When planning for a wedding, it’s easy to over spend. The beautiful dress, the lovely food and drinks, the honeymoon, the rings – it all adds up. But by sticking to a few simple rules, you should be able to keep to your original budget.
These golden rules will help you do just that. Take them on board right from the start of your planning and if you stick to these rules, you should stick to your wedding budget.
1. Getting your planning right. If you change your mind, then your budget will increase and you’ll miss out on the best deals. Button down your ideas early on and stick to them.
2. Don’t forget the parents. Make sure you involve them early on so they don’t mess with your wedding budget by adding guests or elements you hadn’t considered to the reception.
3. Make sure you get like-for-like quotes and know exactly what is included. Use the checklists in each section of the site to make sure that you’re asking all the right questions.
4. Get three (or more) quotes for everything – you’ll be surprised at how much variance there is between each one.
5. Always allow for a 10% contingency in your budget, this will make sure you don’t go over.
6. Always get and keep the receipts for all payments. It will help you fill in your wedding budget more accurately and make you realise how much you’re spending.
7. Always update the budget regularly.
8. Watch out for the small stuff – you can easily blow your budget on the small things. A few extra table decorations or upgrading your flowers will really blow your budget. So be careful.
9. If it’s not in the budget then forget it! Planning ahead should eliminate this.
10. Double check that your helpers are still able and willing. After all, people change their minds and to find a photographer or chauffeur at the last minute could be costly.
Keep to these rules; keep to your wedding budget.
Nicola Ray is the owner of
Cheap Wedding Success, a website dedicated to planning and creating the perfect cheap wedding. You can find more articles like this in the
Planning and Budgets section which is filled with more free advice.
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