Tips to Help You Stick to Your Wedding Budget

The first and foremost step towards a systematic approach to wedding planning is planning the budget. Budgeting is tedious and requires multiple rounds of effective communication with your partner and parents. Once you have a tentative budget, making important decisions like 'Can I plan a destination wedding?' or 'Can I afford designer bridalwear?' becomes much easier. Budgeting allows you to look at your wedding planning tasks from a realistic lens, and you don't have to go back and forth when making your wedding planning decisions once you know your tentative budget. 

However, certain factors can influence your planned wedding budget and add unforeseen expenses. These factors can often lead you astray and stress because you cross your planned budget and need funds to continue the wedding planning tasks smoothly. Read this article to avoid these mishaps and stick to your wedding budget for a stress-free wedding planning journey. 

1. Use a Free Wedding Budget Planning Tool

With the world going digital, you can now plan your budget and track your expenses online. This way, it is also convenient for your family and partner to follow up in real-time and update it as per requirements. The most convenient of all: The Wedding Budget Planning Tool on WeddingWire is the tool you need to keep your wedding expenses on track! Add your estimated budget to the tool and update your expenses under the right category whenever you send a booking amount or make a payment. The tool will update your remaining budget in real time and help you estimate what % of your budget needs to be allocated to each category. 

Read More: Here's How to Use Our Free Wedding Budget Planner

2. Consider Miscellaneous Wedding Costs

The wedding is an absolute extravaganza and one of the biggest celebrations of your life. Even if you plan on hosting an intimate gathering instead of an over-the-top wedding day, much preparation is still involved. This is why calculated risks and expenses come into the scene. We recommend allocating at least 5% of your total wedding budget to miscellaneous tasks and SAVING MORE than your decided budget. Vendor trials, multiple outfit fittings, sudden weather changes leading to vendor cancellations or changes in the venue, and breakage costs are some unexpected costs that can be added to your bill at the last minute, and you don't want to fret over it! Having that additional amount in your savings account helps a great deal! 

Additional Venue Fees

Don't forget to read your venue contract before signing it; you might identify the additional fees beforehand if you go through it properly. Also, ask minute questions that can lead to additional zeros in your overall bill, like Does the venue charge a corkage fee? Do you need to pay for a bar/liquor license depending on the rules of the State Government/ If it starts to rain on the wedding day and you have an outdoor wedding planned, will the venue relocate your function to an indoor setup free of cost? Also, ensure you are not charged extra for the electricity needed for your venue decoration, use of A/V equipment, valet services, etc. 

Read More: Questions to Ask a Wedding Venue

Tipping Your Pros

To the driver who drove your family from the airport, the concierge who carried the bags to the respective hotel rooms, or maybe even the designer's tailor who helped you with alterations, a tip or an extra payment is a must. Tipping is a must, so make sure you have extra cash handy! There are also miscellaneous extras, like handing money to the band that plays at the Baraat or to the Ghodi owner and Dholwalas.

Taxes and Service Charges

We are all familiar with the taxes we pay daily, but remember that taxes apply to your wedding costs, too. Be aware of the taxes you must pay for each purchase and plan your wedding budget accordingly. 

Vendor Trials

Makeup artists might charge for the trials before you even finalise them. Vendors like the florist or decor can give you virtual demos that might be free of cost, but there are possibilities where you might need to pay for the same. It is essential for you to be prepared for these and include them in your budget drafts.

Transportation 

If you plan to tie the knot in your hometown, you will likely delay booking transportation as much as possible and prioritise all the other vendors' bookings first. Don't forget to calculate the cost of transportation, such as picking up your guests from the airport/station, keeping a few cars handy to travel to and from your home to the venue, and hiring a car to pick up the groom. 

3. Be Flexible With Wedding Dates

If the booking prices for your chosen saaya date are very high, be open to relooking at your wedding date or season. Postponing for a few months or selecting an auspicious date according to your Kundli that does not fall in a saaya month or mahurat can help you save some money and stick to your budget. 

4. Make a List of Non-Negotiables and Negotiables 

The two of you need to sit down and decide your priorities and non-negotiables once you have decided on your budget. Depending on your vision for the wedding, you could choose the areas where you will spend more than the others. For example, to hire your favourite wedding photographer, you manage the cost by not wearing designer outfits for all your wedding events. But the decision of what can be compromised and what factors are must-have spends has to be made by the two of you, together. 

5. Go Over Your Budget with Your Partner and Family Every Month

To stick to your wedding budget, you need to keep a tab of your spending and do monthly meetings with your parents or partner to check how much you have spent so far and the remaining budget left for the pending tasks. This process will become easier once you start using the WWI Budget Tool. However, we still recommend doing these monthly checks with your partner to see if you have overboard in a certain area and need to cut your cost down or if you have more left to spend then you calculated in the beginning. 

Make sure to choose the proper set of vendors with a step by step planning for the wedding.