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There
are lots of ways to save money on your wedding, but you need a starting
point first and that starting point is the budget. Once you have
a total of what you can spend, then you can make a plan as to how
the total amount will get divided.
Once you have decided the total amount that you can spend on your
wedding, you can start budgeting how much you want to spend on what.
You need to break your total amount down into categories. My suggested
general categories should cover everything you will need, not including
the ring. When my daughters were planning their weddings the guys
took care of the ring costs themselves, so we didn't put them in
the overall budget.
So here are my suggestions for the budget categories. The percentages
listed are just suggested starting points and can be adjusted to
your needs.
*
Ceremony (3%): Location fee, marriage license, officiant fee, musician's
fee, ring pillows
* Wedding Attire (11%): Dress, Headpiece or veil, shoes, jewelry,
hair and makeup, Groom's tuxedo or suit, shoes, tie, etc. Flower
girl and ring bearer clothing.
* Reception (49%): Reception site, food, drink, cake, favors,
rentals
* Flowers (9%): Brides's bouquet, maid-of-honor bouquets, corsages
and boutonnieres, centerpieces, flower girl basket, ceremony
* Music (8%): Band or DJ, ceremony musicians, sound system rental
* Photography (12%): Photographer and videographer's fees, albums,
additional prints, disposable cameras for candid shots
* Transportation (2%): Transportation for wedding party, guest
shuttle and/or parking attendants
* Stationery (3%): Invitations, thank you cards, response cards,
postage, calligraphy, guest book
* Gifts (3%): Bridesmaid and groomsman, flower girl and ring bearer
Keep in mind that these are suggestions to give you a place to
start. Depending on what type of wedding you want, you need to decide
where and on what you want to spend your money so you need to adjust
the individual categories up or down according to your needs.
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