Wedding budget

Budgeting is a must to do as soon as you decide to get married. Create an excel spreadsheet to estimate budget and manage revenue and expenditure to avoid budget shortages.

The following tips might help you: 

Step 1: Enter the maximum amount that can be spent on the wedding.

Total receipts are the total amount the couple can spend on weddings, including the following sources:

- Savings: the amount the couple has saved up to that point or the number you want to deduct to get married.

- Money from parents of two families : Weddings in Vietnam will be supported by parents funding but because it's a delicate matter, the bride and groom often hesitate to ask. Bride and groom should have a clear talk with both sides of the family to be sure how the "sponsorships" are.

- The money saved from the monthly income of two people until the wedding day.

- Other amounts.

Step 2: Write the items to be spent and fill the estimated budget.

- Make a to-do list for the wedding in order of priority from high to low or in chronological order.

- Find out the information about the cost of all services and fill out the form.

Thus, for each part we will have a corresponding number and we can calculate the total expenditure. For example:

- Rent location: This cost accounts for about 40% of the usual wedding budget. However, rural families will not need to worry too much about this if they celebrate the wedding in a traditional way. Weddings can be arranged at home or at a place which is close to home to cut down on the cost of renting the venue.

- Hiring a photographer or cameraman: You'll need to spend about 15% of your wedding budget - a significant expense if you want to get professional wedding photos and videos. Wedding photographers suppliers often offer different prices, from several million to tens of millions.

- Wedding Reception: This part is really important with Vietnamese so the budget for this part can account for 30-50%. However, the number may vary depending on the size of your wedding.

Step 3: See the remaining amount in the total budget and adjust it.

If the total revenue is more than the amount, you can comfortably make the wedding the way you want. But if the amount of money exceeds the amount you can spend, you will need to adjust your estimate:

+ Spending a large amount of money on your priorities and cutting other parts.

+ Eliminate parts that you don't really need for the wedding.

+ Ask your relationships, maybe your close friends who can handle the wedding tasks to reduce costs (for example, a friend can take photos for your wedding).

+ If you can, do what you can (DIY - Do It Yourself).

Step 4: Write the actual amount  in the corresponding box to control your actual revenue and expenditure.

- Clearly define what you want: the first thing bride and groom need to think about is the wedding style, simple or fussy, how expensive it is within the budget. Make clear what you want in the beginning of the wedding planning and decoration. One of the most important things when setting up your budget is the scale of the wedding, the wedding with 100 guests will be very different from the 500 guests. So, determine the guest from the beginning so that you can set a suitable wedding budget. Besides, you should also think about a plan B to be able to change if the original plan has exceeded the budget.

- Set priority for the wedding preparations: talking to your fiancee about what you think is important in your marriage. There will be costs that you need to negotiate with your wife / husband. Two people should list their own top 3 priorities and then compare the two lists together and choose the ones that are most needed for both. You should know which priority will be spent first, which is more important.

- Explore services & market price surveys:  For each item, you need to refer to multiple vendors. There are many wedding services for bride and groom. You should take time to consult each item to find the appropriate service provider (flower, party, wedding dress, makeup, ...). This helps you to know the reasonable price of each item, maybe even get a preferential price. However, be careful with the service prices that are too cheap compared to the common ground, consider the prestige parallel to the price. Don't choose unreliable units due to their low price so that you can avoid unpredictable errors and conflicts. If both of you are busy with work, try to contact a professional wedding planner to be able to have a more  time-saving wedding.

- Understand how to organize a wedding: there is no need for thorough knowledge like a professional wedding planner, but at least bride and groom should have a certain knowledge about wedding organization: how a wedding is organized, which elements decorate and what to do first. Thus, the bride and groom can have a scientific wedding planning.

- Note all expenses: Many small expenses are not taken into account and they will be accumulate later. This  will cause you a headache because you do not know where your money has gone, so record everything, even big or small, because you might forget it anytime.

Step 5: Prepare a contingency budget for the arising amounts.
Aside from not tracking your spending closely, there are countless circumstances for unexpected expenses to appear. Some guests forget to confirm until the last minute, causing you to plan more seats and food. Or, during the peak season, many vendors with be busy with their work so you might have to spend an extra money for the alternatives. Therefore, there is always a need for a contingency budget for the arising situation when planning a wedding. Keep in mind these cases when planning wedding expenses:

- Providers may require additional payment for services that you think they are included in the package.

- Photographers want you to add fees to provide access to online photos, overtime working or transportation fee.

- Do not forget to calculate the cost of furniture breakage and loss (cups, bowls, tablecloths ...) after the wedding.

- Read the suppiler contract carefully and others contract like the artists, the place to rent the car ... and the venue for the wedding to limit the payment of additional charges.

Step 6: Be comfortable

The last thing is you just need to be comfortable. The budgeting process often gives couples some disagreements. Therefore, remember that no matter what difficulties, it is also for two people to exchange and understand each other better, not to quarrel or become stress with the preparation work.