Budgeting for Your Wedding

Planning a wedding can be very taxing especially if you go over budget. This is why it is very important to make sure that you set a budget from the very start. To help you with your budget here are some tips.

1. Do a little research or canvassing to get a reality check BEFORE setting your budget. Around this time you will realize just how fancy or simply your wedding can be because it is also when you will realize just how much you can afford. You don’t have to do an exhaustive itemized research but simply go to wedding sites and find quotations there.

2. Set you maximum overall budget.

3. According to what you have researched and which aspects of the wedding is important to you create a pie chart dividing it into categories. The usual categories you need to budget for are the reception, attire, flowers, photo/video, music, invites, souvenirs, venue, cake, hair and make-up, and gifts. The reception is almost always the most expensive part and can take up to more than 50% of the entire budget. The next most expensive categories are usually the attire and flowers. However, this all depends on your choices. If you want to get married in a really popular place you might need to set aside more for the venue. On the other hand if you will be getting married in your mom’s dress then the attire will need a very little percentage since you’ll only need to spend money on re-fitting and dry cleaning.

4. Make a timeline. Yes when budgeting you shouldn’t just think about the figures but think about the dates as well. Try to figure out when you will be having an influx of money to pay for required reservation deposits so that you will be able to plan when you’ll be dishing out money. It makes sense to spread out your spending instead of paying for everything all at once. Besides paying early might get you discounts so plan these as well.

5. Get to the nitty gritty. Once you’ve made a general budget then it’s choosing time. Choose the dress, venue, caterer, invites, and everything else according to what you can accommodate with your budget. If your budget is a bit tight you’ll usually have to choose between sacrificing some details and making your guest list a bit smaller. Once you get to this portion you can adjust and ease up on a category’s budget if you realize you will actually need to spend less on something else.

Getting Married and Moving Away- What to Do with Gifts

Last time I posted about bridal registries and the things to consider when you are making your gift list. Now, what if your situation is just a wee bit complicated? What if your plans include moving away right after you get married? Now gifts will of course be really appreciated if you’re simply moving to the other town but what if you are moving somewhere really far away and you can’t really bring much with you? Here are some suggestions that might help you with your wedding gift dilemma.

A gift list is still in order. Actually it is even more important in cases like these because you have to really let people know what you can and cannot bring with you. However, since the list might be shorter than usual you might simply want to include a short note and list in the invitation instead of going out of your way to enlist the services of an online bridal registry.

You have several options if you are moving somewhere far away.

1. Cash and Gift Certificates – This are the easiest to bring. When requesting gift certificates though make sure they’re online certificates or GCs that have stores in the location you are going to. If you are moving somewhere like Papua New Guinea chances are that you won’t be able to use your gift certificates there so you’ll be left with the cash only option. It would be a good idea to take a picture of the “gift” you buy with your “wedding money” when you get settled down and send it along with your thank you notes.

2. Charity – Charity is always good. Instead of asking for gifts for yourselves you can request people to give cash or pledges to your favorites charities. This way you don’t get burdened with gifts you can’t bring along, you don’t feel shy about accepting the money, and you get to make the world a better place.

3. Fun stuff – You can ask people to give you pictures of you and your other half that they have, a silly or erotic love poem, a couple’s book or video, or some other small things you can bring and enjoy.

4. Use Online stores – If you really want to get gifts you can also use an online store that delivers you wherever you are headed. This way you will have all your gifts waiting for you at your new home.

Building Your Bridal Registry – Things to Consider

The choosing of wedding gifts is probably the only really onerous task there is for wedding guests. It isn’t that people hate giving gifts but coming up with a gift that the couple will really appreciate is something that can be really hard to do unless you know exactly what the couple really wants. This is probably the reason why gift registries are very popular nowadays.

Having a gift registry is really great since guests don’t have to rack their brains thinking of gift ideas but only need to look at the list on your registry and then pick one that they like and are within their budget range. It is also of course very easy for you to make your gift list since you know exactly what you want and need. However, there are some things you should remember to consider when making your list.

1. Your other half – You might get away listing stuff in your gift registry-to-be that you might forget to consult your spouse-to-be. Make sure you also include some of his/her requests and show your own list. That way you both can veto something from the list if you’re not comfortable with something the other has included.

2. Organization – Try to make the list organized so it will be easy for the guests to go through it. List items under specific categories instead of simply listing everything down in random order.

