As a wedding planner I always take special care to fully understand venue’s and suppliers pricing structure before sharing their costs with my couples.

Ensuring there will be no additional costs added to the final invoice not only prevents unexpected surprises, but it also allows you to compare all prices like for like.

Keeping track of your expenditure is key to ensuring your wedding day is planned within budget, so to help you do just that here’s my guide to wedding costs that can sometimes be overlooked whilst planning your big day.

VAT, Delivery & Set Up Charges

Not all wedding suppliers will need to charge VAT, so it may not be listed on all the quotations you receive. If there is no mention of VAT make sure you check whether the price quoted includes or excludes VAT and if it excludes VAT will there be any to add.

This is particularly important for key suppliers such as your caterers and venue, as typically they will take a large portion of your budget. So what looks to be within budget can quickly become unaffordable once you have added 20%.

As with VAT some suppliers may not include additional services such as delivery and set up as standard. So be sure to ask each suppliers if there are any additional costs that may need to be added to your final invoice.

Additional Hours

Another important point to check before you confirm your venue and commit to any supplier is how many hours are included within their fee. Check what time you can access the venue on the day of your wedding and also the time the music will stop and the bar will shut. If you require additional hours this will come at an additional cost.

Similarly check timings with each of your suppliers as they will have standard hours included within their terms and conditions. Many will be willing to adjust accordingly, but suppliers such as your caterers, entertainment & wedding planner/co-ordinator will add extra hours to their invoice should you need them to set up early or stay later should your celebrations be continuing into the small hours.

Ceremony Room

Venues may apply an additional set up fee if you choose to hold your ceremony with them. So, double check the small print and make sure you are clear on any additional costs that may apply if you choose to keep your ceremony and reception within the same venue.

Corkage

Some venues may allow you to bring in your own alcohol, which at first will seem like a great way to save money. But, this will only be the case if you are still saving money once corkage fees have been added. Speak to your venue or caterers to discuss their corkage fees and be realistic when calculating the amount of alcohol your guests will consume.

Additional Church Fees / Registrar Fees

When including your church fees in your budget breakdown check that the choir, organist and bell ringers are included, (assuming you are looking to include these within your church ceremony), as they are often excluded from a churches standard fees.

If on the other hand you have chosen a non religious ceremony within your reception venue, the registrars fees will be in addition to your venue hire fee. So make sure you check the applicable charges when you book the registrars to conduct your ceremony.

Clean Up

As discussed in previous blog posts, if you have hired a dry hire venue or are hosting your wedding within a marquee it’s highly likely that you will need to make arrangements for any waste including glass to be removed. Some dry hire venues may also apply a charge for the venue to be cleaned following your wedding.

Alterations

When trying on wedding gowns you should bare in mind that the dress will need to visit a seamstress for any necessary alterations. You gown could need to be taken up, or in, you may wish to add extra detail or hire an underskirt, all of which will come at an additional cost.

Most boutiques will be able to recommend a seamstress, so consider speaking to them prior to purchasing your gown to ensure it is still within budget once the alteration costs have been added.

Supplier Meals

Some of your suppliers may expect a supplier meal and refreshments, with many of them writing this into their contract. Typically this will be your photographer, videographer, band/DJ and planner. Although they won’t expect to eat from the same menu as you and your guests, providing a meal and refreshments to your suppliers will still add to your final catering bill.

Post Wedding

Following your wedding day there will still be costs to consider. Sending your thank you cards, prints and an album from your photographer (if this was not included within their package), dry cleaning costs and postage costs to return any hire items. All of which will soon add up, so these costs should be calculated and added to your budget breakdown.

I really hope this information has been helpful and will assist you in ensuring there are no nasty surprises throughout your wedding planning journey.

If you would like to read further wedding planning advice take a look at other blog posts I have created, and if you are considering working with a wedding planner and would like to discuss how I can assist you please do get in touch to discuss the planning services I offer.

Image Credit: Terri & Lori Fine Art Photography & Film

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Agreeing your budget is not the most exciting task you will undertake whilst planning your wedding, but it is an important one. As discussed in a previous blog post, Planning Your Wedding. Confirming your budget at the very beginning of your wedding planning journey will help you to identify early on the wedding you are able to host. This will prevent you from wasting valuable time researching venues and suppliers which are not within your budget.

