“Do-Re-Mi”
1One of your first steps will be to assess the amount of money you have available to devote to your wedding events. Discuss with your families how much each of them will contribute to the celebration. We see more and more that parents of the bride, parents of the groom and the bride and groom collectively contribute to the wedding fund.
2Once you establish your “do not exceed” number, it is time to create a budget to determine
how many guests you will be able to invite. So many times we meet with a bride and groom who have created a much larger guest list than they can actually afford to host.
3To create your budget start by contacting a few wedding venues to get an idea of the average food
& beverage costs, including tax and gratuity. The food & beverage expense will typically be 40% to 50% of your overall budget. Ask the venue for a sample breakdown of an all-inclusive proposal of a typical wedding held at their venue in the last six months or so. Some venues will charge only a venue access fee and you will then need to meet with a couple of caterers to get separate estimates on food and beverage.
4 Next, take a moment to visit
www.charlottesvilleweddingmagazine.com to
see a sample budget to get a ballpark figure on other anticipated costs beyond your venue fees. For example, if many of the venues you are considering are $100 per person including venue fee, food & beverage, tax and gratuity, and your budget is $30,000, a 200 person wedding will be a challenge with the additional expenses of a photographer, the florals and entertainment.
TheWeddingPlannerMag.com
~ TIP ~
Use google docs to create a budget in excel that can be updated and shared with all that need to be informed. Like building a house you will almost always spend 10% more than you planned. We advise actually including a contingency line item in your budget of between 5% & 10%.
This way the sticker shock at the end will be more bearable.
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Photo courtesy of Patricia Lyons
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