3. Budget variety – Don’t be shy about adding several or many expensive items on the list as long as you have affordable ones there too. Even if you expect most of your guests to be really rich you never know is someone is hard up at the moment. On the other hand even if you expect most of your guests to be closer to broke than rich you also never know if someone just came up with an inheritance or some extra cash and want to shower it on you two.

4. Update the list – This is where any people bungle. They come up with a list, distribute it, but offer no means for the guests to know the latest on whether an item is already taken by someone or not. You have several choices in updating your list. First is to use an online bridal registry, next is to post a number they can call to confirm which gifts they plan on sending (get help from your wedding coordinator or a friend so you won’t need to take the calls), and last is to use a specific store’s registry.

Destination Weddings - Southern California

Is all this talk about going somewhere to hold your wedding putting ideas in your head? If so, and you are looking for a place that is not so far yet as exotic as far off places, why not consider Southern California? That is, if you currently reside in the US.

Mention of the word California never fails to evoke images of bright sunshine and sandy beaches. It is perhaps one of the greatest places to hold your destination wedding at. Here are some specific locations for you to look at for your destination wedding.

Huntington Beach – Recently received the title of “Surf City” USA Huntington each is a wonderful location to have a sunset beach wedding at. You can either have a beach wedding or a chapel wedding either way the scenery and weather in and around Huntington beach is fabulous and your guests will have a wonderful time. It is very close to the Los Angeles Airport and there are some very classy hotels right on the beach. Your guests will have a great time with the downtown surfing night life scene with some great restaurants and fun bars as well as enjoy the beauty of the ocean.

Santa Barbara
One of the wealthiest places in California Santa Barbara is a thriving city. There are unlimited stretches of open beach and a wonderful downtown for fun. There is also the Santa Barbara mission and beautiful mountains right behind the city. These all make for an ideal wedding spot and in fact an ideal place to live. There is lots of hotels right down on the water front and many of them will help you in planning your wedding.

Malibu
Malibu is the beach of the Hollywood crown and a great place to see some of the movie stars! Malibu again has wonderful weather, a beautiful beach, and mountains all rolled into one. Along with a fun little city and some great night life your guests will love the destination and you will love the beauty of a beach wedding. The relaxed California atmosphere of the area is a wonderful beginning to a great wedding. All of your guests will be relaxed and enjoy themselves in this beautiful climate and hopefully you will even catch a glimpse of your favorite movie star.

Of course, a trip to Cali wouldn’t be complete without its other attractions apart from the beaches, let us take a look at those in the next post.

Destination Weddings - Where to Go?

I remember posting something about the Caribbean last week but the more I think about it, not everyone will fancy a week in the Caribbean for their destination wedding cum honeymoon. Seriously, though, I cannot (for the life of me) understand why people would not want to go to the Caribbean. I must just be biased. In any case, there are tons of other places where you can go and hold your destination wedding.

If you prefer the cold to the hot – or let’s be moderate and say cool to the warm – then consider going to a ski resort or a mountain retreat for your destination wedding. If you love this kind of atmosphere, it would be perfect for you to spend your honeymoon there as well. There are plenty of places to choose from in the US – Colorado, Vermont, etc. Or if you have a little bit more cash to spend, go to the Alps in France, Switzerland, or Italy. Surely you will not find a lack of cold places to hold your destination wedding at.

One idea for a mountaintop wedding is to have a theme that suits the weather. How about ski suits or something that like that? Of course, it would only be apt if you and your partner are into skiing.

On the other end of the continuum we have the tropical climate with images of palm trees swaying in the breeze as you say your vows. For people who prefer this kind of destination, there are even more choices for you – Southern California, Hawaii, Mexico, and of course, the Caribbean. If you want to go to Europe, you have even more choices – South of France, Spain, Italy, and Greece. Dare to take things one notch higher? Go to Asia! Thailand, India, the Philippines, Indonesia – name it, the choices are endless.

Of course, if you are planning on a far away destination, you have to factor in the costs and all the paperwork that will be needed for your wedding. The idea is to decide on a general location and then zero in at the specific place you want. As I mentioned in another post, try looking for a package that will help you hold your destination wedding without too much of a hassle. Trying to find a minister, buy a wedding cake, get musicians, etc. individually will drive you crazy. For more information about this, see our post on all inclusive destination weddings.

« Previous Page