How to Create a Realistic Wedding Budget
Getting married means having a special day on which you can celebrate the love between you and your even-more-special someone. However, realistically, it also means spending quite a bit of money. In fact, for many people, their wedding is one of the largest expenses they’ll encounter, out of pocket, in their life. For that reason, it’s incredibly important to develop a realistic wedding budget, ideally before you even start planning your wedding in detail.
Do Some Research
First of all, know that it’s difficult to create a realistic wedding budget if you have no idea of what weddings typically cost. Thus, start your journey by diving in and doing some research, and make that research as relevant to you and your situation as possible. For example, if you’re getting married in Maui, you’ll want to look at weddings in the same area and their costs, which you can do by searching online and talking to local wedding planners. Also, consider the expected size of your wedding and any other unique things you have planned to get a more accurate picture of what you can expect to spend.
Come Up with a Number
Once you have a reasonable expectation of about how much your wedding is likely to cost, it’s time to come up with a figure. This number should be an approximation of how much you would feel comfortable spending on your wedding. Don’t go with a number that makes you balk or that drains your entire savings. Instead, go for one that, while it may not provide for every wish and whimsy, is livable and leaves you with a little “wiggle room” so that it’s okay to go a bit above or, even better yet, below it.
Alternately, if costs are really a concern, you can make your figure a hard “bottom line,” meaning you refuse to budge and go even a penny above that amount. In this case, though, you may need to be a bit more generous when deciding how much you can reasonably afford to spend.
Finances are one of the most stressful parts of planning a wedding, but talk to a wedding planner, who can help you plan your day within your budget.
