Starting Off (Continued…)

Hi friends! Is it Friday yet?! I hope you’re all having a wonderful week! As promised, I’m going to continue my previous post with more detail, as well as more information.  Weddings are all about details and I want to make sure I’ve covered everything before I move on to a new subject to post about. I know these aren’t the most fun posts– but I’d like to think of them as very informative– and like I’ve told you all before, as long as I’m helping at least one person a day, I’m doing something right. If you haven’t read my previous post and you’re interested in budgeting for your wedding, do so now. If you have read it and you’re ready for the next portion–here we go! To refresh your memory, I told you all about prioritizing. When it comes to your wedding, you know exactly what you want and what you don’t. You decide what you want to splurge on and what to save on. Making sure you already know your budget before you start planning is also essential!!

• When it comes to budgeting a wedding, it’s good to have an idea of who is paying for what. Are you going in the more traditional route and the bride’s parents are going to be paying for majority of the wedding? Or are your parents giving you a certain amount? Or maybe you (the bride and groom) are going to pay for everything yourselves? Whatever it is, make sure you have an idea and work it out ahead of time. There’s no right or wrong answers to this. Whatever works for you is the right answer.
• Know your costs. It’s important to have a general idea of how much things cost while budgeting for your wedding. If you have a small budget, obviously you’re not going to have a destination wedding. Location is a key cost consideration. If you live in a small town, your price points are going to be less expensive than someone who lives in a big city. Guest size is also another key cost consideration. Remember, the more people you want to invite to your wedding, the more expensive your wedding is going to be. That might seem obvious, (captain obvious here!) but there might be more hidden costs that you didn’t think about before. The more people you invite, the more expensive catering is going to be, the bigger the venue you need = more money, the more tables and chairs you’ll have to rent if they aren’t included in your venue cost, you get the idea. It’s a chain reaction.

Recent reports have estimated that the average price per wedding is $31,213 (The Knot). I know, that seems crazy! And it is crazy. I know I’m a wedding planner and I’m not supposed to say these things, but come on guys, please stop paying that much for one day! My goal here is to share secrets with you and help you save money. Stop feeding into the system. The system that says, “the more money you spend on your wedding, the more it’ll showcase your love.” Or “it’s your dream wedding so you can spend however much you want.” The reality of this is that it is one day, but it’s also one day that you could be spending years paying for.

*Disclaimer, I just wanted to say that the goal of adding in the average price per wedding and my little rant is to inform you on costs. It’s good to go in from the beginning being informed, but know how to avoid unnecessary added costs. It’s easy to get caught up in a tremendous vision for your wedding day, which in turn, allows you to lose sight of price points and staying on track. Another piece of advice that I’d like to say is say, stop looking on Pinterest! Pinterest is great to help visualize how you’d want your special day, but once you have a sense of what your wedding is going to look like, stay off it. There’s always going to be more that you could add to your special day, but stay focused and stop comparing. I don’t want this post to turn any of you away from the idea of getting married, or overwhelm you. I just really don’t want any of you to spend super outrageous amounts for your wedding day. I’m here to help YOU! I’m here to share ideas and secrets that can save you so much money in the long run and avoid that overpriced price tag. I hope this post helped and gave insight. I can’t wait to share some secrets with you in my next post. Xoxo.