Wedding Budget Planning
Free Wedding Planning Information Planning Canadian Weddings
Planning
A Wedding Budget
Discuss with your families if they
will be contributing to your wedding financially
in anyway. If you know up front that you will have help with some
of the wedding costs you can plan
your wedding and budget accordingly.
Have a list of everything that will be involved with the cost
of your wedding including any extras that may
pop up. Make sure it is clear to everyone who is responsible for
the payment of each item or wedding category.
Figure out how much people will be contributing and the total
amount of funds you have available to you for the wedding
budget. Also discuss what happens if the cost goes over
budget. You may wish to do a bit of preliminary
calling around in the area your wedding will
take place to get an idea of the average cost for wedding
products and services. If you have any friends that have recently
got married, ask them if they would mind sharing their expense
list with you to give you something to compare to. Keep
in mind that some aspects of a wedding have a
broad range of cost depending on your wedding
location, wedding formality, the number of wedding
guests invited, the quality of the products being used, and who
you hire for these wedding products and services.
You may find some wedding vendors who charge
more or less than our list depending on theses factors. The bottom
line is, always comparison shop for value in wedding
products and services and always get at least three quotes before
booking a vendor or signing a contract. You may wish to make use
of our Wedding
Vendor Tracking Form to keep all your wedding
vendor information organized. Keep all the wedding planning
worksheets together with any samples and/or other planning
information for easy access. You can also use our Wedding
Budget Worksheet to help coordinate your wedding
budget and to help you stay on track. Be sure to keep
all your receipts for any and all wedding purchases.
This will help keep you on track with your wedding budget
and you will need your receipts if you need to return items. Make
notes of companies' return policies on the back of receipts.
A lower budget wedding that
is fairly informal with a short wedding guests
list can costs about $15,000. The cost can rise to over $100,000
for a more extravagant wedding. The average expense
for a wedding in Canada is between
$20,000 and $30,000. Don't forget to include the honeymoon expenses
into the wedding budget so you won't be scrambling
for money or worse not be able to go on the wedding
honeymoon you really want.
Start By Asking Yourselves These
Questions
Do we prefer a religious
or nondenominational wedding ceremony?
Do we want a more traditional
or modern wedding ceremony and reception?
Which style do we want
our wedding to reflect; formal, informal or
semiformal?
Do we want the security
of an indoor wedding or do we have the facilities
available to us for an outdoor wedding?
Will the wedding
take place locally or in another city or even another country?
What kind of budget
do we have? Will anyone be helping to pay for our wedding
or will we be doing it ourselves?
What season would we
like to be married in and how much time do
we have before the wedding date?
Approximately how many
wedding guests would we like to invite? Make
a list of those you feel must be invited and those who you would
like to invite if you are able.
How much hands-on help
do we think we will have? Do we have a lot of dependable family
members and friends that would help with the work involved?
If you don't have a lot of help you may need to spend extra
money for the help of professionals.
Is there any personal/special
elements or events we want to incorporate into our wedding day?
(Bag Pipes, Special Singer, etc.)
How many attendants
would each of us like to have and who will they be?
Good communication is vital when making your
wedding budgeting decisions. Make sure how the
wedding expenses will be divided between everyone
is clearly outlined. Also keep in mind, the more people contribute
financially to your wedding, the more likely
they'll feel they have a right to say how things are planned
for your wedding. It's important that you don't
get carried away and exceed your wedding budget and
end up in debt. No one needs to start their new life together
with a large debt over their head from their wedding
day. As wonderful and meaningful your wedding
day will be, I can promise you that down the road you will not
be pleased with yourself if you're paying wedding
debt down in the future and it deprives you of peace of mind.
Note about Finances and Family When Planning a Wedding
Budget
Sometimes it
can be a little tense when merging the opinions of two families
on how the weddingshould
be planned, especially in regards to how wedding
budget will be spent. People can have very strong opinions
on the subject of money. When many people are involved in the
wedding planning , they will all want to be heard
and sometimes you can have a situation where two or more parties
don't agree with an issue. If you are relying on your family for
their financial support, you will need to listen to their wishes
with an open mind. It is usually best if you can manage to keep
the conversations light and even use a little humour to keep the
conversation on the positive side. It is not necessary to make
all the planning decisions at your first meeting.
You may need to leave some aspects of the wedding
plans undecided and let people think things over for awhile. You
can always meet together again at a future date to discuss these
items again. Sometimes people need to think things over without
the pressure of making a decision on the spot to accept an idea.
You will not likely be able to make everyone completely happy
on every aspect of the wedding plans and its
budget. Everyone will have to give and take somewhat,
but ultimately you will have your special wedding
day. Remember, you don't have to spend a lot of money to make
your wedding day memorable.
The two biggest things that will increase
your expenses for your wedding are the level
of formality or style of your wedding and the
length of your wedding guests list. One of the
first things you need to do after deciding on a wedding
budget is make a rough draft of your wedding
guests list. Make a list of those people
you must invite to the wedding and then an additional
list of those people that you would like to invite if possible.
Getting an idea of the number of wedding guests
will give you a better idea of the cost and size of your wedding.
You may have to decide which is more important to you, having
the style/formality of wedding you really want
versus having more people invited to your wedding.
Then make a final decision of a realistic amount of people you
can invite to your wedding and the style of wedding
you are going to plan. Use our Wedding
Guests Tracking Form to organize your wedding
guests list and to track your wedding guests'
replies. Just print off as many sheets as you need to accommodate
your wedding. You will need to know approximately
how many wedding guests you are inviting to book
the appropriate size facility for your wedding
ceremony and reception.
