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This is a very important question. Think about it. How much can
you realistically spend? Well, this might help a bit. Here's a
list of questions you need to ask yourself.
- How much money do we have saved?
- What is our combined monthly salary?
- How much money can we put in our wedding fund, monthly?
- How much money are we willing to spend on our total wedding?
(think maximum)· How much financial aid will we get from
our parents?
- How many guests should we invite, 50, 150, 300? (guess the
maximum & stick to it)
- Will we be able to afford a honeymoon right after the wedding
or will we be better off financially postponing it for later?
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| MONTHLY
PAYMENTS TO CONSIDER!! |
|
This list
contains the monthly costs that we all deal with. Don't forget
you'll need extra money for all the little incidentals that come
along.
|
- Mortgage/Rent
- Food, cleaning
supplies, personal products, etc.
- Bell, Cable,
Hydro, etc.
- Travel
Expenses: gas, car repairs, car payment, parking, etc.
- Insurance:
life, car and home
- Property
Taxes
- Bank Loans
- Credit
Card Payments
- Entertainment
- Other
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$_______________
$_______________
$_______________
$_______________
$_______________
$_______________
$_______________
$_______________
$_______________
$_______________
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| GRAND
TOTAL |
$_______________ |
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| WEDDING
COSTS TO CONSIDER |
- Start off
by picking a maximum figure that you are willing to spend on
your total wedding budget.
- Then multiply
that figure by the percentages given in the 2nd column.
This is only a guideline to show you how to split up your budget between all the typical services. Every couple is different and may choose to spend less or more, according to what is important to them. If you're doing your own hair and makeup, putting together your own flowers, etc, you can take that extra money and upgrade the services that are more important to you or even hire a wedding planner or "Day of" Coordinator to handle any problems.
For this example, we've chosen $20,000.00 for our wedding budget.
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|
SERVICES
|
%
OF TOTAL
|
COST
|
| Total
Wedding Budget |
100% |
$20,000
|
| Reception
Site, Food & Drinks |
50%
|
$10,000
|
| Photography |
10%
|
$2,000
|
| Attire & Accessories for Couple |
10%
|
$2,000
|
| Videography |
5% |
$1,000 |
| Disc Jockey |
5% |
$1,000 |
| Flowers |
5% |
$1,000 |
| Transportion |
5% |
$1,000 |
| Gifts & Favours |
3% |
$600 |
| Wedding
Cake |
2% |
$400 |
| Officiant |
2% |
$400 |
| Invitations |
2% |
$400 |
| Hair & Makeup for Bride |
1% |
$200 |
|
| WHERE
IS ALL OF THIS MONEY GOING TO COME FROM? |
| Hopefully,
you'll be lucky enough to get some financial help from family. If
not, and the two of you are paying for the wedding by yourselves,
you should have some money saved and enough money coming in to live
on and to spend because you're gonna spend large. Using credit cards
is a good way of protecting yourselves from unhappy dealings with
vendors, but remember all that money has to be paid back with
interest. Please keep in mind that no matter how much you spend,
it's all for one day. Yes, this is the biggest and most important
party you'll ever host in your life, but when you wake up the next
morning you'll wonder why you just spent a year's salary on a 10
hour party. |
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| WHAT
IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE DAY FOR YOU? |
| A
great way to save money is to set priorities. Ask yourselves what
are some of the things you don't mind splurging on and what services
can you forego. Do you want a beautiful venue, but don't care if
you have a limo? Do you want a lovely wedding gown, but don't require
a live band? Spend that little extra on what you want and if you
don't fancy the extras, don't get them. Although your head may be
spinning right now, you can do it as long as you plan your wedding
according to your budget allotment. We can't stress enough how important
it is to know your wedding budget before you start and stick to
it. There are more arguments at the beginning of married life over
money than anything else, so don't go overboard. We want you to
come back to our website when you're planning your 25th wedding
anniversary. |
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| TIP:
You'll notice that with every vendor you talk to and every contract
you sign, that there are minimum amounts that you have to spend.
Naturally, there are no maximum amounts anywhere in sight. Everyone
in the industry knows that there is a big chance that couples will
upgrade their packages as the wedding date draws near. If you can
afford to spend more and think the upgrade is worth it, then go
for it. If you could use that extra money more wisely in your everyday
life, forget about the upgrade and pocket the money. |
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