Congratulations on your engagement!
Welcome to the world of wedding planning!
You may be a little confused as to where to begin, or you may have thrown yourself wholeheartedly into the process already, and now feel like you are drowning in lists of venues, Pinterest inspiration boards and 50 potential shades of green Bridesmaid dresses.
Wherever you are in the process, we can help. We’re going to share all the tips and tricks we have learnt from years of planning and co-ordinating weddings, including our own, and give you plenty of advice to help you through. So put down the Cricut machine, shut down Pinterest and give this a read before you go any further.
To Begin……
The first point of wedding planning should always be working out your budget. 6y7uuuuuuuuuudrf Even if you have a fairly large budget to work with, unless it is truly limitless, you need to know what you are working with from the very beginning. Without a set budget from the start, that you stick to throughout, you risk –
- Buying things that don’t match and then regretting it later.
- Planning a wedding that you later realise you can’t afford, causing you to end up in debt, or having to change your plans.
- Working a ton of overtime (and then having less time to spend as a couple, causing more stress), because you didn’t realise how much all the little bits and pieces you had bought had cost.
Having a budget, ideally split into different amounts for each aspect of the wedding – venue, food, décor, photography, outfits etc – can really help you to keep your spending in check.
When coming up with your budget, consider what money you already have (this could include contributions from family members, so have those conversations now – don’t just assume Mum and Dad will pay for your dress because they always said they would, talk to them and see if they are still wanting to contribute, and if so, how much). Then, work out how much money you can save in the run up to the wedding (this may affect when you choose to set your date), but don’t stetch yourselves too tight – allow for emergencies like a broken car or an unexpected vets bill, and the odd treat, as you still need to live in the time before the wedding.
You may need to do a bit of research to get a realistic idea of prices. Unless you are already involved in the industry, you may well be surprised (and not pleasantly) at the cost of wedding venues or photographers, for example, or how much it actually costs to feed a three course meal to 100 guests. Having a rough idea of prices can help you decide how long you will need to save, or to decide that your plans of getting married in your dream castle venue just aren’t possible (but, trust me, there are so many alternatives which will be just as beautiful).
Don’t forget to budget for these costs, which often end up taking people by surprise –
- Wedding dress alterations (most dresses need to altered to perfectly fit your body, and alterations can cost hundreds of pounds – also consider this when dress shopping, as the cheaper dress that needs more altering could end up costing more than the more expensive dress you had your eye on).
- Corkage charges at your venue (you may think at this stage that you will just buy your own alcohol, but it can cost a lot more when you factor in corkage charges, which may also apply to alcoholic wedding favours).
- Hair and make-up trials, potentially for bride and bridesmaids.
- Costs for your wedding party – are you going to pay for dresses/suits, hair and make-up, jewellery, shoes, gifts when you ask them to be in your wedding party, gifts for being in your wedding party etc etc etc (lots of these things are completely optional – don’t go in for all the trends just because you think you should).
- Accommodation the night before the wedding, and the night of the wedding.
- Food for the morning of the wedding when you are getting ready – providing breakfast for 6 bridesmaids, mother of the bride, bride and two flower girls soon adds up, and then repeat for the Groom and groomsmen.
Of course, there may be many more extra costs, these are just some of the ones which frequently catch people out. A contingency fund for unexpected extras could be a very good idea to incorporate into your budget.
Congratulations on your engagement!
Welcome to the world of wedding planning!
You may be a little confused as to where to begin, or you may have thrown yourself wholeheartedly into the process already, and now feel like you are drowning in lists of venues, Pinterest inspiration boards and 50 potential shades of green Bridesmaid dresses.
Wherever you are in the process, we can help. We’re going to share all the tips and tricks we have learnt from years of planning and co-ordinating weddings, including our own, and give you plenty of advice to help you through. So put down the Cricut machine, shut down Pinterest and give this a read before you go any further.
To Begin……
The first point of wedding planning should always be working out your budget. 6y7uuuuuuuuuudrf Even if you have a fairly large budget to work with, unless it is truly limitless, you need to know what you are working with from the very beginning. Without a set budget from the start, that you stick to throughout, you risk –
- Buying things that don’t match and then regretting it later.
- Planning a wedding that you later realise you can’t afford, causing you to end up in debt, or having to change your plans.
- Working a ton of overtime (and then having less time to spend as a couple, causing more stress), because you didn’t realise how much all the little bits and pieces you had bought had cost.
Having a budget, ideally split into different amounts for each aspect of the wedding – venue, food, décor, photography, outfits etc – can really help you to keep your spending in check.
When coming up with your budget, consider what money you already have (this could include contributions from family members, so have those conversations now – don’t just assume Mum and Dad will pay for your dress because they always said they would, talk to them and see if they are still wanting to contribute, and if so, how much). Then, work out how much money you can save in the run up to the wedding (this may affect when you choose to set your date), but don’t stetch yourselves too tight – allow for emergencies like a broken car or an unexpected vets bill, and the odd treat, as you still need to live in the time before the wedding.
