We know, friends, talking about the wedding budget is no fun! Creating your own budget can also be difficult, if you don’t know where to start. Depending on which service our clients choose, we are sometimes reviewing the budgets they have already created or creating it for them. So, it’s safe to say that we create a lot and see a lot of budgets. We’re covering the 4 mistakes to avoid when you take on this task yourself!
Extra Costs
We’ve seen it before-clients not factoring in extra fees, taxes or gratuity. Often, your venue or caterer will give you a flat minimum, but their contract states there are extra services fees to consider. This can easily range from 18-24%, plus county or state fees, which is a huge chunk! Make sure you are reading all contracts to fully understand what you are financially responsible for when considering every aspect of your budget. Gratuity is also a big thing to consider. You’ll want to show appreciation for your vendor team, so be sure to account for that!
“But they won’t come”
If we can count how many times we’ve heard clients reference this….whew! Yes, there are always people that you might know for certain aren’t able to come to your wedding, BUT they can surprise you. We never advise for couples to for sure count people out, especially when creating your wedding budget. You should be overestimating and budgeting for your entire guest list. That way, as RSVPs trickle in, your numbers lower instead of the other way around. So, if you are inviting 150 people, but are hoping to end up with 120 people, you should be budgeting for 150 people. You can receive a catering quote for 120 people if you’d like, but have the number for 150 as a buffer will help you in the long run!
No Contingency
Going off of the above, you must have a contingency part of your budget. By including your total guest list in the budget, you should be able to do this without a problem. You don’t want to be too rigid and ‘strapped’ for cash in every area of the budget, where you are all stressed and wonder how you’re going to pay for it. There can also be little extras that happen throughout the planning that you might need to take care of as well (bridal beauty trials are typically not factored into contract prices, FYI).
More Guests = More $
It’s VERY common to see throughout the planning that family members want to add guests. You must add money to the budget if you are adding guests after creating your wedding budget initially. If your parents decide they want to add 10 people, you need to add that into what you are budgeting for food, flowers, rentals, etc, so there are no surprises later on.
We hope that these 4 mistakes to avoid help you when creating your wedding budget. Be sure to visit our past blog on How to Create Your Wedding Budget as well. We are here to help with any questions or give guidance throughout the planning!
