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| Budgeting For Your Wedding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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any of the hyperlinks above to go direct to the section you are interested in. Why Budget The Cost of an average Wedding Priorities and Funding Preparing a Provisional Budget Preparing a Final Budget Allowing for Contingencies Tipping Quotations and Estimates Tips on Buying Products and Services Value Added Tax (VAT) Keeping Accurate Records Why Budget? Unless you have access to unlimited funds, chances are that you will have to financially plan your wedding very carefully. Whether you, your parents or a combination of you and your parents are paying for your wedding, there will probably be a financial ceiling on what each of you can afford. An inherent danger with planning anything on the scale of a traditional wedding is that you can very easily overextend yourselves, especially if you commit yourselves to expenses on a one-by-one basis without keeping an eye on the overall picture. With the average cost of a traditional wedding in the UK being about £11,000, overrunning by just 15 per cent out will mean having to find another £1,650. If your parents are paying for, or contributing to, your wedding, it is important that you don't end up having to go back to them asking for more money and thereby putting them under unwelcome financial pressure. If you are paying for your wedding, it may mean starting married life with an unplanned debt. By preparing a budget, that is, a list of intended expenditure for each item, you will be in a much better position to control and monitor your costs. Most couples change their mind many times over exactly what they want and how much they are willing to allocate for any given item. By recording any changes on your budget, you will always be aware of the impact on the total cost and thereby giving you the opportunity to adjust your expenditure levels accordingly. Unfortunately, dealing with the financial aspects of getting married can be the cause of much tension between those involved in organising your wedding. However, by carefully monitoring and controlling your expenditure with use of a budget, you will go a long way to reducing the stress that you will undoubtedly experience during your wedding preparations. The Cost of an Average Wedding It will be helpful at this stage to get a feel for the average cost of a wedding. However, estimates vary greatly since there are so many options to choose from. Furthermore, for each item there is a tremendous range of prices depending upon your tastes and priorities etc. Take for example, your wedding dress. You could buy a good quality second hand dress for just £100 or less or buy a top designer dress for £4,000 or more! The number of guests you have and how well you want to cater for them will also has a tremendous impact on your budget. For example, if you had 100 guests and wanted to have a traditional full wedding breakfast, the cost per head could be £50. This would give a total of £5,000. A less lavish buffet may only cost £15 per head, bringing the total down to £1,500. On top of this there are drinks to consider and the evening party. Do you want to have free drinks or have your guests pay for their own? The difference between the two could be as much as £1,500. From our experience and research, we have listed below the costs of what we would call an 'average wedding'' (excluding engagements costs). But remember, your wedding can cost a great deal more or a great deal less depending upon your budget, priorities and whether you use professionals or get family and friends to help out. In fact, our average costs take into account products and services that are sometimes provided free or at low cost by family and friends. For example, your wedding cake may be made by a relative and given as a gift. Therefore, the cost to you will be nil. However, if you use a professional cakemaker, the cake may cost, say, £300. The average of these two examples is £150, which is the cost of neither. This is the problem with averages! Many of the items listed are hyperlinks enabling you to view companies that supply the product or services mentioned.
But do remember, it is quite possible to get married for just a few hundred pounds. On the other hand, it is quite easy to spend £20,000 or more! Priorities and Funding Initially, you should decide on what sort of wedding you want and then prioritise what items are most important to you. Is the most important item the reception venue and the meal or your wedding dress? Do you want your guests to enjoy free drinks from the bar or are you happy just to pay for the table wine and champagne? If you both have large families and many friends, do you want as many of them as possible to attend, which may mean having to compromise on the lavishness or your wedding? Is your honeymoon an important element of your wedding celebrations or are you willing to sacrifice an expensive and exotic honeymoon for that designer wedding dress you have fallen in love with? Also at this stage you should allocate a provisional sum for the total cost of your wedding. If you are paying for your wedding yourselves, only you have to decide on an approximate sum that you are prepared to spend. If your parents are paying, or contributing, you will need to know what they are prepared to pay. However, many parents will ask for an estimate of the total cost for the wedding that you would like. With this information, they can then decide whether they can afford to pay all the costs as per the traditional responsibilities or decide on a sum that they are able to afford. Preparing a Provisional Budget The next step is to prepare a provisional budget from the list you have drawn up for the wedding that you would like. This is a substantial task requiring a great deal of research but once completed you will know whether or not your available funds are sufficient. If they are not, knowing your priorities will enable you to trim items accordingly. Listed below are the main items that are associated with a traditional wedding. Many of the items listed are hyperlinks enabling you to view companies that supply the product or services mentioned. Next to each item is an abbreviation for who traditionally pays: (BF) = Bride's father, (GP) = Groom's parents, (B) = Bride, (G) = Groom. Wedding Clothing  Wedding
