Wedding Budgets

Posted by Darcy Miller

I know the word BUDGET is not a favorite for brides but, unfortunately, it is a reality. The more honest you are with yourself and your vendors, the easier your planning will be. The last thing you want is to wake up after your wedding and feel that you spent way more money than you really should have or actually do have!

I always suggest putting a cushion in your budget because no matter what you think you will spend, there will always be other costs that pop up. For example, when you budget your wedding dress, remember that there will also be alterations, dry cleaning, undergarments and accessories.

For help with your budget, check out our new budgeting tool or learn more about ways to save cash while planning your big day.

Our new online budget tool! It's free!

And, we're always looking for great cost-cutting tips. Do you have any smart ways that you saved money at your reception? On your dress? On anything wedding related at all? Please share!

Comments

[Laura]

Having a budget laid out in an excel spreadsheet with eastimated and actual costs for things allowed me to make trade-offs. I splurged on my cake, the flowers, and the food and spent less in other areas.

I made my placecards into my favor. They were chocolate bars wrapped in decorative paper with a label affixed to them that had the names and table numbers (a MSL Weddings idea from many years ago). I shopped around for good prices on chocolate bars and ended up ordering a bunch of boxes of Newman's Own organics when they were on sale at Whole Foods.

I also saved with a dj instead of a band. It was a daytime wedding so I didn't feel the need to spend $$ on a band.

Sometimes I felt embarassed telling vendors what my budget was for ceratin things because I felt they would think I was cheap. The thing is, you need to be clear about the budget so people will work within it. And, if you get an estimate that's too high, see what they suggest for saving money. For example, on my cake I had 3 small tiers and had a 4th decorated layer that was served but not presented. That way I could get the number of pieces I needed without having too much cake.

Same type of thing with the flowers--I opted for cheaper flowers at the church since I wanted them to be large enough to make an impact, but knew no one but the bridal party and the minister would see them up close.

[Jen Huang]

I wanted to give some tips for those who are planning to hire a professional wedding photographer. I work in the wedding photography world and I think that it is important to find a photographer who doesn't expect you to commit to prints and albums until after you have seen their work. Remember that a professional is definitely going to cost you over $2000 dollars, but you can save by opting out of albums until you are truly sure. Most of my clients view my work and order my albums because they're aware of my professionalism, artisty and quality. However, it will save you a lot of money if you can make that decision after the wedding, especially when you don't know what the true quality of your photos will be.

www.JenHuangPhotography.com

[aruba beach wedding]

i wish i had a budget at my wedding. I just got married 3 months ago and spent $10,000. This is just to much.