The number one struggle couples have during wedding planning? Keeping the wedding budget in check. There are so many logistics involved and decisions to be made that it’s no wonder people get a bit stressed out while planning their big day. My best advice for avoiding a breakdown and going over budget? Get clear on your priorities and your numbers! Before you even start spending a penny, you have to ask yourself a few important questions first:
1. What type of wedding do you want? Intimate and casual? Large and lavish?
The size of your wedding will make a big impact on the overall price tag, so keep that in mind when making your decision. How you envision your big day will shape the amount of money it will cost to pull it off.
2. How much can you realistically afford to spend?
Sit down with your fiancé and your families to decide on your budget. How much is each party able to contribute from their savings? Tally up all the funds and that will give you a good starting place to work from.
3. Is that enough to cover your costs?
Keeping in mind that total number from all your contributing parties, get some estimates and look at the average pricing for weddings in your area. (You can visit CostofWedding.com to get some basic info for your wedding location.) Is your wedding fund going to be able to cover the total cost of what you’ve envisioned?
If your answer to the last question is no, you have a couple of options to consider. You could alter your vision for your day and make some sacrifices such as inviting fewer people or opting not to go for the expensive designer dress of your dreams to stay within your budget. Or, you could make a savings plan to put away money each month to cover the remaining expenses. If you want to rock the wedding savings plan, I’ve got some suggestions to make saving for your big day a piece of (wedding) cake!
1. Keep It Simple, Saver!
I love the KISS principle for creating a savings plan; the simpler you make it, the easier it is to stick to. Calculate how much you’ll need to save in total, and then divide that into the number of months you’ll be engaged to determine your monthly savings goal.
2. Examine Your Personal Budget
Do you have the extra cash in your monthly budget to put towards your wedding day? If not, see what areas you can choose to cut back on in order to free up some of your funds to go towards your wedding. You could also consider picking up a part time gig or starting a side hustle to bring in extra cash for your wedding fund.
3. Automate Your Savings
The easiest way to save is to automate! Many banks now offer automatic withdrawals where you can set how much money to move from your checking to your savings account each month. Just set it and forget it, and watch your wedding fund grow without having to feel the pain of removing the money from your account each month.
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Hopefully this plan will help you save, simply. Now when it comes to planning the details, booking vendors and making purchases for your big day, there are plenty of ways you can keep the costs down. Here are my top 5 tips for reducing your overall costs:
1. Trim the Guest List – Plain and simple, it will cost you more money to host more people. If you choose to host a large wedding and are working with a limited budget, you will have to make sacrifices in other areas to accommodate your guests.
2. When and Where – The date and time as well as the location all play a big role in determining wedding costs. Choosing an off-peak season to get married or opting for mid-week versus Saturday night could save you big money. Also, if you’re a city dweller in a major metropolitan area, it could serve you well to have a reverse-destination wedding in the suburbs to lower your costs.
3. Shop Savvy – Be sure to do your research and shop around for the best prices on items for your wedding. My motto? Never pay full price. Take advantage of rewards miles and online coupon codes, and don’t be afraid to hit up a thrift shop to save some moolah.
4. DIY if you Dare – There are likely some aspects of your day you could do yourselves for less, whether that’s creating décor or being your own DJ. Take on only what you can realistically handle or consider utilizing the talents of family and friends.
5. Buck Tradition – Don’t be afraid to say “no thanks” to wedding traditions that you don’t love or that add to your overall cost. Seek out inexpensive alternatives such as swapping expensive fresh floral arrangements for tissue paper flowers or opting to serve donuts instead of a luxe multi-tiered wedding cake.
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Overall, you should do what feels most comfortable and practical to you and your future spouse. Do what you can with what you have – I promise that no matter what the centerpieces look like it will still be one of the happiest days of your life!
Download TCM’s checklist for saving on a tight budget here
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Read the original article on Invibed. Copyright 2016. Invibed is an online community for successful millennials who are building wealth and creating their dream lives. Follow Invibed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Jessica Bishop is the editor and founder of TheBudgetSavvyBride.com, a site that provides realistic inspiration and practical advice for planning a beautiful wedding on a budget you can actually afford. Visit the site to get all sorts of wedding budget tips, doable DIY projects, free printables, fun giveaways and more! Connect with BSB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for more budget savvy wedding goodness.
July 6, 2016 at 1:20 pm
I love these! I ended up with a Wednesday morning wedding with brunch! Not only was it much cheaper with a mid-week day, it was extremely unique and creates a fun story for us. I still get weird looks when people find out that I chose a Wednesday morning, but I love it! Plus, waffles?!? Yes please.
