A person’s wedding is a momentous event in their life, but also one of the most costly. Check out these tips for budgeting your money for your wedding.
Married men and women often describe their wedding as the most wonderful moment of their lives. However, the few months that one needs for planning are usually chaotic and dotted with difficult choices. Coordinating a wedding is hard enough in the best of settings, but when the budget becomes an issue, it can be daunting. If that is a familiar tune to you, it is crucial to remember that the success of your big day will be affected less by the money you spend than by the things you spend it on.
Spend On What Truly Matters To You
From an outsider’s consideration, a wedding bill is replete with peripheral expenses, which, at the end of the day, weren’t important for the party’s success. Take a little time to contemplate exactly what is a must-have for you and your partner. For some it will be a specific setting and a band; for others, it has more to do with the number of the entourage and the menu.
When you get married can also be important: summer and spring remain peak seasons for pledging vows, so if the date isn’t that meaningful to you, an off-season wedding could mean impressive savings. What you want to remember is that you start with how much your must-have pieces will cost you to lower costs on the non-essentials.
Negotiate – Improve Your Bargaining Position
Getting married is usually thought of as a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and as a future spouse, you are surely ready to do whatever it takes to ensure everything is ideal. Your caterers, florists, and decorators certainly know that which might be one of the causes why profit margins are usually so high in that sector.
This typically means that the vendors allow little room for negotiation, especially if you know you can choose from several competing price quotes. Timing is crucial: the sooner you approach your professionals, the better your chances at obtaining lower rates will be, be it from one vendor or the other.
Do It Yourself, But Not Alone
Your wedding is your night, and it may be the time when you’ll be in the best position to ask for assistance from the home front. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how invaluable your family’s talents can be: decorations, flower arrangements, hors d’oeuvres, drinks, sound system, and taking pictures are pieces that can be sourced by capable men and women in your family.
Photography in particular is a facet that can help with savings. Nowadays, it is not unusual for guests to handle all the pictures for the album. A wide array of people (not excluding very experienced hobbyists) will be asking you to pose at your wedding, and unless you are looking for something specific (like a professionally-designed photo album), it might be the right thing for you. If you must have a specialist, you might also want to consider hiring photography students many of who are often passionate and detailed and who need to turn their passion into an income stream.
Regardless of money, you can’t realistically expect that your big day will be precisely as you pictured it. But even on a strict budget, it just might be close to perfect.