Confirming your budget

Your wedding budget would normally be made up of three factors, savings, monthly contributions and family contributions.

Decide on an amount you are willing to allocate from your savings, as well as a figure you can comfortably set aside each month. Remembering to work out how many months you have to save before your preferred wedding day. Finally, discuss contributions with members of your families, ensuring that you confirm if they will be gifting a particular amount towards your wedding day fund, or, if they would prefer to pay for a certain element. If the latter, you will be able to remove this item from your budget.

Once this has been agreed, you then have your wedding budget. Now to allocate it!

What to include within your budget

Many couples are completely unaware of how many elements they will need to include within their wedding budget. For example, some couples may not appreciate the registrars fee is a separate cost from the venue hire fee. Whilst others may not have considered the need for a creche/childcare if they are inviting children, or guest transport if they are marrying and hosting their reception within multiple venues.

In order to highlight each item that should be considered, I will often share a draft budget with couples when we begin working together.  An example of this budget breakdown has been listed below. Of course, some of these points may not apply to the wedding you are planning, so they can be excluded from your budget straight away. Please note, this budget breakdown is for couples planning to host their wedding within an established venue, rather than a marquee or dry hire venue.

Wedding Ceremony:

Church fees / Registrar fees

Ceremony flowers

Ceremony music

Wedding Reception:

Venue hire fee

Catering/beverages

Wedding cake

Venue florals

Additional styling

Musical entertainment for your reception, Wedding Breakfast and evening reception

Non musical entertainment

Additional Suppliers:

Photographer

Videographer

Wedding planner

Creche/childcare

Wedding party transport

Guest transport

Stationery

Bridal & Bridesmaids:

Wedding dress & accessories

Bridal bouquet

Bridesmaids & Flower Girl dresses & accessories

Bridesmaids & Flower Girl bouquets

Hair stylist

Make up artist

Groom & Groomsmen:

Grooms attire & accessories

Groomsmen & Page Boy’s attire & accessories

Button holes

Miscellaneous Suppliers:

Wedding Insurance

Rings

Gifts & favours

Prioritise

Once you have identified the elements that need to be considered, you can then begin discussing your priorities. This is an important process, as the percentage of budget that you allocate to each aspect will determine the supplier you are able to secure. It is therefore essential that you are realistic whilst number crunching. If for example you envisage your guests dancing all night to the sounds of a six piece band, then you should take into account a bands fee will be far higher than that of a DJ. Meaning that a greater percentage of your budget will need to be allocated to entertainment. It is also a good idea to research local suppliers whose style matches that of the wedding you are planning.  Most will display a pricing guide on their website. If not, invest a little time making an initial enquiry to confirm their pricing structure. This is also a fantastic opportunity to interact with potential suppliers and begin to build a relationship with them.

What if your budget doesn’t fit

Most couples will encounter budget issues at some point throughout their wedding planning journey, so do not feel disheartened if this happens. Instead, take a look at where savings can be made.

If your dream venue is out of budget, consider hosting your wedding mid week or within low or mid season, both of which can drastically reduce the venues hire cost. Alternatively, tweak your caterers menu suggestions in order to bring them closer to your budget.  Maybe you could consider treating the canapés you offer to your guests throughout your drinks reception as a starter, and then serve your guests a two course wedding breakfast rather than the traditional three course meal. If your florals are coming in over budget, consider discussing money saving tips with your preferred florist. They will be able to offer a selection of ideas such as suggesting seasonal blooms that will achieve the same look whilst reducing the cost.

As you will see from the above, no two wedding budgets are the same, and allocation is heavily influenced by a couples priorities. However, in order to provide you with a sample allocation, the chart below offers a guide as to how a general wedding budget would be allocated when a couple have not stated their priorities.

I hope that this blog post has helped set you on the right track with the allocation of your budget. If however you feel that you could benefit from working with a wedding planner and you are hosting your wedding within Essex, Suffolk, Kent, Hertfordshire or Cambridgeshire, then I would love to hear from you.

Image credit: Terri & Lori Fine Art Photography & