The Wedding Budget
Budgets are a difficult concept, as each individual person has different ideas on what areas are important and what areas are not, and will spend accordingly. For some people, going out once a week for dinner and a movie does not seem nearly as fun as having some friends over for dinner and drinks, and their budgets will reflect this fact. It is no different with wedding budgets. Many wedding advisors or sites like to lock wedding budgets in with figures and percentages that seem to blanket cover the needs of all couples. In reality, some brides may feel that the dress they wear should be worth a greater part of the budget than the catering fees, or vice versa. Today's wedding is all about individual tastes and a reflection of the couple within the wedding. With this attitude prevailing, it is easy to see why once-size-fits-all budgets can't be taken too seriously.
With that said, it is important to note that budgets within a wedding are still very important. The areas in which couples will spend money for their weddings will not change, the different factor for each couple will be the figure they spend within the area. With this in mind, we offer you some areas to consider when you are creating your wedding budget.
Appearances: The way the wedding party looks is the first thing to think about when setting a wedding budget. This area is usually broken down even further, with the bride's dress taking up the majority of the dollars. Other items to consider here are the cost of the groom's outfit, the bridesmaid's dresses and hairstyles. Decide whether the groom is going to rent or buy his outfit, and whether it will be a suit, a tuxedo, or just some casual dress clothes. You should be able to get a good idea of how much it will cost the bridal party to have their hair and makeup done by consulting your usual hairdresser.
Decorations: Flowers, candles, the guest register, balloons and banners will all be part of the decoration budget. This area is one of the more flexible sections of the wedding budget, as many less expensive arrangements can look just as nice. Spending a big chunk of the budget on a really nice facility will sometimes mean that the area requires not a lot of decorations in order to convey a sense of beauty and celebration.
Rent: When it comes to rental fees for the wedding, there are usually a few areas. These include the rental of the venue for the reception, the ceremony venue, transportation for the bridal party to and from the reception and the ceremony, sound equipment, and any other equipment needed for the day (such as tents).
Pictures: Your wedding budget should include not just the costs of paying the photographers at your wedding, but also the costs of ordering prints and packages when the honeymoon is over.
Honeymoon: Don't forget to put some money aside for after the big day is done!
Miscellaneous: There are all sorts of small fees associated with weddings that will need to be included in a good budget. The officiator's fees, the cost of the rehearsal dinner, gas for the cars rented for the occasion, and gratuities for catering staff are all some costs that tend to get overlooked.
Knowing where money is spent ahead of time will help a couple determine how much they can spend or save when they are planning their wedding.
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