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First things first, where is the money coming from? If it’s your own, you need to decide how much you have to dedicate towards the wedding. If you or your fiance’s parents are willing to pay for the wedding or part of it, you will have more money to play with but more opinions and feelings to consider when it comes to wedding planning.
Before you pick out wedding dresses or even make your wedding Pinterest board, you need to have the conversation with all paying parties of how much money.
Sometimes, we don’t know how much money we have to put towards a wedding or your parents are like mine, and told me – how much do you need? In this case you might need to work backwards and find out what you really want and get estimated prices for it. Below you will find how to start putting your wedding budget together.
What is important to you?
In your eyes, certain elements of your wedding may be more important than others. For instance, if you place a large emphasis on finding your dream wedding dress, you might use a large portion of your entire wedding budget on just this item. Or, if the location is important to you, you might find yourself spending your first initial budget estimation on the location alone. It’s all about knowing what’s important to you and allocating your wedding budget accordingly.
How many people are you inviting?
If you come from a large family and have a large company your work for, with many friends you will need to think about having a larger wedding budget for 200 guests. If you have a small family and are aware you enjoy intimate gatherings rather than large parties, this too will change your wedding budget.
Sometimes intimate gatherings cost just as much as larger weddings, as those who host small weddings often fork out more money to ensure their guests have a great time, and typically pay more attention to the luxurious details that are important to them.
Most venues will have a ‘price per head’, so if your guest list reaches well above the hundred mark, you may have to pull a larger wedding budget to accommodate or choose a cheaper option.
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Date and Time
Your wedding date might have some impact on how much you’ll have to fork out for your dream wedding. For instance, if you’re planning a winter wedding in January, the cost of your venue may slump significantly. Similarly, if you plan a weekday wedding, you may find vendors offering discounted rates.
On the flip side, if you plan on hosting a weekend wedding in November or March you’ll have to factor this in when deciding on your wedding budget. During the peak period, wedding vendors are incredibly busy and often booked out for months, so a larger wedding budget will help to secure the wedding vendors you want.
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Style
Certain styles and themes of weddings can contribute to their overall expense. For instance, a luxury wedding will always cost more than a DIY wedding. A traditional wedding in a ballroom will always require a larger budget than an intimate garden wedding. Decide what theme you want and think about the things you really need to showcase that theme.
Now that you have done the thinking, and maybe even wrote down the things that are important, the next step is putting the numbers down on paper. We have found three easy and FREE Wedding Budget calculators to help you get started. Click below:
Enjoy,
XOXO
NVS Photography