Wedding Day Planning Reduces Stress

Planning for the wedding day is naturally stressful regardless of the amount of preparation a couple makes for the big day. But if the wedding is viewed and handled as a major project that must occur with as few surprises as possible, the couple will enjoy the day that much better.

The first thing a couple needs to understand and plan for is how much would they like to spend on their wedding? Where will the money for the wedding come from? And what are the "must have" things the wedding couple wants for their wedding?

Few couples have bottomless wallets when it comes to wedding day expenses. Realistically, most couples must work within a certain amount of money. You might call that money a budget. Budgets are actually the best thing the couple could use to manage their wedding expenditures. When a couple knows how much they have available to them, they make more realistic purchases for their wedding and reception event.

The wedding and reception expenses and purchases can quickly get out of control. With all the options available to the couple, they must decide what they want to have at their wedding and reception. For example, there are pre-wedding expenses. Those expenses include stationary such as invitations, and thank you cards. Then there is the decision of whether to hire a wedding planner to help with the wedding and reception. Don't forget the wedding albums! These are only a few  of the pre-wedding expenses.

The couple must decide on other expenses such as video and photography, food, wedding cakes, beverages, limo services, gifts for wedding parties, rentals and purchases of wedding party outfits, cost of music and entertainment and flowers. Don't forget rental of the wedding chapel and reception site. You get the picture! These expenses are vital to a memorable wedding the couple will cherish the rest of their life.

With all these and many other expenditures, the budget helps the couple stay within a set of costs they can work with. The budget helps them feel more confident when talking with wedding vendors and the prices wedding vendors charge the couple. When a couple knows how much they can spend, they may be more willing to engage in negotiation of the prices asked by the vendors.

Also when a couple has a budget, they display a more informed and confident demeanor that makes wedding vendors respect their wishes. The vendors will most likely make the extra effort to gain the contract to serve the couple. The vendors' ultimate goal is to make the sell and offer what they can to the couple within the budget range the couple can afford. And finally, a budget helps the couple avoid needless and duplicate purchases.

Long before the couple separates themselves from their wedding money, they must decide how much they wish to spend on the wedding and reception. Traditionally, the parents of the bride pays for the wedding. That is not the reality of today. The couples of today are more financially stable and seldom look to the bride's family to bare the costs of wedding expenses.

Depending on the engagement date and the date of the couple's wedding, some couple decide to save for the wedding day. They set aside money at intervals that will yield the amount of money needed to have the best possible wedding day. The more time before the wedding day, the easier it will be on the couple to set aside money for their big day.

Some couples opt to receive financing of their wedding in part or 100 percent from relatives. While this is a great idea, the couple must understand the terms for the financing. How much control does the financial sponsor expect to have with the wedding planning and event? Who will make the final decision, the couple or the financier of the wedding? Prior to receiving the money, the couple must take a long a serious look at who will make the wedding arrangements and decisions. It is at this juncture that family relationships could be challenged.

The couple have in mind certain things they feel they must have in their wedding ceremony and reception. However, each of these "must haves" cost money. Let's say the couple wants video photography, a beautiful wedding cake, limo service to pick up the wedding party. And the couple wants to rent the classic venue in their town for the ceremony and reception. Oh, yeah, the wedding gown and the groom's tux are given expenses they must purchase. These "must haves" are key to the wedding budget.

Now the couple has created a budget that must cover these and other expenses. The couple managed to save $30,000 for their wedding day event. In order to stay within the amount they saved, they must designate a percentage of their money to each of the "must have" events they want at their wedding. In this case they wish to spend money on...

1. photography
2. wedding cake
3. wedding gown
4. tux rental
5. wedding venue
6. limo rental
7. bridal party gifts
8. food
9. beverages
10. wedding parties, i.e. engagement party, rehearsal party,
    
11. reception venue

That means the couple must spread the $30,000 over the cost for 11 specific events within their wedding ceremony. This is a partial list of the wedding day expenses. The list will be limited to eleven for simplicity and explanation of how to break down the wedding expenses.

The simplest way to break down the expenses is to divide the amount of money saved by the total number of events they want to include in their wedding ceremony.

$30,000/11 events= $2,700

That means not more than $2,700 may be spent on each of the eleven wedding events for the wedding. Additionally, the couple should also plan for unexpected expenses and set side money from the $30,000. That would change the expenditures to...

$30,000/12 = $2,500 for each of the twelve events.

Now, with that knowledge in mind, the couple may confidently talk with wedding vendors knowing how much they may spend for each wedding event. For example, the wedding gown may not cost more than $2,500. While most gowns cost far more than $2,500, the idea is to have a budget in mind the couple could work from. The couple may spend less on the wedding event actives that they budgeted for. They could pocket that money or use the extra money to pay for something more costly within the wedding.

The budget is a tool used to guide the couple through the expenditures they wish to make toward their wedding day event. The budget offers a guide to building their confidence to obtain the prices they wish to pay for vendor services.

Conscious planning and dedicated discipline will help keep the wedding under control and the couple will not begin a new life in debt.

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