending in the future. And don’t forget to count in all the minor costs such as hidden expenses and miscellaneous purchases. Once you make this plan it will be easier to save money and keep track of your expenses. Do you already have a high-interest rate savings account? Start stashing up for your dream day as soon as you figure out the budget breakdown.
Identify Easy Ways to Cut Costs
But to make a better budget breakdown, you need to figure out where you can save. There are some really easy and effective ways to cut costs. This does mean making a few compromises though.
- The first suggestion is that you can choose not to marry on a Saturday – which is typically the most popular day to hold weddings. Hold your reception on any other day and it will cost you much less money.
- A second alternative option is to pick an unpopular wedding date. Many venues across Australia have considerably lower prices during the autumn and winter months. This means you can bag a really good deal!
- There is also a third approach. You can keep the date you want but look for cheaper venues. Newly-established venues often offer better prices than renowned ones in the same area. Or try to find a location and venue that is off-the-beaten-path but offers something special like great views or interesting menus.
Brides usually spend a lot of money on their wedding dresses. It is hard to resist the temptation to purchase a fabulous designer gown or to order a one-off custom-made piece. The very idea of budgeting probably doesn’t go well with wedding dress shopping. But it is possible! Just spend some time browsing sales and you might dish out a rare find at a lower price tag!
It is also easy to save money on food and beverage. One way to do it is to trim your guest list. You will be paying per person and it is so easy to do the math. You can also opt for alternative methods such as hosting a cocktail hour reception, limiting your bar, ordering a smaller cake or replacing champagne with prosecco or cava.
Find Clever Ways to Save Money
There are also some great, less obvious ways to save money on basic things and leave more for things you value most. The first thing you can do is ditch the engagement party altogether. Why spending money on a bash when you can save more for the ring or for the wedding itself! It is also a good idea to go paperless and choose digital save-the-dates and wedding invitations. Since wedding stationery usually makes 5% of a total wedding budget, this is quite a lot of money. Following the same logic, you can also replace your live entertainment with a good wedding DJ app! And if you want to cut wedding flower costs, why not choose fashionable greenery over expensive blooms or consider minimalistic but cool non-floral décor…
Finally, you can skip the hassle of planning a grand wedding and host a smaller destination wedding. Combine your wedding and honeymoon to really maximize your budget. You can keep it really low key and quickly save up using a high-interest rate savings account. The most affordable overseas beach destinations much-loved by Aussie couples include Bali, South Africa and Mexico.
Have a ‘Wedding Meeting’
If your fiance is a bit gung-ho about discussing the wedding plans, set up a meeting with an agenda that contains everything you’ll need to organise for the big day, especially if the engagement is to be a short one. Unless, of course, you plan to elope or do it registry style! But even then, you need to find a celebrant, book a time, and find some accommodation. The agenda should be along the lines of what you want to spend, what you will need, and what you both want from the day. You might want plenty of pavlovas, a huge cake, a stunning dress, and a live band. Your partner might want something entirely different.
Don’t Get Into Debt
Your wedding day is all about you and your partner, so it’s important that when planning your budget you take into account what you want, as well as what your family and friends want you to have. Then do your sums and make a decision from that viewpoint. Life after the ceremony has to be considered as well. Do you want to spend all your savings on the wedding and leave nothing for a deposit on a home? And it’s not a good idea to get into debt for a lavish wedding, so resist the temptation to put it all on the credit card or borrow too heavily. Beginning your married life in debt does not augur well for future happiness.
Parties
Apart from the engagement party, do you really need anything more than a hen’s party and a buck’s night? Don’t get sucked into pre and post-wedding brunches, bachelor and bachelorette dos and so on. If you can’t afford them, just don’t do it.
The Venue
Save lots of money on the cost of a venue by having it at home, at a friend’s place on the Harbour, a restaurant or pub, or on the beach. You can probably invite more people to a less expensive venue. If the venue isn’t quite up to scratch, you could hire a wedding banner as a beautiful backdrop to the ceremony. Most venues have a time limit in the contract, so be careful not to let your reception run over time, or there will be extra costs.
Skip the Full Bar
Don’t provide a full bar with all varieties of spirits, beer and wine. Choose the alcohol wisely with perhaps one white wine and one red, a couple of beers and maybe a cocktail or champagne for toast.
Photography
Your photographs are important, but try to keep it simple. Covering an outlandish wedding is more expensive, so the more you’ll have to fork out for photography/videography services. But don’t rely on iPhones and friends’ pics to capture your wedding day. You might get disappointed down the line.
Contact me for the most affordable wedding photographers.
Programs and menu cards
If you need to show people where to go, post up one big sign that all guests can follow. Menu cards are only useful only if you’re serving a home-style meal with different choices of dishes.
Is a Limo Necessary?
If you have friends with vintage cars, ask them if you can hire them for the wedding. A limousine ride feels the same as any car after about 20 seconds.
An Affordable Marriage Celebrant
Choose the right marriage celebrant who can assist you in choosing low-cost suppliers as well as recommending affordable wedding locations. A celebrant who can also offer a variety of budget wedding packages. A celebrant who has a reliable PA system, where you can play your chosen music and so save on a band.
Even the smallest saving here or there will add up and could make a big difference to the cost of your wedding. Wishing you good luck in your planning and for the big day – but remember, what you are doing is embarking on wedded life.