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Smart and Savvy Spending: Prudently Planning Your Wedding Budget

Once you begin your wedding planning, plethora of ideas are sure to come your way. Selecting exactly what you require, within the budget you have, can become extremely confusing. San Antonio Wedding Consultants, Principles in Action, takes a look today on how to spark shrewd sense of savings into your wedding planning.

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You may have heard this enough but it is a universal truth: every girl envisions herself in a perfect gown, walking on an amazing aisle, looking up at the man of her dreams. What is missing from this universal truth is the vast amount of planning that goes around to recreate this dream into a reality. Setting a budget is that one crucial aspect of a wedding planning, which although we encounter everyday of our lives, becomes harder tenfold when it comes to the wedding planning.

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Here at Principles in Action, I take special consideration when it comes to creating a budget worksheet. For one, the estimates need to be realistic. Most of the time brides estimate certain costs without surveying the market; and this is why charlatans make use of their naivety. For this very reason, I make it a priority here to establish the budget first before anything else.

~Costs to Consider~

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• Catering

• Décor • Emergency Fund

• Favors

• Fees for ceremony site

• Flowers

• Gifts for the attendants

• Gratuities

• Invitations

• Music

• Photography

• The honeymoon (among other)

• Transportation there and to Exit (Limo, carriage, motorcycle, etc)

• Venue

• Wedding Attire

• Wedding Planner

~Subside and Set up~

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The above list that I use during my wedding consultations is just the bold categories that wedding expenses fall into; wedding costs will become much more baffling once you start the estimations. Before you get overwhelmed, it is better to consult an experienced wedding planner/vendor/friend/family member, who in the past, has dealt with event planning and can better guide you as to how to create a wedding budget. There is no need to panic, it will take time, and a clever resource on hand can make this task easier.

~Make Room for Reductions~

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Being downright adamant will not help in cutting down the budget. You need to show flexibility while selecting wedding items: try to explore all available options before you make a final decision. I have dealt with brides who stick to a particular wedding resource, which adds to their wedding expenses, and hence disallows them to spend it elsewhere. A wedding planner can ensure you interact with wedding vendors can who provide you exactly what you require, within the budget of your choice.

~Read between the Lines~

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Out of an old habit, I read all contracts in fine line, and I strictly advise all my clients to do the same. Being a wedding planner has taught me not to disregard even the little details pertaining to a particular contract with a wedding vendor. You may now know this, but there are certain ‘hidden costs’ charged by certain wedding vendors, and it is better to acquaint oneself with these additional charges beforehand.

I, for one, re-read every contract that my brides and grooms sign with their vendors, meticulously. This avoids later confusions and my clients will not have to incur unnecessary costs out of their desired wedding budget.

Here's hoping you find these tips useful! Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

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