In every event there has to be a budget set aside to help turn your vision/magic to a reality. (Click here if you missed last week’s topic on Origins of Wedding Traditions explained) Here are some helpful tips you may need to get started.
Before you begin looking at ceremony and reception venues or booking any services, you need to get the budget planned out. In some way or another, the budget will affect every decision of the wedding. Very early in the planning stages, you should initiate a very detailed discussion with whoever is paying as to the budget for the wedding.
To start, you will want to figure out who is paying for the wedding- your parents, his, the two of you, or a combination thereof. Knowing this will help you establish the amount of money that you will have available and to set your priorities accordingly; some details may be nonnegotiable as far as you are concerned, while others you may be able to do without. Once you have determined an optimal budget, you may need to adjust your guest list to meet some financial constraints.
When planning your budget, keep these basic guidelines in mind; generally, 50percent of the budget is allocated to the reception; 10 percent to music; 10 percent to flowers and other devorations; 10 perccent to photography and videography; 10 percent to attire (bride’s and groom’s) and beauty needs; and 10 percent to the remaining expenses (the ceremony, stationery, transportation,etc) Despite its importance, don’t think the budget is set in stone either. As you and your groom evolve and change in your decisions as the time goes by, make sure proper adjustments are made at each change. This is clearly to avoid any kind of frustration from any of the involved party.
GENERAL HIRING HINTS FOR BRIDES WHO CHOOSE NOT TO USE A WEDDING PLANNER
- As you start to plan your wedding, ask friends and relatives to recommend venues and service providers that they have had positive experiecves with. Site coordinators and catering managers can also be wonderful resources when it comes to finding vendors.
- Before you arrange to interview a service provider, find out if he/she is even available for your wedding date and time.
- It is a good idea to meet with more than one vendor for each type of service before actually hiring someone; doing so would give you a broader sense of your options, in terms of both style and cost. Don’t schedule so many interviews though, that you eventually become overwhelmed. An overwhelmed bride before her big day? Now we don’t want that do we?
- Even if a vendor has been recommended by a person you trust, you should still interview said vendor to find out if his/her own vision matches yours.
- During your interviews, if you are not getting the answers you want or you don’t feel comfortable with the candidate, move on; the person you hire should share your vision of the day, demonstrate flexibility toward your needs, and listen patiently to your ideas and concerns.
- Pay attention to whether the interviewee is well organized, the people you end up hiring should inspire confidence- not make you question their dependability.
- Request three references from each service provider that you are considering hiring, and communicate with these refererences before making any final decisions. If a vendor will not provide you with names and contact information, walk away. You really don’t need that kind of headache.
All of the hints stated above can only possible provided that as the bride you create more than enough time to actually do the interviewing and hiring. Try a lot to have lots of fun while doing it.
Your Comment. such a wonderful wedding……………hope for mine to come very soon! can’t wait oh.