Wedding Planning Tips - Set Your Budget

 Determining your wedding budget is not an easy task. Wedding preparation is just like hosting the biggest party in your lifetime. If you want to figure out your wedding budget, you should tally up your saving accounts. You should make sure that you do not go beyond the planned budget limit. During the wedding planning process, budgeting will help you to choose the best thing without crossing your budget limit. It is recommended that you should not forget to add unexpected costs to your wedding budget.

Sometimes, expected things may lead to crossing your budget limit. Therefore, it is a good idea to prepare your budget in advance so that you do not face any problems later on. Preparing your budget for your wedding is really a tedious job and it is recommended that you should do it in advance. Engagement is also a part of the wedding and you should add engagement expenses to the wedding budget. An engagement ring is precious and it is one of the biggest expenses. You should design your own engagement ring to customize your ring and stay inside your budget. In order to prepare your budget, you should put in a lot of effort and energy. Here, in this article, we are going to discuss various tips and tricks to plan your wedding budget and stick to it.

Start Counting Your Savings 

The amount that you will spend on your wedding is totally proportional to the three different sources of money:

• Your Savings and Your Fiancé's Savings

It may sound simple, but this task needs a lot of effort. In an ideal scenario, you and your fiancé should set aside your three months living expenses. In cases, you or your fiancé is facing job loss or health issues then you should consider taking out money from your retirement funds. After that, you should subtract this amount from your total savings in your savings account.

The total amount that you should set aside for your wedding from your total income should be 10 percent of your total earning every month. Once you have decided your wedding budget, you should set that amount at one side. You should open up a separate account to handle your wedding expenses so that you can closely keep your eyes on your wedding spending.

• Start Tracing Your Expenses

You should generate a spreadsheet and maintain three separate columns. You should mark these three columns as estimated, modified, and actual. The total estimated amount will be driven by researching and determining big expenses at the wedding. We consider the estimated amount because the proposal from vendors may vary. You have to enter the estimated amount, modified amount, and finally enter the actual amount that you have paid to the vendors. You should precisely adjust the estimates and make you do expend too much. You should always remember your budget and never exceed that. You should also make a separate list of upfront payments and the remaining amount that you have to pay after the wedding. You should create a spreadsheet that will help you in tracking your expenses.

• Get Ready For Surprises

Before signing any contract with your vendors, you should consider checking your budget. Sometimes, small items can significantly increase the number of your expenses. Sometimes, the expenses that seem small can easily increase your spending. Therefore, you should always be ready for surprises. We have already mentioned that your budget should be decided in such a way that it is possible for you to manage surprises. If you think that something is not wanted, then cut it down from your wedding planning.

• Charge Responsibly

Sometimes, people start using their credit cards without considering their wedding budget. Usually, it ends by going overboard. You should not pay that amount from your credit card which is impossible for you to pay back in just 30 days. It is recommended that you should spend responsibly, especially if you are using your credit card.

• Try To Save

Sometimes, your estimated budget is larger than your expenses. Also, you should try to save whenever it is possible. There are different ways to save money and stay inside your budget. You should wisely choose the venue. Raw space may seem attractive, but you have to spend a lot to make them look beautiful for wedding purposes. Another good way to stay inside your budget is to wisely choose your guest list. With the increasing number of wedding attendants, your expenses will keep increasing. Therefore, you should cut down unnecessary people.