How To Cut The Cost Of Your Wedding Budget?
Anita says…
Here are some of my personal favourite tips that might help those that want to smartly budget plan ahead. it doesn’t necessarily mean the wedding will be in poor taste, it will just be managed with things in perspective.
Even though some people would love to have all of their nearest and dearest at their wedding with a limitless budget, sometimes, circumstances prevent some bridal parties from having their dream wedding, and may have to settle for, and consider how to minimise the cost factor from the outset.
Did you know why so many people opt to have a destination wedding? It’s a sure guaranteed way of reducing your number of guests. It seems harsh, and wedding researchers have discovered that many couples suggested that the main reason for planning to have a destination wedding was in the hope that everyone would not attend as their own personal budgets would play a role in the decision to attend or not.
Reduce number of guests
If working within a budget you really need to think about who and why you want to invite the people on your guest list.
Right from the word go, you should consider keeping your number of guests attending your events as low as possible. If that is not totally possible, you could invite a smaller number of guests to the intimate ceremonies and then throw a reception bash for everyone to attend that you’d like to be part of your celebrations.
Remember the per head costs can escalate easily - the costs of menus, drinks per person, customised favour costs, personalised stationery, notwithstanding accommodation if that is to be provided too.
Venue selection
Generally the rule of thumb is that your venue and and your food and drinks are your single most expensive items on your budget, so if you’re looking at saving a dollar or two, i’d strongly advise that you examine the overall cost of your venue before signing on the dotted line.
When talking to venues ensure you know about any hidden costs or anything that they might give you complimentary to make the deal sweeter.
Ask the right questions about the full costs and make sure to look at 3-4 venues and do a like-for-like comparison spreadsheet, and the pros and cons analysis when selecting a venue that will fit into your budget.
Catering style and quantities
Deciding on your menu for all your different events can become quite mind-boggling when you have various events planned around your wedding occasion. Catering styles from buffets, to family service to silver service can respectively increase the cost of staffing if you don’t ask the question.
Typically, a silver service meal service style is the most elegant way of serving food. However, additional staff is required to handle this type of service. Buffet service is the most cost-effective method as less attention to detail is required.
The number of guests will also determine the number of tables required for any form of seated dinner, which then leads to calculating the number of floral centrepieces, the chair cover quantities if being outsourced, the order for personalised gifts, and if you’re sourcing customised tablecloths these do not come cheap even on a hire basis.
The implications of catering style can certainly affect your budgets, so do look at this very early on and take a decision that does not break the bank.
Reduce number of hours/days for all events
Inevitably, the longer the hours for hosting your events you do have to consider the cost implications for food, drink, entertainment and staffing as a primary outlay, and each event incurs its own overall costs. Then comes elements such as number of hours a photographer or videographer will work for and how they charge for extra hours. And finally, if you’ve hired in a video booth or some other items on hire that need collecting after the event which ends past midnight so you have to pay a premium for late night collection, all can add to your wedding woes if you haven’t accounted for these costs that creep in without you being aware!
A sure way to guarantee your costs don’t spiral out of control is to be aware of these things and ask the right questions during the planning stages.
My advice would be to settle for a shorter duration and make it really fabulously enjoyable - it’s better to send guests home at the peak of their enjoyment rather than when there’s only a few last stragglers left!