Planning a wedding is a bit overwhelming.
Having countless wedding gown designs pinned on Pinterest is a good start but it will just lead to questions over questions and strong desires: "I saved up for this, definitely I'll go to my dream designer who I've been following on Instagram for years." "May be I can upgrade to a lace applique and beads all over?" " a detachable train is nice, and oh - that hidden pocket is so chic, can my couturier do this?"
You are wrong if you think these are mere Yes-or-No questions. Consider asking yourself again: Is this within our budget?
Every detail in your wedding has costs. If you don't closely monitor your expenses, you'll get surprised that you are using up all your savings. The real struggle in your planning is making sure everything falls within the budget.
It doesn't help if you ask the budget of your friends who recently got married. Sit down with your partner and talk about the elephant in the room: how much are you going to spend on your wedding and what are the sources of your wedding funds. You can append in your budget planner the projection of your cash inflow and expenditures to keep track the timing and extent of your personal and wedding expenses.
Understand your financial capability and set the amount that you are prepared to spend. Keep in mind that you have bigger responsibilities after your wedding, so do not exhaust all your savings on this one day.
Sure, you want to have a perfect memory of this once in a lifetime event, but let's be honest. Our idea of a perfect wedding comes from what is featured on the internet. So, be careful in setting your standards based on what you see, as those are traps on you to spend more. Learn to drop those extras and you will soon realize that you don't need them anyway.
Here is a sample of a wedding budget planner:
Details | Budget | Actual
1 Invitation
2 Wedding Coordinator
3 Hotel rooms
4 Crew / Entourage meal
5 Gowns
6 Flowers
7 Hair and Make-up Artists
8 Photographer and Videographer
9 Bridal car
10 Church
11 Reception Hall
12 Caterer
13 Host
14 Lights and sounds
15 Wedding band
16 Wedding souvenirs
Grand Total
The list is arranged according to the order of the wedding day. In this manner, you can visualize what will happen in the morning of your wedding and anticipate what you need until the end of the day.
Flex that MS Excel skills and lay out your template. A simple one will do, like the above.
Research is the key in creating a justifiable budget. You can visit actual shops to ask for their rates and use as thresholds to compare with others. Take advantage of those wedding fairs and expos to get a handful of choices of suppliers and great prices. Or in a simpler way, look online. You will be amazed how all information are available on the internet.
Fill out your template with the acceptable fee you are willing to pay or based on the result of your inquiries. Over time, you can build your budget while gaining confidence in negotiating a good deal.
Pick at least top 3 wedding details you choose to splurge on. You can play around in allocating the funds in the list and learn to let go of unnecessary spending to give way to your non-negotiables. Always update and refer to your planner to remind yourself to stick to the budget.
You don't need to book suppliers immediately. Always check the reviews of their services before paying the deposit.
Once you booked everything, it is up to you how to categorize your suppliers. You should include the contact number and outstanding balances in your template.
To give you an idea of what you may need to spend for your (Philippine) wedding:
Details | Budget | Actual | Remarks
0 Documents ie Certificate of No Marriage
1 Invitation
2 Wedding Coordinator
3 Hotel rooms
4 Crew and Entourage meal
4.1 Breakfast
4.2 Morning snacks
4.3 Afternoon snacks
4.4 Dinner
5 Suits and gowns
5.1 For engagement shoot
5.2 Bridal robe
5.3 Entourage gowns and suits
5.4 Parents' gowns and suits
5.5 Groom's suit
5.6 Church and reception gown
5.7 Jewelry
5.8 Wedding shoes
6 Flowers
6.1 Bride's Bouquet
6.2 Entourage flowers
6.3 Aisle and altar flowers
6.4 Bridal car's flowers
7 Hair and Make-up Artists
7.1 Bride
7.2 Entourage
8 Photographer and Videographer
8.1 Aerial shots
8.2 Engagement shoot
8.3 Photo album
8.4 Save the date (STD) and same day edit (SDE) videos
8.5 Photobooth
9 Bridal car
10 Church
10.1 Mass Offerings
10.2 Misalette
10.3 Fan
10.4 Loose petals
10.5 Choir
10.6 Priest stipend
11 Reception Hall
11.1 Event Stylist
11.2 Lights and sounds
11.3 Tent
12 Caterer
12.1 Cake
12.2 Wine
12.2 Cocktail food
13 Host
14 Wedding band / DJ
15 Wedding souvenirs and tokens
Grand Total
If it will not hurt your pocket, you can avail fireworks display, huge LED wall, confetti, hire a choreographer and more! I will post a series of wedding tips and reminders about each details in the wedding budget planner.
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