Plan Your Wedding Budget and Stick to it!
By Mabel Tan, founder of Bliss Concepts
Wedding budgeting – it is something important to all couples when they plan for their wedding, yet many end up “budgeting for the sake of budgeting” without sticking to it.
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1) Visualise your wedding. This includes the theme, colour, special effects, venue and settings.
2) Discuss with your partner about his/her ideals. Most of the time girls have more wedding desires than guys do. Thrash out what should be added or compromised.
3) Estimate the probable cost. This will require some homework to find out average costs based on your desires.
4) Reflect on your current income. Can both of you cope with the expected cost estimated in point three? Who is going to pay first? Who is going to track the expenses? Do you need to re-align your wedding desires and expectations to fit into your income.
5) Even when you have confirmed how much you can afford, do shop around for possible cost savings/substitutes. You can save more money and spend it on other items to enhance your wedding or simply save that money for your home or future kids.
How can you plan and stick to it?
Now that you have a tentative budget, the most important this is to follow it. Start by keeping track of your expenses.
1) Update your budget every time you make a purchase. It will be good to use an Excel sheet so you can tabulate your total projected spending after each purchase.
2) Make adjustments to your budget if necessary. If you overspent in certain areas, do trim in other, bearing in mind the full cost that you initially budgeted for.
3) Make decisions. Unless you have a lot of time to plan for your wedding and source for vendors, you have to be bold and make decisions. If you think you hit the right shop, just secure it. There is no way you can shop through all possible shops and get the biggest bargains. Go for the best value as it will keep you happy and save time. Remember, time is also an expensive asset.
4) Keep a buffer for unexpected items. Along the way, you may change your concept and that will mean you may spend more or less money on your wedding. Be ready to manage the full effects of your decision.
5) Have contingency plans. Be sure to always keep open, honest communications between yourselves and discuss any back-up strategies should unforeseen circumstances happen.
6) Protect yourselves against big risks. Events like illness and accidents cannot be controlled. But you can manage these risks, You will not want an unexpected medical bill running into the thousands while you have to pay for your wedding. Have proper insurance plans to protect yourself and your partner. It is the responsible thing to do.
Remember to relax and enjoy the process. You two are going to be one, and all setbacks and challenges can be solved.
Copyright © 2009 Bliss Concepts. All rights reserved.
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