Project Wedding: Budgeting

When I said yes, got over the excitement and starting wedding planning, the first thing I put my foot down on was my budget. The best way to budget for your wedding is to be realistic and only use the money you know you have, not what you're expecting in gifts. By 'money you have', I also mean money you would be expecting in income if you're at a steady job. 

Always weigh the options of what is something you want vs. something you need. Remember that you will have to deal with a lot of compromise with parents, your partner, their family and most of all, yourself. Compromising with yourself is the hardest thing to do. There are a lot of things you want to have but you can't have it all - it will always come down to making the decision based on your budget. You want to establish what the full budget of your event should be. 

I decided on this by asking my friends what they spent on their weddings and based my numbers on that as well as what I actually wanted to put as a hard and soft number. The hard number was my maximum and the soft is what the ideal cost would be if I could find the best deals. I started with listing down everything I needed to have while doing the research on costs. I did my research well in advance, called in venues, caterers, decorators etc. to get quotes from places I wanted to consider and copied over the average cost for those line items. I followed that with everything I wanted Make sure you put all the line items - every single one. Put the items you think you might want as well so you can have one large final number of what your cost will be. 

After all this, keep a 10% contingency for anything that might happen last minute and then remove all the things you want but can't have. This is where it gets hard. You want to make sure you choose what needs trump others and run that list by your bridesmaids and BFFs to make sure you make the best decisions. 

As you pay your deposits, keep track under a second column of the amount that is paid, save your invoices to have a record and on the day of the wedding or after the wedding, when the rest of the money has to be paid off, you will be on track, not over budget and have your totals balance. 

I also saved money by DIY-ing a lot of things. There are some things that I have decided to just buy instead of make because the time it takes to make and the cost of purchasing tools and materials. This is the biggest advice that I can give from my end. Make sure to take the time to decide if it is cheaper to DIY something or to buy it. Compare against one another to make the best decisions - remember that your own time does not cost you anything but if you don't have time, it does take a toll on you.

What are some other ways to keep track of your budget during your wedding planning process? I would love to know and use some tips from you guys!

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