Your Niagara Falls wedding budget
Soon after you get engaged, many people are going to tell you that you need to have a wedding budget – and to stick to it – I can attest that it will be the best piece of advice you receive as you plan your Niagara Falls or Niagara-on-the-Lake wedding. But how do you go about creating a wedding budget? What are the questions to be asking? How much do weddings cost? Ahhhhhhh…
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Ball Park It
The first thing you’ll need to do is find out what things cost in Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake for your wedding. You don’t want to draw up a budget for a $10,000 wedding only to find out the venue you want to be married in costs $1,500. Before you start putting numbers on paper, make some calls or go on the Internet and get pricing. As well, if you have your heart set on a June wedding in Niagara Falls, expect to pay a premium than if you were thinking about a March or November wedding.
Contributors
After you’ve got some figures on what everything is going to cost for your Niagara Falls or Niagara-on-the-Lake wedding, you’re going to need to know where the money is coming from. Talk to all of your parents to see if they are willing to contribute to the cost of your wedding. Not all parents can afford to pay for the entire wedding as they might have done in the 1950s. Some might be able to cover the bar tab or the flowers, etc.
Prioritize
Now that you’ve got an idea of where your funds are coming from and the amount you’re going to need, you must prioritize your money. Which elements of your wedding are vitally important to you? Can you forgo some flowers to get a better photographer? What about your dress? Can you pick one in the $800-mark and save $1,000, which you can put towards catering? You must spend some time with your fiancée deciding what is important to the two of you. A note: we strongly encourage you not to skimp on photography for a whole host of reasons, namely they are a professional and the most cherished memories you will have from your wedding day is photos.
Savings
As we mentioned with the time of year to get married, consider all the ways you can save money (and check out previous blogs for ideas). Can your flowers do double duty? What about cutting back on invitations and using e-correspondence instead? With a bit of research and tenacity, you’ll be able to find many ways to save. As well, take second and third looks at your guest list. At first glance, you will want everyone to come. But if you’re paying $150 a head for the meal, eliminating 10 guests you haven’t spoken to or seen in five years is going to save $1,500. If you don’t want to scrimp on your big day, that’s completely understandable. Some people may choose to ask for money from friends & family, whereas others might look into the benefits of denver hard money loans. The choice is yours and as long as you’re having a great day, that’s all that matters!
Track It
There are many ways to track your spending so all your figures are up-to-date. Download a spreadsheet from a wedding site or use one of the many apps that are available. All you have to do is plug in what you’ve spent to determine what you have remaining to stay on budget. One thing you might want to build into your budget is an overflow or splurge column so if, once you get into your wedding planning, you decide you simply must have a certain element, you have an extra cushion already built into your budget for it.
Patti Wallington is the premiere wedding planner in Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Please enjoying reading this blog and the others we have listed. We offer a full slate of wedding services for Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake to both Niagara couples and those who live out of town.
