Is there anything sexier than budget sheets? If there is I can’t think of it. Your wedding budget is your front line, your foundations on what everything else to do with your wedding is built on. If you’re working on a shoe string or have the cash to splash, your budget will streamline your decision making. Option paralysis can be a total bummer when planning, so before you make any decisions, find out how much you can afford and then prioritize from there.
A wedding can be done for under £200 (grab your best suit and head to the registry office) but you can build create a wedding around everything, it just takes a little imagination and some killer organisation. I’ll be covering scrimping, saving or blow outs in more detail from flowers, decorating, catering and photography but more than anything, you need to arm yourself with the basics.
What You’ll Need
A wedding planner (duh) – Honestly I think this guy is more of a way to keep track of everything. I’m a total hoarder who likes to keep everything so a wedding planner is great if you’re like me and like something tangible. From checklist to little pockets to store your inspiration, it’s a handy little guide that can help form the frameworks of the wedding. No wedding needs everything and anything so if you go for one of these you may find yourself skipping huge chunks out, but if you want an idea of some of the costs that come up, this guy is a total babe.
Some killer inspiration (Rock n Roll bride, obvis) – I think every bride to be should be subscribing to Rock N Roll Bride. We’ve all got our favourite blogs and magazines and hell, even pinterest. From body positivity to DIYS and real weddings, truly this is the playground of the voyeur. Curtain twitching fingers at the ready.
A notebook -Keep this in your bag. Use it for scratching down ideas, making notes when you’re out shopping or hell, just for keeping track of what’s going on. I love using mine doodles or ideas that friends share. It’s tough to keep track of everything so I like having a dedicated little inspiration book I can always have to hand.
And a really good budget managing website, I use The Knot. – The Knot is very much a resource for more traditional brides (considering it’s sister websites are The Nest and The Bump) but their budget calculator is indispensable. Enter your budget and it will automatically break it down in to different categories. You can automatically update it and it’s a wonderful tool for at a glance budget review. If the numbers scare you, this pretty much holds your hand through the process.
It’s super easy to become blindsided with wedding planning, and while it’s super fun, also make sure you take time to enjoy yourself away from the whole process. Fancy baths, candles, catching up with friends without the big W – whatever it takes for you to decompress. Budgeting is only the beginning but it will be the best thing for preparing for the road ahead.