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Wedding Budget
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You Wedding Budget: Getting the Most for Your Money
Your wedding is the biggest day of your life. In a perfect world, nothing would come between you and your perfect wedding. However, in this world, weddings are extremely expensive. The industry grosses tens of billions of dollars every year, but there are some tricks you can use to make the most of each dollar you spend.
You won’t be able to get the most for your money if you don’t know how much you can spend. Start by deciding how much you and your future spouse will be able to spend on the wedding. Depending on your age and place in life, this could be very little or could finance the whole wedding. Next, ask family if they can contribute. This can be uncomfortable, but it is very necessary. You need to know the total amount you can spend before beginning to plan the wedding. Be tactful, but make it clear that you would like a dollar figure at some point in the near future.
Once you have a total budget, make a list of all the areas on which you’ll need to spend money for your wedding. This should include (but is certainly not limited to) the reception venue, photography, catering, the cake, any fees that may be associated with the ceremony venue, and flowers. Next, assign each area a percentage of your wedding budget, leaving at least 10% for incidentals. Remember, your wedding day is about you. When you’re assigning the percentages, make sure you have enough money in each category to make you happy, not your guests.
Next, start doing some research on how to cut down on costs in each area without sacrificing the things that are most important to you. Reception venues can often be the most expensive part of a wedding. If you’re having a summer wedding, consider doing it outside. This is always a lot cheaper, even if you have to pay a fee to use certain property. Ask yourself whether you have any personal friends that might offer some of the services like flowers, catering, or photography. They probably won’t do it for free, but they may offer you some sort of discount.
One thing that definitely won’t get you the most for your money is hiring a wedding planner. Many talented wedding planners do great jobs, but their services are also incredibly expensive. Getting the most for your money will involve lots of research and time that you would otherwise be paying the planner. If you work full time, you may want to consider taking a week of vacation at the beginning of the planning process to get lots of research done and get organized.
Finally, remember that mortgaging your future for your wedding is a bad idea. A recent trend is for the bride and groom to take out loans to pay for their wedding. Don’t do this; you don’t want to be saddled with this type of debt as you begin a life together. Your wedding is about celebrating your love, and this can be done no matter how much money you have to spend.
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