11 Wedding Budget Mistakes to avoid

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It’s so easy to get in a pickle with your wedding finances, your managing a big budget with lots of outgoings from lots of small incidentals to some bigger investment size purchases. Keeping it altogether without making any mistakes is not to be underestimated.  These 10 Wedding budget tips will really help as a guide to some of the pitfalls you need to avoid.

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1. Not making a budget right at the beginning can lead to all sorts of problems. The phrase closing the gate after the horse has bolted springs to mind.
2. Not factoring any extra money for contingencies will leave you scrambling if there are any costs you haven’t anticipated. Yes, there are always extras.
3. The budget is set up but barely updated to reflect what is happening. We are all really keen at the beginning but after a flurry of late night splurges the budget is cast a drift and so will your finances. Make sure every detail is documented. There are lots of incidentals and these costs will soon add up.
4. The wedding budget you have set up doesn’t go into enough detail and therefore won’t be an effective tool. If you only list the big purchases you could be missing 20% or more of costs you are not even thinking about yet.
5. Its easy to get carried away as soon as the engagement has been announced. Pressure from family and friends to confirm details can have you headlong into the planning before your really ready. If the wedding budget money isn’t there, it’s still to be saved or items paid for on credit. This can put you under undue stress you don’t need.
6. The budget doesn’t include a payments tool to help you manage your cash flow and ensure payments are made on time. It’s one thing knowing what your spending but everything has to be paid for in a timely manner and this can affect cash flow especially if your using monthly finances and paying for things as you go.
7. Not doing enough research or shopping around for the best available deals is just leaving money on the table.
8. There is little communication about priorities between you both which basically puts you at odds when it comes to making decisions about your wedding. It means you can easily overspend trying to keep both parties happy. Make sure you agree a plan, learn to compromise so there is a happy medium.
9. The guest list always dictates the budget so if this gets out of hand your going to be stuck. Not that this is relevant right now in the UK your guest list numbers are limited to 15. It’s important not to send save the dates out as this restricts your ability to modify the guest list very early on while you might still be working out your wedding finances.
10. You have no idea what you should be spending on things and how much things cost. No one does know the answers to these questions which is why you need to get a range of quotes to build a picture of your wedding budget before you start making buying decisions.
11. Your not checking the small print for additional costs. Overtime, cancellation costs and incidentals need to be factored in to your budget.