Planning a wedding involves many tasks, the most important of which is to stick to the allotted budget. This is something some couples struggle with even though they shouldn’t have to. Here are some ways to stay on track with any wedding budget.

What the magic number?

Have a serious conversation with your fiance about how much your wedding should cost.  This conversation is not an easy one, but it’s one that needs to happen right away.  Once you decide on your budget for your wedding, you can start the planning process.

Make a Budget

Have a way to keep track of spending.  You may first want to start a list of all the things you could think of when spending money on a wedding.  Many couples choose to start a spreadsheet where they can record what they spent and how it’s related to their wedding. This should a well- organized spreadsheet that is easy to read and understand. Any time wedding planning is taking place it helps to be able to access the spreadsheet whenever necessary.

Set Aside a Little Extra

Roughly 5% of any wedding budget should be set aside specifically for extra expenses that you didn’t think you’d have. At the last minute, days or even hours before a wedding, brides could discover a stain on their dress or need to replace the votive candles meant for the centerpieces. Having money set aside for this reason can prevent any last minute stress for the bride, groom or both.

Avoid Hidden Costs

Avoiding hidden costs as much as possible is also something that must be done in order to stick to a wedding budget. Since reception venues are rented by the hour if a couple has any inkling theirs might continue after its official stop time they need to make arrangements accordingly beforehand or run the risk of having to pay vendors such as a DJ, band, or wait staff overtime. Having to do so can cause any wedding to go over its budget in a big way.

These can also be overtime charges if you or your guests are running late.

The Small Things

Small items also have to be factored into the wedding budget and many couples don’t think about this until it is too late. Items such as the stamps needed for the wedding RSVP cards and wedding favor ribbons must be factored in because these items can sometimes cost a couple more than they initially realized they would.

Set Money Aside

The way in which the money is handled will also affect the wedding budget. It is recommended that all money set aside for wedding planning goes into one specific bank account or envelope. Keeping wedding money separated from a bank account used for day to day needs will be less confusing for everyone.

Keeping these things in mind can make it easy to stay on track when planning a wedding on a budget.

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