dress , headdress, shoes, lingerie
and jewellery (BF) Something
old, new, borrowed and blue (B) Bridesmaids'
dresses and accessories (BF) Page
boy outfits (BF) Ushers'
outfits (G) *see below Groom's
outfit (G) Best
man's outfit (G) *see below Bride's
parent's outfits (BF) Groom's
parent's outfits (GP) Bride's
going-away outfit (B) Groom's
going-away outfit (G)* Often paid for by the participants themselves. Bridal Beauty
Hairdresser (B)Make-up
(B)Beautician
(B)Transport To
ceremony for bride, bride's father, bridesmaids and bride's mother
(BF)To
ceremony for groom and best man (G)From
ceremony to reception (BF)From
reception for bride and groom (G)Decorations
(ribbons) for wedding transportation (BF)Photography/Videography
Photography
package (BF)
Videography
package (BF)Photograph
album (BF)Additional
prints/videos (BF)Flowers
Church (BF)Reception
(BF)Bride's
and bridesmaids' bouquets (BF) * see belowButtonholes
for participants and guests (BF) * see below*Sometimes considered the responsibility of the groom. Civil/Religious Ceremony Fees
Church, including bells, choir, organist and heating if required (G)Register
office or Approved Premise fees including giving notice, certificate
of marriage and the service (G)Reception
Venue
hire (BF)
Balloons
and decorations (BF)
Toastmaster
(BF)
Wedding
cake (BF)Catering
and equipment (BF)Bridal
favours (BF)Drinks
with meal, for toasts and evening (BF)
Entertainment
(BF)Honeymoon
Passports and visas
(G)Travel
and accommodation (G)Bride's
clothing (B)Groom's
clothing (G)Spending
money (G)Travel
insurance (G)Inoculations
(G)Stationery
Invitations and postage (BF)Order
of Service (BF)Menus
(BF)Place
name cards and seating plan chart (BF)Other
personalised items such as napkins, coasters and matches (BF)Thank-you
notepaper (BF)Guest
book (BF)Gifts
Engagement
and wedding rings for bride (G)
Wedding
ring for groom (B)
Present for bride, bridesmaids,
pages, ushers and best man (G)
Present for groom (B)Present
for bride's parents (B) and (G)Presents
for newly weds (BF) and (GP)Other
Engagement party (BF)
Hen
night (B)
Stag
night (G)
Wedding
co-ordinator fees (BF)Wedding
night venue, if not the honeymoon destination (G)
Wedding
insurance (BF)Overnight
accommodation for close family if required (BF)Press
announcements for engagement (BF)Press
announcements for wedding (G) Preparing a Final Budget Once your provisional budget has been calculated and any modifications have been made to suit your priorities and funding, you will now be in a position to prepare your final budget. This simply means allocating a fixed sum for each item and trying to keep within the amounts allocated as you order your goods and services. As your costs become known, you need to record the committed sums plus details of any deposits paid. If you are able to order items for less than you budgeted, you can either allocate any surplus to another area or simply take the saving. If you go over your budget for any item, you will have to decide whether to make a saving in another area or find the money to pay for the additional sum. Allowing for Contingencies When you start discussing the details of your requirements with companies, you will be amazed by all the options and extras you can have. No doubt these extras will all help to make your wedding day more special and unique but they will of course add to your final cost. If you are working to a strict budget you should not be tempted unless you find that you can make savings in other areas. However, knowing that certain extras will be become a 'must have', you should include in your budget a contingency sum of around 10 per cent. Furthermore, there will always be items that you overlook in your provisional budget. For example, if your funds are strictly limited to say £8,000 and you choose to have a contingency of 10 per cent, you will need to work to a budget of £7,275 thereby leaving you a contingency sum of £725 (£725 being 10 per cent of £7,275). Tipping There is no need to tip individuals or companies that supply you services at wedding rates. However, you may have family or friends that provide you with goods or services at lower than normal rates that you may wish to reward in addition to the sum charged. For example, you may have a friend that offers to do your hair or make-up or a relative who offers to make your cake at cost. However, it is more appropriate to acknowledge their kindness by buying them a small gift as a memento of your special day. Quotations and Estimates There is an important difference between getting a quote from a company and getting an estimate. A quotation is a fixed price given by a company for the product or service you want. It is a legally binding contract between you and the supplying company. An estimate is what a company thinks will be the charge for the product or service you want and they are at liberty to invoice you for a different sum depending upon their final costs for supplying you. If the company get their sums wrong, you will end up footing the bill and you will not normally have any legal recourse. When