Thinking of how to create a wedding budget is a great way to keep on top of things and work out if you need to save some money to achieve the wedding you want. If you are planning to save, it is a good idea to set a budget before setting a date so you have plenty of time to put away those pennies! Wedding spending can easily get out of hand without a budget and you can end up spending thousands more than you need to with very little to show for it.
Is anybody helping out with costs?
If you are lucky enough to have family helping out with your big day, it is important to find out how much they are willing to contribute so you can assign certain expenses to them.
Assign a budget for each expense
Decide what is important to you and assign a cost for how much you are willing to spend on each expense. You may need to do a bit of research to work out what each is likely to cost to make sure you can realistically keep to your budget. The venue and the food is generally your largest cost so this is a good place to start your researching process. Find a few venues you like the look of and go down to visit and have a chat with them to get an idea of cost.
There are plenty of ways to cut down costs such as DIY favours or invites if you enjoy getting crafty and creative. Do you need a wedding cake? This can be a very large overhead. One fabulous idea we love at Confetti is to assign key members to bake a cake. This is great if your family are a dab hand at baking and gives your guests an array of scrummy cakes to choose from instead of just one.
Expectations
The average wedding in the UK including the honeymoon is a whopping £20,000! Be realistic on what you can afford, as a budget wedding doesn’t always have to scream budget!! You can have a truly beautiful wedding for a fraction of the cost.
Track your Spending
Once you have set your budget, make sure you keep track of what you have spent where. Be aware if you have overspent on certain aspects of your wedding so you can attempt to recuperate the cost back elsewhere if needed.
Decide how many guests you would like to invite
This is a biggie! The difference between say 50 and 100 guests can be significant if you are paying for everyone to have a sit down 3 course meal. This will increase the cost of invites, favours (if you decide to have them), table decorations, food, etc. so needs careful consideration. Don’t worry If you really don’t want to sacrifice on numbers but on a really tight budget, maybe a BBQ, hog roast or buffet could be a cheaper alternative for your guests to enjoy. More and more people are now getting married later on in the day to save on food costs.
Good luck with the Wedding Planning!
