You need to keep track of your wedding day spending by not allowing cash flow from varieties of sources. You thus need to plan very well and accordingly. Division of labor must be practiced to ensure that people who are there to help know exactly their specific tasks. Although, if you’re one of those lucky few that come from a large and affluent family, you’d get help from several people who would be willing to fund your wedding. This should not take the place of the all important wedding budget.
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Going over your wedding budget: Risk of over spending
Although wedding day is the desire of every matured man and woman, it is essential to have it at the back of your mind that one of the biggest causes of divorce is debt and financial worries. Far too many people get into debt putting their marriage at risk for the sake of just one day. If the your wedding expenditure leaves you bankrupt and less credit worthy and in extreme case in debt for the major part of your married life, you have sacrificed your entire matrimonial joy for the joy of a single day. It makes no sense at all!
In fact, I think setting your wedding budget is one of the very first things you should do. Actual wedding costs depend mainly on size, scale, and location. This is why keeping this in mind while planning for a wedding budget is critical to keeping costs down.
Why couples go over their wedding budget
In many cases, couples go over their budget due to pressure from relatives and close associates. Sometimes such situation arises because the couples are basically not keeping close eye on what they’re spending. You must consider your family’s long-standing financial objectives, and ensure that your wedding budget is not interfering with them.
Your wedding budget and expenditure ought to correspond to and not mess about your long-term financial goal. If it does, make adjustments to your list while sticking to your wedding budget.
General wedding Budgeting information
Weddings can be one of the pricey events you will ever plan in your life. You need to send invitations to all your guests. You will need a church, mosque, court premises or a wedding venue, a hall or a venue for reception. You also ought to take care of all your guests, and much more. It is good for you to know that you don’t have to be affluent to have a cherished, enviable and memorable wedding ceremony. You don’t also have any need to hire a classy wedding planner.
To experience the wedding of your dreams, you don’t need to pay a fortune or empty your bank account. From reserving an inexpensive wedding ceremony site, to being creative with decoration, you can make your dream wedding and still stay within your budget. All you need is creativity, good money saving tips put into use and a focus on a long time goal beyond the ceremony itself. And before you know it, you would observe that it won’t be long before it becomes evident that that the wedding you are planning which you never thought could be this perfect, is turning into what you have always imagined and longed so much for.
Deciding who is paying for specific items
In Nigeria, traditionally, wedding is a family thing. Some family members may want to help you bear the cost for certain items, so do not forget to get them involved. Some of your friends may also want to help you in one way or the other. Knowing who is paying for church costs, flowers, invitations, reception/venue, transportation, wedding dress, honeymoon, liquor, marriage license, officiate fee/gratuity and rehearsal dinner makes it really easy to plan your budget.
When your parents, relations and friends lend you a hand, it reduces to a great extent your financial burden. Checking with them before hand to see if any of them have a contribution to make will help you to plan and budget your wedding appropriately. Setting and sticking to your wedding budget is one of the most demanding parts of wedding planning.
Remember that wedding is only a day event that will usher in years of family life as a couple. You must not let wrong wedding budgeting ruin the whole joy you are meant to have in your married life. Running into debt can be disastrous. Sure, you wouldn’t want your marriage to end in disaster, so, go ahead and budget wisely. One thing you must be aware of is that nothing in the wedding ceremony is compulsory. From wedding gown to your vows, cakes to decoration and so on. You can modify it. You can wed in church/mosque or in court. You can wear the usual white; select your colour, put on a skirt suit or Aso Oke depending on your choice or venue. It is completely your choice.
In the second series of this article, we provided you with various budget saving tips. Follow this link to the second series.