Sometimes the transition between everything
you really want for your wedding and what you
can really afford is a little disappointing. So plan
your wedding finances well and choose wisely
when spending your wedding budget money. Try
to keep each item within the allotted amount. If you do spend
more on an item, try to spend less on another item to make up
the difference. Comparison shopping can really help you safe
money and it never hurts to ask about discounts. Think
about the overall appearance of things. If you think something
will look thrown together or cheap, find an alternative or skip
it all together. Below are a few things that can help you deal
with and stick to a strict wedding budget.
Wedding
Budget Planning Tip
Most wedding vendors will require at least a
deposit when booking or ordering their products and/or services.
Be sure to get a receipt and keep all your receipts in a safe
place and track your current budget balances
as they change with payments. Also, making payments to your wedding
vendors is a great way to contact your wedding
vendors and at the same time you can confirm your wedding
details with them. This way any misunderstandings or mistakes
can be caught before it's too close to the wedding.
Wedding
Budget Ideas
Comparison shop and then comparison shop
again. It may take you some extra time to do this, but you can
save a bundle of money.
Don't be afraid to ask for a discount. You
never know and you have nothing to loose and only money to save.
Pick and choose what appeals to both your
taste AND your budget.
Start with the costs of the bigger items
that the prices are nonnegotiable, for example, the place of ceremony
and reception. Then, find ways to cut cost on other things.
Consider having a cash bar. If the place
of reception allows you to bring your own alcohol this may be
an option for you. Be sure you have your liquor licence, insurance
and someone to serve the bar.
Check out sales racks, coupons, flyers,
and even dollar stores, you never know what you will find. You
can even barter and trade items and services.
Buy in balk if you need a large quantity
of an item.
If you over spend in one category, ensure
you can save the same amount of money in another category before
you spend the extra.
Sample bridle gowns are often as much as
80% of the original price. Call bridal shops and ask if they have
a yearly clear out sale and when it us usually held.
Consider buying your wedding gown from the
Bride's Project. Used gowns are donated and all the proceeds are
given to the Cancer Society.
Ask your florist if they can use a taped
grid so fewer flowers will still look full and beautiful, saving
you money.
Locally grown flowers can save you as much
as 70% off your flower budget.
Rent flower vases for your centerpieces instead
of buying them.
Hand decorated wedding cakes with a lot of
detail can be very expensive. Consider using other details on
your cake like flowers or ribbon to save on labour charges.
Round shaped wedding cakes are generally
cheaper than other shapes like square, heart or octagon.
Consider using a smaller decorated traditional
wedding cake and use a slab cake to feed your guests.
Many places of reception charge a cutting
fee for wedding cakes, as much as $4.00 per wedding guests. To
avoid this fee, consider using cupcakes stacked for your wedding
cake. This is also a current trend.
Always keep your receipts in a save place
incase items go on sale or if you have to return them you will
be able to get your money returned to you in full.
Not everything costs money. Try to find
alternatives to spending money on items or services, for example,
asking a friend or relative with an antique car that you like
to drive you around to save on transportation costs or ask a friend
or relative to borrow an item that they have left from their wedding.
Look to your friends for items are something, old, new, borrowed
and blue. Be creative and don't be afraid to ask people if they
would mind helping you out or lending you items.
Review your wedding budget regularly and
try to stick to it as closely as possible. Don't get wound up
in the emotion of the wedding and trying to make it perfect, you
may be tempted to increase the cost of items.
Consider getting married in the off-season
months (January, February, March and November) or on a day of
the week other than Saturday (Friday or Sunday), when vendors
are less busy and their pricing maybe less expensive.
Wedding
Planning Step Links to Help You Plan Your
Wedding
Keep
in mind that some aspects of a wedding have a
broad range of cost depending on your wedding
location, wedding formality, the number of wedding
guests invited, the quality of the products being used, and who
you hire for these wedding products and services.
You may find some wedding vendors who charge
more or less than our list depending on theses factors. The bottom
line is, always comparison shop for value in wedding
products and services and always get at least three quotes before
booking a vendor or signing a contract. You may wish to make use
of our 
should
be planned, especially in regards to how wedding
budget will be spent. People can have very strong opinions
on the subject of money. When many people are involved in the
wedding planning , they will all want to be heard
and sometimes you can have a situation where two or more parties
don't agree with an issue. If you are relying on your family for
their financial support, you will need to listen to their wishes
with an open mind. It is usually best if you can manage to keep
the conversations light and even use a little humour to keep the
conversation on the positive side. It is not necessary to make
all the planning decisions at your first meeting.
You may need to leave some aspects of the wedding
plans undecided and let people think things over for awhile. You
can always meet together again at a future date to discuss these
items again. Sometimes people need to think things over without
the pressure of making a decision on the spot to accept an idea.
You will not likely be able to make everyone completely happy
on every aspect of the wedding plans and its
budget. Everyone will have to give and take somewhat,
but ultimately you will have your special wedding
day. Remember, you don't have to spend a lot of money to make
your wedding day memorable. 
people
you must invite to the wedding and then an additional
list of those people that you would like to invite if possible.
Getting an idea of the number of wedding guests
will give you a better idea of the cost and size of your wedding.
You may have to decide which is more important to you, having
the style/formality of wedding you really want
versus having more people invited to your wedding.
Then make a final decision of a realistic amount of people you
can invite to your wedding and the style of wedding
you are going to plan. Use our Wedding
Guests Tracking Form to organize your wedding
guests list and to track your wedding guests'
replies. Just print off as many sheets as you need to accommodate
your wedding. You will need to know approximately
how many wedding guests you are inviting to book
the appropriate size facility for your wedding
ceremony and reception. 
Wedding
Budget Planning Tip