There is no doubt that deciding just how much to spend on your Wedding and Reception can be a tedious process! You might be frantically typing into Google, "How much does the average wedding cost"or "What is a reasonable budget for a wedding?" to manage your expectations. Regardless of the size of the wedding, the Wedding Budget you create should simply be aligned to a wedding you can afford.
Efficiently mapping out your wedding goals and setting your intentions through a spreadsheet can lessen the burden associated with Wedding Planning. Tracking your expenses with a sophisticated system allows you to stay in control of your finances and ensure you meet your targets. Our FREE WEDDING BUDGET CALCULATOR will walk you through the various aspects of budgeting for your Wedding and Reception - funding, budget estimation, allocation of funds, tracking expenses and monitoring the payment process.
The idea of spreadsheets might sound daunting but with our help, you'll be able to create your own Wedding Budget Spreadsheet using these 5 easy steps to get a handle on your wedding budget!
1. FUNDING YOUR WEDDING
The first step in planning your Wedding Budget is to identify how much money is available to spend. Whether you are paying for your wedding from your savings or leaning on contributions from family, it is important to have a system of tracking how much cash you have on hand. In a spreadsheet of your choice, create a tab dedicated to Funding that outlines the following:
Source of Funds: Who is contributing to the wedding?
Contribution Amount: How much do you expect to receive from each source?
Amount Received: How much did you receive?
Outstanding: What is the outstanding contribution from each source?
WEDDING BUDGET TIP: NEVER ASSUME FAMILY WILL CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY TO YOUR WEDDING WITHOUT ASKING
2. SET A BUDGET
Remember, the magical number for your Wedding Budget shouldn't be picked at random if you want to be free from wedding debt. Let's break this down using the Funding page from our free Wedding Budget template:
Source of Funds: Personal Savings and Family Contributions
Contribution Amount: $50,000
Amount Received: $39,000
Outstanding: $11,000
If you anticipated to have $50,000 ahead of the wedding but have $39,000 available to spend, you can now make an informed decision on your Wedding Budget. Are you comfortable covering the difference of $11,000? If the answer is yes, move forward with the original $50,000 budget. If no, adjust the budget to $39,000 so you can afford your wedding.
WEDDING BUDGET TIP: A HUGE RELIANCE ON EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTIONS CAN LEAVE YOU IN A TRICKY POSITION
3. IDENTIFY YOUR EXPENSE CATEGORIES
Congratulations on picking your magical number! Wedding styles and preferences are specific to each couple so, the next step with wedding planning is to identify what to spend the budget on. With so many moving pieces, stay organized by establishing categories that are relevant to your ceremony and reception.
Here are examples of some Wedding categories and subcategories to spend money on:
Planning and Design
Beauty & Fashion
Vendors
Ceremony Officiant
Reception Venue
Photography
WEDDING BUDGET TIP: WEDDING CATEGORIES CAN BE AS DETAILED AS YOU LIKE OR NOT!
4. ALLOCATE FUNDS AND TRACK EXPENSES
In your spreadsheet, create a Wedding Budget tab that allocates a portion of the budget to each wedding category established in the previous step. The purpose of this tab is to track your expenses and monitor the overall payment process using the following criteria as a guide:
Estimate Costs: Costs determined through research
Actual Costs: Costs determined through quotes from vendors
Difference: Difference between the estimated and actual costs
Paid: Amount paid to vendors and service providers including tax
Due: Balance owed to vendors and service providers
Payment Due Date: Date deposit and instalment payments are expected
WEDDING BUDGET TIP: ALWAYS ACCOUNT FOR SURPRISE EXPENSES
5. REVIEW YOUR SPREADSHEET CONSISTENTLY
In the Wedding Budget tab of your spreadsheet, pay close attention to your expenses because the only way you can stay on top of your wedding budget is to constantly update, review and make necessary adjustments. Depending on your expertise, you can create a visual tracker of your budget and expenditure across the various categories.
Don't forget to set periodic reminders to update the spreadsheet and assess the status of your budget to gauge if you are under or over budget.
WEDDING BUDGET TIP: ALWAYS ACCOUNT FOR SURPRISE EXPENSES
Congratulations! You are now ready to create your own Wedding Budget spreadsheet to plan the wedding of your dreams based on the funds you have available. Using our step by step guide, we hope we have been able to provide you with valuable information that will prepare you for the next phase of your life.
Alternatively, you can download the free Wedding Budget Calculator to serve as a guide for your wedding budget planning process.
Leave a message in the comments so we can discuss any questions you might have!
With Love,
The Style X Events Team
Comentários