Wedding Budgets

Know what you need.
Many couples forget the basic items needed in a wedding plan. Write a list of the main or important items needed for planning. These items could include (but are not limited to):

-Budget (#1 important)
-The venue (a very important item for hosting a wedding)
-Wedding theme (if applies)
-Catering (if this is not included in the venue package, but most venues do provide catering)
-Decorations and flowers
-The wedding cake
-Attire (including brides and bridesmaid dresses, groom and groomsmen suits)
-Alcohol ( a popular item at weddings)
-The guest list and invitations
-The wedding date

Start with the MOST important item - BUDGET
How much are you willing to spend on your wedding? An estimate amount of time for couples to save for their wedding takes roughly one to one and half years. The average cost for a wedding is approximately $30,000. That is if both the bride and groom save portions of their income and place it into a wedding savings. Plan out each month the amount you will save for your wedding within the one year or so period in order to achieve your budget. It's important that you stay on track and limit yourself to the distractions of the occasional visits to the 'candy store'.

Spending discipline is a must! Men - no electronics! Women - no clothing, accesories or make-up! No matter how tempted you are to buy the latest or newest items, resist the temptation and urges.

The Venue
Shop around when looking for a venue. Venues located in hotels can be very pricey so it's a good idea to take some time to shop around for a place that will provide deals, discounts or throw in something extra into the package. Some venues in the middle to high price range do offer in-house catering. Don't hesitate to look into what they offer; it could save you some time in searching high and low in the city. Locations that are situated just a little out of town or smaller venues could provide a better deal for your money.

Catering
If you haven't found a good deal with a venue to offer catering in their package or the venue doesn't offer catering and you have no other alternatives, the solution to feeding hundreds of starving guests is to do it buffet-style. Buffet is a less expensive way than professional catering. Though it is sometimes frowned upon to go buffet-style but if you have actually been to a wedding that has served a buffet, it can do wonders than imagined. Keep in mind the benefits and disadvantages of professional catering and buffet-style before making a definite choice. Search around for quotes and quantities - do your research.

Theme(s)
Keep it simple. Color themes work best between one to three colour limit themes. Try to stay away from themes that are reminiscent of "Prom". If there is not specific theme, it will save a lot of time and money.

Decorations and Flowers
Again, decorations could be included in a venue package (this requires you to ask questions to make sure you know exactly what you are getting out of the deal). If this is not the case, you may have to outsource for professional decorators OR if you have a talented wedding crew (ie. bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents, friends, relatives, etc) to help decorate the venue the day before, it can save some big bucks. Unfortunately, flowers are a different story. These generally are not included in a venue package and must be purchased from an actual flower shop. Ordering flowers can be tricky sometimes especially if you 'leave it up to the florist' to design your bouquets and center pieces without providing any personal feedback. You will need to shop around for a good florist and provide a lot of your opinion. Remember, it's your wedding and you have every right to have your flowers the way you want them. Keep in mind, flowers are seasonal like fruits. So make sure that around the time you plan your wedding, the flowers are in season. Out-of-season flowers are harder to find and can be more costly.

The Wedding Cake
The center piece and an important item for every wedding. The cake symbolizes much of what a wedding is and without the cake, how is there a wedding? It's a ceremonial piece and the main dessert of the banquet. Many brides often stress over how their cake is presented. Simplicity is often an easier and less costly choice for a wedding cake. Choose one to two flavors, minimal designs and a maximum of 3-tiers. Additional items added could put stress on the cake and not be able to withstand the weight. You can choose to design your cake but take time to ask the baker/cake designer the choices and costs that are available to you.

Attire
A bride is never complete without her dress. Dress shopping no matter what the occasion, is always a long and frustrating task to finding the 'perfect' dress. Never fear, there are ways to find a great wedding dress but it does require some shopping around to different stores. Look for stores (especially bridal stores) which have discounted gowns or closing-down bridal stores. They will have wedding dresses as low as $99! No dress is truly out of season because styles come and go only to return back 'in-style'. Bring at least 2 other opinionated people (whose opinions matter to you) to you to help you choose a dress. A second opinion helps when it's hard for yourself alone, to decide.
Bridesmaid dresses should follow a same pattern. The same style (and let's keep it simple, not complex) and one color. You want the dresses to be a worth while investment which can be used over again.
The groom and groomsmen all wear the same style suit or tuxedo. There is only one item on the groom that should differentiate him from the rest of the groom crew. Tuxedos are more expensive than suit attire, so make sure that if you purchase tuxedos, you get your money's worth!

On a side note, clothing apparel is not only an important aspect. Keep in mind that as your special day, keeping up appearances can be a bit stressful. Questions come to mind, "Is my make-up okay?", "How white are my teeth?" or "Do you think I should lose a few pounds?". We shouldn't think of these questions as negatively affecting our event, but more of an insight to helping us prepare for it. If you feel a bit insecure about your appearance, try something that may help boost your esteem. You can purchase products that may be beneficial. You can find cost-effective products online or in your drugstore such as teeth whitening kits. Compared to going to a professional dentist, these products don't cost you hundreds of dollars. Try a free trial of whitening. Weight Loss products tend to not work. A cost effective alternative is to use a natural supplement just to help flush unwanted toxins and pounds. I would recommend trying this one, its made from berries and has given me great results. Try a free trial of supplements. The free trial also makes it cost effective unlike most Weight Loss products.

Alcohol
The solution: Open Bar. Make sure your guests know better than to drink and drive if you choose to go this route. If you want to limit the amount of alcohol consumed by your guests, there is the alternative of pay-per-drink option. Guests must pay for their alcohol. It is a turn-off having to fork over cash to purchase an alcoholic drink but it also limits the person as well. Remember: serving alcohol is very expensive, so this will be a costly portion of the wedding budget. Make sure you take in consideration the costs of serving alcohol. If your guests are not social drinkers - big $$$ saver.

The Guest List & Invitations
The number of guests you invite to your wedding can be a factor that increases the cost of the wedding. Small weddings invite up to 100 guests or less. It is ideal to host a smaller wedding of close family/relatives and friends because it is a special occasion that is shared amongst the closest and dearest people in your life. It should not mean any less. It is your special day and you are paying for it. Catering is determined by price-per-person. Ideally around $35 per person or more. Which is why serving buffet-style is less costly if you have more than said amount of guests. The number of guests could also increase the cost of wedding invitations (unless you are given a discount per unit ordered). Invitations are also cost-based on the stock of paper used, the amount of text included and additional designs. Try to narrow what you want written on your invitation and what one design you prefer. Make sure the stock is not too thick, heavy or glossy. Remember: invitations need to be mailed to your guests so the weight and size of the invitation can increase the cost in postage.

Final item: The Wedding Date
It is very, very important that you have a set date for your wedding. The date secures the venue, caterers, florist, guests, etc that the date is booked for everyone. Do not keep the date as a last minute item that you will end up deciding (or not deciding) last minute. It will not guarantee anything and will only put complications on your wedding. At least 3 month advance, have a set date. It will save a lot of hassle and lost budget.

A final note: If you believe it is worth the investment, hire a wedding planner. Some planners can charge a small fee. It will save you the hassle of running around and wasting valuable time tracking down appointments, deadlines, etc. Your wedding planner is your assistant. They have the experience and knowledge and can be a benefit to you. If you can find a person (someone close to you) who is available to do it for a minimal fee or for free, consider the time saved. But, it is a decision that you must be absolutely certain that this person will hold out their end of the bargain.

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