You may need to do a bit of research to get a realistic idea of prices. Unless you are already involved in the industry, you may well be surprised (and not pleasantly) at the cost of wedding venues or photographers, for example, or how much it actually costs to feed a three course meal to 100 guests. Having a rough idea of prices can help you decide how long you will need to save, or to decide that your plans of getting married in your dream castle venue just aren’t possible (but, trust me, there are so many alternatives which will be just as beautiful).
Don’t forget to budget for these costs, which often end up taking people by surprise –
- Wedding dress alterations (most dresses need to altered to perfectly fit your body, and alterations can cost hundreds of pounds – also consider this when dress shopping, as the cheaper dress that needs more altering could end up costing more than the more expensive dress you had your eye on).
- Corkage charges at your venue (you may think at this stage that you will just buy your own alcohol, but it can cost a lot more when you factor in corkage charges, which may also apply to alcoholic wedding favours).
- Hair and make-up trials, potentially for bride and bridesmaids.
- Costs for your wedding party – are you going to pay for dresses/suits, hair and make-up, jewellery, shoes, gifts when you ask them to be in your wedding party, gifts for being in your wedding party etc etc etc (lots of these things are completely optional – don’t go in for all the trends just because you think you should).
- Accommodation the night before the wedding, and the night of the wedding.
- Food for the morning of the wedding when you are getting ready – providing breakfast for 6 bridesmaids, mother of the bride, bride and two flower girls soon adds up, and then repeat for the Groom and groomsmen.
Of course, there may be many more extra costs, these are just some of the ones which frequently catch people out. A contingency fund for unexpected extras could be a very good idea to incorporate into your budget.
Congratulations on your engagement!
Welcome to the world of wedding planning!
You may be a little confused as to where to begin, or you may have thrown yourself wholeheartedly into the process already, and now feel like you are drowning in lists of venues, Pinterest inspiration boards and 50 potential shades of green Bridesmaid dresses.
Wherever you are in the process, we can help. We’re going to share all the tips and tricks we have learnt from years of planning and co-ordinating weddings, including our own, and give you plenty of advice to help you through. So put down the Cricut machine, shut down Pinterest and give this a read before you go any further.
To Begin……
The first point of wedding planning should always be working out your budget. 6y7uuuuuuuuuudrf Even if you have a fairly large budget to work with, unless it is truly limitless, you need to know what you are working with from the very beginning. Without a set budget from the start, that you stick to throughout, you risk –
- Buying things that don’t match and then regretting it later.
- Planning a wedding that you later realise you can’t afford, causing you to end up in debt, or having to change your plans.
- Working a ton of overtime (and then having less time to spend as a couple, causing more stress), because you didn’t realise how much all the little bits and pieces you had bought had cost.
Having a budget, ideally split into different amounts for each aspect of the wedding – venue, food, décor, photography, outfits etc – can really help you to keep your spending in check.
When coming up with your budget, consider what money you already have (this could include contributions from family members, so have those conversations now – don’t just assume Mum and Dad will pay for your dress because they always said they would, talk to them and see if they are still wanting to contribute, and if so, how much). Then, work out how much money you can save in the run up to the wedding (this may affect when you choose to set your date), but don’t stetch yourselves too tight – allow for emergencies like a broken car or an unexpected vets bill, and the odd treat, as you still need to live in the time before the wedding.
You may need to do a bit of research to get a realistic idea of prices. Unless you are already involved in the industry, you may well be surprised (and not pleasantly) at the cost of wedding venues or photographers, for example, or how much it actually costs to feed a three course meal to 100 guests. Having a rough idea of prices can help you decide how long you will need to save, or to decide that your plans of getting married in your dream castle venue just aren’t possible (but, trust me, there are so many alternatives which will be just as beautiful).
Don’t forget to budget for these costs, which often end up taking people by surprise –
- Wedding dress alterations (most dresses need to altered to perfectly fit your body, and alterations can cost hundreds of pounds – also consider this when dress shopping, as the cheaper dress that needs more altering could end up costing more than the more expensive dress you had your eye on).
- Corkage charges at your venue (you may think at this stage that you will just buy your own alcohol, but it can cost a lot more when you factor in corkage charges, which may also apply to alcoholic wedding favours).
- Hair and make-up trials, potentially for bride and bridesmaids.
- Costs for your wedding party – are you going to pay for dresses/suits, hair and make-up, jewellery, shoes, gifts when you ask them to be in your wedding party, gifts for being in your wedding party etc etc etc (lots of these things are completely optional – don’t go in for all the trends just because you think you should).
- Accommodation the night before the wedding, and the night of the wedding.
- Food for the morning of the wedding when you are getting ready – providing breakfast for 6 bridesmaids, mother of the bride, bride and two flower girls soon adds up, and then repeat for the Groom and groomsmen.
Of course, there may be many more extra costs, these are just some of the ones which frequently catch people out. A contingency fund for unexpected extras could be a very good idea to incorporate into your budget.