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Wedding Budget Tip #1: Create Your Wedding Budget

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This post is part of a recurring series here on BSB where we share wedding budget tips to help you save money on your wedding! This post is all about the importance of setting a wedding budget first if you want the chance of sticking to it! You can access all the wedding budget tips on a single page for your convenience and future reference.

Wedding Budget Tip #1: Create Your Wedding Budget
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Wedding Budget Tip #1: Create a budget and stick to it!!

Wedding Budget Tip #1:

Create your wedding budget based on your own personal financial situation (and then find a way to stick to it!)


How to Create a Wedding Budget

Before you hire a single vendor (or even make an appointment to meet with potentials) you should set your budget. Make the time to sit down and crunch the numbers to set your official wedding budget.

Trust me on this, friends! The only way you can stick to a budget is to make sure you set one before you start spending.

Before you get started, you might want to visit CostofWedding.com. This website allows you to see examples of what the average wedding spend is in your area.

It’s important to keep in mind that the figures listed on the site are averages, not medians. Don’t let the sticker shock convince you that you need to spend as much as the figures listed!

Of course, there are a few questions you should ask yourself before you start talking about your budget.

Decide What Kind of Wedding You Want

A small, intimate ceremony with immediate family only? A big celebration with a large group of family and friends?

The type of wedding you want to have will influence how much you’ll need to make it happen.

(Need help defining your vision for your big day? Check out Chapter 1: Defining Your Vision in my book, The Budget-Savvy Wedding Planner & Organizer.

Setting Your Wedding Budget

Once you’ve got an idea of the type of wedding you want to have, it’s time to talk money. Make plans to sit down with all the parties involved in contributing to your big day.

Use the time to find out how much everyone is pitching in.

It’s not necessarily fun to have these conversations, but it’s oh-so-important if you want to plan your wedding without going over budget!

Check out this post on how to navigate the wedding money conversations.

Making a Plan

Once you’ve factored in the amounts your family is (or isn’t contributing) you should make a savings plan.

Take into account your personal savings and your monthly budget. Determine how much money you can save over the period of your engagement to put towards your wedding.

To create your wedding budget, you’ll combine all the funds from various sources. Add the figures from your family contributions to your personal savings, plus the money you’ll save over the course of your engagement to reach your total budget.

Once you’ve calculated that budget total amount, then you’re in the clear to start making decisions and putting down deposits.

GET MORE ADVICE ON SETTING YOUR BUDGET, VISIT THIS POST:

How to Set Your Wedding Budget


Sticking to Your Wedding Budget

The biggest mistake you can make when it comes to your budget is starting to spend it before you know how much you’ve got to spend. That’s an almost guaranteed way to overspend!

If sticking to your budget is a priority, and especially if there’s a chance of you accumulating debt if you go over budget, we highly recommend taking this step prior to planning your big day.

When it comes to sticking to your wedding budget, the rule of thumb is to not spend more than you have. Simple in theory, more challenging in practice.

Do your best to avoid Pinterest overload and focus on what’s actually important to the two of you.

If you have to reduce your monthly expenses in order to afford the wedding of your dreams, that can help you save more to put towards your big day.

Or maybe you want to take up a side-hustle during your planning to help you pay for some of those splurges you’ve been dreaming of?

If all else fails, come back here to BSB to get some down-to-earth wedding inspiration from real weddings under $20,000!


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Wedding Budget Tip #1: Create a budget and stick to it!!
Wedding Budget Tip #1: Create a budget and stick to it!!

Wedding Budget Tips

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The Budget Savvy Bride is the #1 Online Wedding Planning Resource for couples who want to plan a beautiful wedding on a budget they can actually afford. Check out our best-selling book on Amazon, The Budget-Savvy Wedding Planner & Organizer!