You're engaged! Yoohoooooo!!! But before you start all that pinning, take a look at this most important thing you need to do before you actually make any solid plans!
The B word. (No, no, not that one....)
Budget.
Yup, I said it. And I know, you're probably rolling your eyes thinking, "snoooooze fest". But let me tell you...if you fail to start with this in mind, your plans will be MUCH more stressful. So here are a few tips to make it easy peasy.
Before you think much about money at all, think about the most important elements of your day. There are a lot of things to choose from... but to make it easier, here is a suggested budget breakdown from BRIDES that will help you understand how to budget in percentages before plugging dollar signs into each category:
Venue and Catering: 40 percent of your budget
Photography and Videography: 15 percent of your budget
Wedding Attire and Beauty: 5 percent of your budget
Music/Entertainment: 10 percent of your budget
Flowers: 10 percent of your budget
Favors and Gifts: 2 percent of your budget
Transportation: 3 percent of your budget
Stationery: 3 percent of your budget
Cake: 2 percent of your budget
Decor: 10 percent of your budget
Keep in mind that every couple has (or SHOULD have) different priorities. So while the largest portion of this sample budget breakdown is allocated to Venue and Catering, say you are envisioning eloping on a mountaintop in Yosemite National Park with only the 20 closest friends and family that you have. Perhaps you won't be providing a full meal to your guests on that mountaintop, but instead, the transportation to fly to your destination location would be the biggest portion (perhaps 40%) of your budget.
Here's where I want to share a piece of my heart with you about why I believe photo + video are the most important thing on your wedding day. Now, I know how you're feeling...(I do, I've been there!) You're newly engaged and super pumped about planning your wedding....but maybe you're still feeling a little unsure about what the order of importance is.
I believe that one of the most important pieces of your wedding is your photos and your video. (And no, I'm not just saying that because I'm a photographer!!)
Think about it...you wake up the morning after your wedding day....and what's left of the most incredible day that you just had? The food? The venue? The decor? Nope. Sorry senorita, but all of those beautiful things are now in the past. The only thing you have left (besides your handsome new spouse, of course), is your memories!!!
Finding a photographer & filmmaker who vibe with your personality, understand your vision, and produce epic imagery accurately documenting who you are and HOW you celebrated your love is essential to the outcome of your memories.
Whether it be me, or another team, I want you to know how much you will NOT regret investing in this piece of your day!
Now, where were we? Ahhh, yes:
Homework time! Yayyyy!! (And you only thought it couldn't get worse than the B word!) Ha!
Here's what you do:
Write down the categories listed above and then, with your fiancé, place them in order of importance for what YOUR wedding vision looks like. Give them an approximate percentage that will be required from your budget.
Next, figure out what your total budget is. Then plug in the dollar amounts for the percentages you listed on your category list.
See? Easy as pie. Now hop to it! You've got lots of fun decisions to make! Happy planning!!
In case you missed my post on how to ensure that your wedding day is full of incredibly profound feelings, check it out here!
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