Watch Out For The Five Biggest Wedding Budget Traps
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At some point in your wedding planning process, you are likely to fall victim of a wedding budget trap. Sometimes they're hard to resist and other times, you don't see them coming at all. Make sure you're aware of the biggest budget traps, so you can tackle them head on.
The dress
Here's the scenario: you have in mind the amount you want to pay for your dress. You go to the dress shop and the assistant starts bringing out lots of beautiful dresses for you to try on. You start trying them, getting carried away with all the lovely dresses and then you find
the one. It's perfect. It looks great and you feel like a million dollars! Then you look at the price tag and it's way over budget. Your heart sinks.
Be very careful when dress shopping. Make sure you stipulate your budget to the assistants and ask them to ensure they stay within that budget. You must be strict. I have seen lots of
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brides easily spend an extra ₤300 or more being 'upsold' by the wedding boutique. It's not worth it - so don't fall into this trap.
The rings
Again, with rings it's very easy to overspend. If you're in a shop, state your budget clearly to the assistant and ask them to stay within it. Only view rings that are in your budget.
It's easy to be distracted by all the lovely sparkly jewellery and the desire for a nicer, bigger, fancier ring. You've got be strict with yourself. You can always upgrade later in life!
The venue charges
You've found the perfect venue and it's within budget - great! You should be very proud. Now, be careful. Check that everything you think you'll need is included in the cost, BEFORE you sign the contract.
I've seen several brides get stung close to their wedding date. They find out XXX isn't included or they need to have the additional room even though they don't require it. Watch out and make sure you ask the venue lots of questions to make sure you don't get caught out.
Invitations
Buying professionally printed wedding invitations and stationery can easily run into hundreds of pounds. It's also easy to overspend when you see how lovely the other pieces of matching stationery are. Suddenly you're spending a fortune and so this is one of my biggest budget traps.
The various designs, personalisation and fancy printing techniques will all add to your budget. But there are ways and means of not falling into this trap. If you're going with printed stationery, stick with simpler designs, avoid fancy printing techniques and lots of different colours. If you're feeling adventurous, make your own invitations - you'll save a packet.
Corkage
Many couples find the perfect venue, only to realise that the corkage costs are going to be a fortune. The best way to avoid this trap is to check the corkage costs BEFORE signing any contracts with the venue. There's no point buying that wine on offer, only to find your corkage cost is £7 a bottle - you won't save anything.
Speak to the venue about other options, such as providing a limited bar or larger bottles of wine or champagne so you don't have to pay so much corkage. Another alternative is to provide cocktails - spirits will go a lot further then bottles of wine.
Traps like these are a nightmare for your wedding budget. So watch out, prepare in advance and stand firm with your budget.