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Wedding Advice

January 11, 2016

DC Wedding Planner | How to Create a Wedding Budget

First off, CONGRATS to all of the new couples who put a ring on if this Holiday Season! As the most popular time to get married, a new wave of brides and grooms are now working away at planning their special day.

Such an exciting time!

Photo Cred: Linda Wang Photography

Photo Cred: Linda Wang Photography

As I mentioned in a previous post, deciding on a wedding budget and keeping track of all wedding day related expenses is the #1 way to ensure you have a stress free wedding.  So now let’s take it a step further to see how you should be breaking down your wedding budget to ensure you stay on track.

How does one create a wedding budget?

You can’t create a realistic budget without knowing how much things cost in your area. For example, you don’t want to create a wedding budget and then get stunned when you find out that photography packages start at $3,500 in your area when you only budgeted $1,000. Do plenty of research, invest your time in meeting with all kinds of experts, getting quotes in writing, and really knowing how much everything costs. Then sit down and look at your available funds to figure out what kind of wedding want to begin planning for.

What’s important to you?

Make a Priority List of which wedding elements are important to you such as catering, entertainment, wedding attire, and photography etc. It may take a few steps and some extra time, but it’s so worth it to create a good, flexible budget that keeps you on track, yet still able to spend a little more than you planned for here and there without a ton of guilt. The best budgets are just there to guide you, not make you feel guilty or stressed – they’re designed to keep you from losing control.

Is there a time of year when you can really save money?

Absolutely! Wedding November through April are the best time to look for lower-priced packages in every area of the wedding industry. Just be cautious about planning your wedding during your region’s rainy, stormy, icy, snowy or hurricane seasons just to save a buck; sometimes it’s not always worth grabbing an insanely low price package when there’s so much weather threat to your day and to your guests’ traveling safety.

Last but not least, don’t forget to include these expenses in your overall budget:

  • Marriage license
  • Wedding Stationary
  • Postage
  • Meals on the Wedding Day
  • Alterations
  • Pre-Wedding Party Attire
  • Welcome Bags
  • Gifts for your Wedding Party
  • Vendor Meals
  • Gratuities
  • Service Fees & Taxes
Photo Cred: James Answerson Photography

Photo Cred: James Anderson Photography

Tiffany Rivera is a Wedding Planner & Event Planner serving DC, Maryland, Virginia and beyond!

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  1. […] you jump into looking at venues or purchasing wedding dresses, sit down with your fiancé and map a budget for the wedding. Determine if either of your families will be contributing to the wedding expenses, what those […]

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