Thank you to our freelance writer Leila Dorari for this amazing article…..
Most of the girls (and boys, no matter what they say about it) dream about the perfect wedding.
It is the day when you finally become one with the most important person in your life and say yes to united life with the one you love.
It is a celebration of love and joy, and your loving family and friends are there to share that special moment with you.
You have a ceremony, you have a reception, people dance, laugh, have fun, join you and your significant other in rejoicing on your special day.
Memories are made in everyone’s hearts.
Your dreams actually can come true.
Planning the budget
It may seem that you can plan as you go along, but that way you will end up spending much more than you can afford and that is something you don’t want.
Sit down with your loved one and make a list of things you need, want, dream about.
It is very important to know the prices upfront because you can plan your budget much more efficient.
Choose several venues and ask for the prices. Call the local caterers and ask about their prices and menus.
You don’t have to make any choices yet, just to find out approximate costs of food and beverages.
Visit local confectionaries to ask about wedding cakes. You can see for yourself what they are offering and whether you like it or not.
Go to see dresses and choose several you will ask the prices for and make the final choice later.
Do the same for jewellery, photographers and flowers.
Of course, you want your dear friends and family to be there with you.
Make your guest list and calculate costs per person.
That will give you an excellent picture of how big your budget has to be.
Remember, you are collecting prices, not making final choices.
Calculate in unexpected costs that will emerge for sure.
Making priorities
When you find out about prices, put them all down.
You still don’t have to choose anything, just put down the price range for every item.
That way you can have your “minimal and maximal” budget and everything in between.
Now, it is time to set your priorities. Try to remember when you attended someone else wedding and what are the things you remember today about it.
Ask your friends and family the same. You will see that everyone remembers emotions, food, music, the good time they had and almost no one remembers centrepieces and decorations.
Let that be your guide. Don’t be sorry to spend money on great food and drink, choose the best possible band that will entertain your guests and cut costs when it comes to decorations.
No one says you should not have decorations, just don’t overdo them.
Funds
Not that long ago, wedding tradition was that parents of the bride pay for the wedding.
But these days are gone. Get both your families together and discuss how much they can give.
Calculate that in with what both of you can afford and you will have a sum of money which you can spend.
It would be ideal if funds can cover all the costs of the wedding and are sufficient to fill your budget, but let’s face it, it’s just not always possible.
That is where affordable wedding loans will come very handy.
You can use it to fill in what is missing from your budget or you can use them to cover all the costs.
Be sure you calculated your honeymoon in your budget as well.
Now that you have your budget filled and all costs covered, you can start making choices.
Fun part
Now your wishes can come first. Start with the things that will need the most time to prepare.
Start with your dress. Choose the one you will feel like a princess in.
Dresses need to be adjusted to your body, so don’t leave that for the last moment, as it will take some time to make it perfect which will include several rehearsals too.
The same goes for the groom’s suit and bridesmaids’ dresses.
Choose your venue for the big day’s reception and choose your caterer and the menu you like the best and start sending invitations to your friends and family.
It is a nice tradition to prepare a little memento for each guest and you can be really creative there.
Think about what will best describe the emotion you like everyone to take with them from your wedding and choose a little “thank you” gift for everyone that will show your appreciation for their attendance.
Planning a wedding is stressful enough even if you don’t have to worry about your budget, but just imagine how stressful it is when your budget is unknown and it exceeds your funds considerably.
That is why it is so important to plan ahead and have your budget ready in time.
And remember that your wedding is a day you will say final yes to the one you love.
Be happy and have fun, that is the most important thing about your wedding.