drawing up your provisional budget, by all means ask for an estimate so you can get a feel for the general level of expenditure required. However, when you are in a position to place an order always and always get a quotation first, preferably in writing. You must also ensure that you know exactly what the quotation is made up of, particularly what is and what isn't included. If you change your mind about anything, for example, you decide to have cloth napkins at your reception instead of paper ones, ask for a supplementary quotation. Before you place an order, try to get at least one or two other quote so you see that you are paying a reasonable rate for the goods or services offered. In many cases this will not be possible, especially where you are considering items that are unique in some way. However, you should still try to satisfy yourself that you are getting value for money. If you are able to get an alternative quotation, always ensure that you are comparing like for like otherwise your comparison will be meaningless. Tips on Buying Products and Services You probably know someone who always seems to get a discount on anything they buy. Is this a special skill they have or is it something everyone can do? The answer is yes to both. Certainly it is a skill, whether natural or through training but with a little preparation before you place your order you should be able to achieve some form of saving on many items. Getting a discount often involves a bit of 'give and take'. By this we mean that there must usually be something to be gained by the company in exchange for a discount. For example, if something you want to order costs £200, you might say something like 'we'll offer you £180 and pay for the item in full now'. If the company accepts, you both have benefited - you have made a 10 per cent saving and the company has your money up front to help their cashflow. Sometimes just saying 'we'll offer £180 and we'll place the order now' will be sufficient. If you feel confident you could offer a large deposit or full payment as a fall-back position should your first offer be declined. One word of caution if you pay a large deposit or payment in full. Should the company go broke before your wedding day, you will lose your money (although this will be covered if you take out wedding insurance). Here are a few other tips that might help you achieve a saving: Try to hide your excitement
and enthusiasm about items you have fallen in love with. A company
will be less likely to respond to a request for a discount if they
feel that their product is your only choice. Try to establish through
conversation how busy your supplier is around the date of your wedding.
At certain times of the year (October to May) companies can be very
quiet so they will want your order (and money) as much as you want
their products! Try to give the impression
that there are products from other companies you are seriously considering
but for a discount you are prepared to place an order now.Don't offend a company by offering cash. Most companies are respectable and the inference that they are otherwise could upset them and weaken your negotiating position. Also, with cash transactions, where no receipt is given, it may be difficult to prove what you paid should you have reason to complain later. Finally, bear in mind that you generally get what you pay for. If you are a skilful buyer and you knock a company's price down too much, you may not get the full quality of service that others will get who are paying full price. Companies need to make a profit to stay in business, so don't insult them by offering too low a figure - a little saving is better than none at all. Remember, a good deal is when both parties are happy with the transaction. Value Added Tax (VAT) When you request quotations, you may notice that for the same product or service, one company might charge VAT whilst another does not. It is worth, therefore, a moment to briefly explain the VAT regulations so that you understand why this may happen. Value Added Tax (VAT) at the current standard rate of 17.5% is applicable on all wedding goods and services with the exception of: Wedding cakes - if supplied independently of catering.Children's clothing - e.g. bridesmaid dresses and shoes
etc.Stationery - Orders of Service only.However, VAT can only be charged by companies that are registered for VAT. Therefore, if one photographer quotes you 'inclusive of VAT' while another does not, it will not be because photography is or isn't subject to VAT, but because one photographer is registered for VAT while the other is not. Consequently, if a company is registered for VAT, it will be at a price disadvantage compared to a company that is not registered for VAT since it has to add 17.5% to its prices. Therefore, there are clear merits in using companies that are not registered for VAT. As a company must register for VAT if its annual turnover is greater that £50,000, it is 'small' companies that do not have to add VAT to their prices. Fortunately, many companies involved in the wedding industry are 'small' so your contribution to the exchequer's coffers may be minimal! Finally, you should ensure that with every quotation you receive you are absolutely clear whether VAT is included in the price or needs to be added. You don't want any costly surprises when it comes to paying up! Keeping Accurate Records It is vitally important that you keep accurate records, particularly if you are working to a strict budget. You should retain all your paperwork, quotations and receipts you receive and keep details of any deposits paid and when any balances are due. please post your question on our Wedding Forum. |
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