Planning a wedding can be an incredibly fun and exciting experience. You get the opportunity to put together a day that reflects your personality, and that is designed specifically to celebrate the start of your new life with your partner. From finding fantastic flowers for the occasion to selecting your menu, there is so much about planning your wedding that you will enjoy.
That being said, there are a few aspects of planning your wedding that can prove to be sources of stress for you and your spouse-to-be. For starters, planning a wedding isn’t a cheap business. Even if you have a sizeable budget, it is always going to seem as though there is something else to pay for.
In order to make sure that things don’t get out of hand with your wedding, the very first thing that you should do is sit down with your fiancé as well as anyone else who will be contributing financially to the day and figure out a realistic budget that everyone is comfortable with.
Here are a few of the important aspects of your wedding budget that you should bear in mind as your figure out how much you will be spending on your big day.
Start With Big-Ticket Items
When making your wedding budget, the first thing that you should do is research the average cost of some of the big-ticket items that you will need to plan for. These are going to be aspects of wedding receptions like the venue and catering that will end up costing the most.
By establishing how much you will spend on these bigger aspects of the day, you can then break down how much you will spend on the finer details that will make the day special and personalized to you and your fiancé.
Curb Your Guest List
As you go through the process of planning your wedding, you will realize that so much about how much the day will cost is related to how many people are in attendance. You will pay for catering per plate and for drinks and alcohol-based on how many guests over the age of 21 will be at your reception.
In order to keep costs manageable and reasonable, avoid overdoing it on your guest list. You will find that a more intimate wedding with only close friends and family will create a special environment that you will enjoy much more than having an overwhelmingly large crowd on hand.
Keep Things In Perspective
Many people spend years dreaming about what their wedding day will look like. When push comes to shove, however, and you are faced with the realities of affording such a day, it is important to keep things in perspective.
The fact of the matter is that your wedding day is just that – a day. It is an important a special day, but a single day nonetheless. Spending all your savings and then some on one day isn’t wise. Only spend what you can afford to spend, and remember that the day will be amazingly wonderful regardless of what it costs.