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July 6, 2016 at 10:38 pm
Love it! And love waffles! Ours was supposed to be a brunch, but the brunch space ended up getting renovated during our date, so they worked with us on an alternate plan. We still have biscuits and cinnamon buns though!
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July 6, 2016 at 11:04 pm
I’m very glad that we had a wedding within our budget–I thought it was actually really fun finding ways to keep the event inexpensive!
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July 14, 2016 at 7:31 pm
OMG Me too! It’s like a scavenger hunt for wasted money!
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July 7, 2016 at 2:47 am
What awesome tips! I tried to save where I could when it came to wedding planning, for sure.
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July 14, 2016 at 7:31 pm
It’s getting so close too, right??
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July 7, 2016 at 3:41 am
These are such great tips! I wish I’d had a list like this to refer to 10 years ago! 🙂 (Actually I wish we’d just eloped. Haha!!)
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July 14, 2016 at 7:31 pm
haha thats great Tawni!
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July 7, 2016 at 9:52 pm
Such great tips! I’m currently planning my wedding and it’s definitely overwhelming. We ended up booking on a friday and it saved us a LOT of money!
<a href="http://labellesirene.blogspot.com">La Belle Sirene</a>
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July 7, 2016 at 9:53 pm
Such great tips! I’m actually planning my wedding right now and it’s definitely overwhelming! We ended up booking for a friday and it saved us ALOT of money
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July 14, 2016 at 7:30 pm
that’s a great tip!
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July 12, 2016 at 12:56 pm
Weddings are so fun to plan! Its crazy that the average wedding cost is SO expensive now a days! These are all helpful tips!
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July 14, 2016 at 7:30 pm
Yeah it’s like $35,000!
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July 12, 2016 at 3:18 pm
Great tips, My cousin is planning there wedding and it seem to be so much work and a lot of money!!! I should share these tips with them.
http://xoxobella.com
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July 14, 2016 at 7:30 pm
The cost definitely creeps up out of no where!
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July 12, 2016 at 4:17 pm
Such great tips to keep in mind! I can’t imagine having to plan right now!www.kayleighskloset.com
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July 12, 2016 at 5:16 pm
I am in school to be a Wedding Planner, I love hearing peoples tips and trick!
Sydney | http://styledbys.ca
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July 14, 2016 at 7:29 pm
That’s so cool Sydney! Hope you enjoyed!
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July 12, 2016 at 5:44 pm
These are some great ideas. I think managing your guest list is a HUGE key to keeping your budget in line.
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July 14, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Same!
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July 12, 2016 at 9:38 pm
I have two friends that are a planning for weddings right now. I’ll have to refer them to this post!
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July 14, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Hope they like Tiffany!
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July 13, 2016 at 1:43 am
Great tips! Cutting back on my guest list and a few DIYs definitely helped me save when I was wedding planning!
<a href="http://www.hashtagfablife.com">HashtagFabLife</a>
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July 14, 2016 at 7:29 pm
That’s awesome!
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July 13, 2016 at 2:08 am
Great tips!! I have some engaged friends so I think this is an excellent post to pass along to them.
xoxo Awww.southernbelleintraining.com
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July 14, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Hope they enjoy!
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July 13, 2016 at 2:10 am
I really hope I can elope one day! It feels like it would meet all my requirements! 😉
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July 14, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Girl I almost did! We debated it for almost the entire first year we were engaged! In the end I am happy we are doing it how we are… to each their own. 🙂 but eloping still sounds nice haha
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July 13, 2016 at 3:33 am
awesome post and great read for the future!
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July 14, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Thanks Audrey!
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July 14, 2016 at 1:21 pm
As someone who planned her own wedding, these are all great tips!!
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July 14, 2016 at 7:27 pm
Glad you liked it Summer!
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July 14, 2016 at 3:56 pm
Size is huge. You need to pay attention to the venue to. When I got married I didn’t realize it at the time, but when we started going over details like I wanted strawberries in the champagne glasses well they were going to charge me $5 a glass and would not let me do it myself (my wedding was 150 people so that was out) and I could not bring in any outside food besides their approved cake vendor. So I couldn’t even get alcohol infused chocolate covered strawberries unless I got it from them which was priced ridiculous.
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July 14, 2016 at 7:27 pm
That’s CRAZY! Yeah our venue wasn’t as flexible with bringing in outside stuff as I would’ve liked but they did so much for us in the end I am really happy with it!
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July 19, 2016 at 2:23 pm
Think are really helpful tips, I’ll have to remember them when it’s my time to walk down the aisle.
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