Planning a Wedding on a Budget

What Can You Afford to Spend?

The first step of financially smart wedding planning is determining what you can afford to spend. Some of the money may be coming from you and/or your fiancé’s savings. How much do you have in savings and how much of it do you want to spend on the wedding? (Don’t deplete the savings completely – it is a good idea to maintain an emergency fund in case medical bills, car repairs, or other unexpected expenses pop up.) You may also be expecting or hoping that your parents or other relatives will be covering some of the cost. If this is the case, it is important to get clarification now on exactly how much they are contributing. You don’t want to sign contracts or start buying things, only to find out later that your parents are not giving you the $5,000 you thought they would provide. List all your sources of contributions in the Wedding Budget below and add them together to see what your total budget is. (You can always spend less, of course, but you should not spend more.) If your savings or the amount of assistance you are receiving from others is limited, you may have thought about putting some expenses on your credit cards. Is that really such a bad thing? If you can pay it off in a couple of months, not really, but otherwise you could be burdening yourself with debts that take years to pay off and cost you thousands of dollars in interest charges. For example, if you charge $5,000 on a card with an annual percentage rate of 14% and only pay the minimum (typically around 3% of the balance or $20, whichever is greater), it would take you over 12½ years to repay the debt and cost you almost $3,000 in interest. Do you really want to still be paying for your wedding 12 years from now? Probably not.

Where Will Your Money Go?

After you know how much you must spend, the next step is to determine where you will spend it. Unless you have deep pockets, chances are you will have to make sacrifices somewhere. Think about what a priority is and what is less important. For example, perhaps having good food that your guests will talk about for years to come is a must, but you could care less about the flower arrangements. Or vice versa. There are no wrong or right priorities – it’s all about what is important to you and your fiancé (and perhaps assertive relatives!). Using the Wedding Budget, list how much you plan to spend for each category. (Remember, the total for expenses should not exceed the total for contributions). Keep your budget in mind when you do your actual shopping – in fact, you may want to bring it with you. It is not that difficult to get caught up in a moment and spend more than intended. Try to avoid looking at things that you know are above your budget. If your limit for a wedding dress is $2,000, don’t try on a dress that costs $6,000. Also, try to create a specific shopping list before you set foot in the store or talk to a vendor. (For example, “Craft store – 5 tubes of silver glitter, 1 pack of white feathers, 100 pearl beads, 2 clear glass vases”.) If at some point you feel that an estimate for a particular category was unrealistic and you want to spend more, look for other things that you can reduce. The Tips section can help you figure out where you can save money.

Dealing With Vendors

Unless your wedding is a completely do-it-yourself affair, you will probably be hiring vendors to provide services. How can you ensure that transactions go smoothly? First, it helps to shop around – this allows you to see who provides the services/goods most in line with what you want as well as who offers the best price. Choose at least three vendors to interview for each function (caterer, photographer, band, cake baker, etc). Discuss with them what you want (remember to make a list before the interview) and what their experience is. Also ask them to provide references of past customers. After the initial consultation, each vendor should give you an estimate of the price. Obviously, who offers the lowest price is important, but you will also want to consider your impression of them during the interview (Did they seem knowledgeable? Responsive to your desires?) and satisfaction of references. If the person you like the most doesn’t offer the cheapest price (or does offer the cheapest price, but it is still more than you want to spend), you can try to negotiate a lower price. It doesn’t always work, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. In order to book them, most wedding vendors require you to make a non-refundable deposit and sign a contract. Before you do, it is important to read the contract carefully and make sure you understand exactly what services and goods the vendor is providing, the cost, and the cancellation, and other policies. Get everything that was agreed to in writing – verbal promises can be easily forgotten. Once you find all of your vendors, don’t forget about them! It is a good idea to periodically check-in before the wedding to ensure that everything is on track.