|
|
|
|
|
A guide to help you plan and budget for a wedding
Planning your wedding can be one of the most stressful yet most fun periods of your life, I hope that this short article helps make things just a little bit easier for you ..
Budgeting for a wedding
Unless you are seriously wealthy and money is no object you need to budget for your wedding, whether your budget is £5000 or £50,000 you need to be in control
of you budget and know where the money is coming from (savings, a load, mum and dad ...) as all the little things soon add up. Download our free budget tracking spreadsheet
this will help you along the way.
Wedding Insurance
With the average wedding costing almost £20,000 it is worth thinking about protecting you investment. You want your big day to go without a hitch and all your plans to be realised on your special day. But even with all the planning in the world things may still go wrong and most couples cannot afford to pay twice for what is an expensive occasion, typical thing that can be insured against include: -
• Cancellation
• Ceremonial Attire for main wedding party
• Photographs and Videos
• Wedding Rings
• Wedding Presents
• Failure of Suppliers
• Wedding Cake(s)
• Transport
• Flowers
• Public Liability
• Wedding Equipment (Marquees etc)
• Against the possibility of the venue going bankrupt and leaving you in the lurch
You can contact our independent insurer to talk through your needs the complete this form,
Wedding Rings
One of only two things that you will have after the big day is over to remember you day and mark the occasion, take time to select your rings do it together. Think about – do you want silver, gold or platinum – do you want traditional or contemporary – do you want matching rings. Enjoy choosing you rings and use a reputable jeweller to ensure quality
The Wedding Dress and Suits
This will be one of the most fun and exciting parts of the whole wedding preparation for the bride. No matter who you are, there are a multitude of dresses to
be found on the high street or on-line, remember when using on-line retailers check out they are legitimate before parting with any of your hard earned cash or credit card
details.
For the men you need to consider whether you will be hiring suits or just wearing smart suites if hiring with they be traditional morning suits or more contemporary again
shop around as all towns (an all out of town retail parks) have a multitude of grooms wear rental specialists
Wedding Photography
The photographs are the second thing that you will have to remember the day and as such you should budget 10-15% of you overall budget for photography. You should be given
due consideration on what style of photography you want – traditional, contemporary or a blend of both, consider what you want to be included in your wedding photography package from you photographer.
Then use a reputable photographer from a society such as the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers), check out their find a professional photographer service, and ask the photographer about the packages, style and availability long before you get to price ... it is important that you pick a photographer that is right for you.
Remember you are not going to get a world class photographer capable of producing stunning images without paying a fair price for the service.
The Venue
Some people plan their whole day around their dream wedding location, while others start with a blank page. Either way, choosing your wedding venue is one of the most
important wedding planning decisions you'll make. Things you need to consider are: -
• Do you want everything to be in one place – ceremony, reception, evening do etc?
• Does the venue need to be close to the place the ceremony will take place?
• Does the venue need to have accommodation or have nearby accommodation?
• How big does the venue need to be?
• What is your budget?
• Entertainment facilities – stage, dance floor ...
• What type of venue? – Historical, sporting, restaurant, pub ...
• How easy are transport links, how easy will it be for your guest to get there?
Find a venue
Guests and invites
You have probably started thinking about this and it needs to be considered quite closely, are you having a smaller day time reception followed by a larger
informal night time do? Who do you invite to each as if not controlled this is where costs can spiral so take time to plan ... write down names and consider
the size of your venue, there is no point inviting 300 people when your dream venue can only cater for 100.
Once you have a list, you can start crossing people off or categorising people into daytime and evening guests. Remember be prepared to give and take a little when discussing people with your spouse to be and try to be as accommodating as possible, remember that it is your day and if there is somebody there that will really make your day, stand firm! And if you really don’t want your aunty Maud that you haven’t seen since you were three at the day time reception ... again stand firm!
When all that is sorted get you invites sent out, at least 8-10 weeks in advance to allow time for your guest to respond and get ready for you big day
And finally ...
There are many other things to consider when planning a wedding but I hope this short article has giving you a couple of things to be thinking about.
Billy Hogarth
BaSH Imaging
|
|
