Your wedding is undoubtedly one of the best days of your life. But before the big day, there’s a lot of wedding planning to do, and that means setting a budget. Planning and sticking to a budget is arguably the most important part of wedding planning. Here are some helpful wedding budgeting tips.
Who’s Paying?
Whether it’s you and your significant other or there is some family involved, you need to figure out who’s contributing to the wedding budget. Once you’ve done that, think about how much you’re willing to spend or what part of the wedding a family member might want to contribute to. For example, your parents might agree to help, but they may only want to pay for catering or the wedding dress.
Look at the Numbers
Once you’ve figured out who’s contributing, really look at the numbers. How much can you afford to spend without breaking the bank? Once you’ve figured out a ballpark budget, then you can get down to the nitty-gritty.
Non-Negotiables
As you go through wedding planning, you need to figure out which items are your top priority. Maybe you and your spouse want a big party after the ceremony; in fact, the average couple spends north of $22,000 on the wedding reception. Maybe your future spouse has their heart set on a particular wedding outfit or you both have a particular theme in mind for the reception. Once you figure out what the non-negotiables are, you can allot a higher percentage of the budget to those things and shore up how much it’ll cost for the other items on your list.
Don’t Forget to Research
It’s important to do research before you start shelling out money. For example, with a wedding cake, you usually have to pay for the cake as well as a cutting free. Renting a wedding venue means you’re paying for the cost of renting a place and also for setup and breakdown. Shop around and see if you can find deals on items you don’t want to spend a ton of money on. If you have friends with particular skills, such as interior design or photography, enlist their help.
As you plan and budget, look online for wedding cost checklists. This will give you a good idea of what things really cost so you won’t have any unwelcome surprises along the way. For help obtaining the best party rentals for your big day, contact Allied Party Rentals.