Wedding Budgets
How To Create a Wedding Budget
Before working on a budget, a fundamental question is, “Why do I even have a budget?” If you view your budget negatively, as a burden, a weight, something that limits you, a reminder of limited funds, you and your budget will get along very poorly. Your mindset regarding your finances needs to change to one of positivity. Your budget keeps you safe, keeps you on track, helps you, guides you, and allows you not to be taken advantage of.
No. 1 - Research * actual * costs
I have always found it helpful to research legitimate costs when creating a budget. It’s lovely to just sit down and say this will cost $100, $1,000, and my total budget is $1,100. Perfect. Unfortunately, that is not the way things go. Unless you live in an ideal world, in which case I’d like to move where you are. When creating your budget, be realistic, open, and honest. If you are expecting your parents, in-laws, or grandparents to financially assist you, discuss it openly. If finances are a tricky subject with many nuances, I would encourage you to invite that party out to dinner or for a coffee date. Tell them you are working out the details of your wedding budget, and it’s been mentioned in the past that they are willing to support you. You’re grateful for their love and gifts, and most of all, you’re simply thankful for them. Be positive and very grateful for their financial contribution. Regardless of “tradition” or your expectations, they may gift you a significant sum of money, and a thankful attitude goes a long way.
No. 2 - How to break down a budget
Ultimately, there are two ways to break down a budget. One is by item, i.e., Dress, Venue, Caterer, Decorations, etc. The other way is a trickle-down method. Let’s say you have $15,000 after all financial help, savings, and the like. You figure out what costs the most and trickle down your finances. The main difference is that the first is how much these items cost; this is my budget. The second is, This is how much money I have; the things I buy will fit into this cost.
No. 3 - You don’t need to know everything immediately
The most significant frustration with the budget will ultimately be all your unknowns. You don’t know how much the caterer will cost because you don’t know how many guests will be there. This is an understandable frustration. Which leads to the conclusion of wiggle room. When you buy your dress, there is only one of you. But on the items where the price differs by headcount, give yourself a bit of generous room to play around with it. You can usually book those headcount decisions about two months before they require the official headcount. So you don’t feel you must have it all together when you book a vendor.
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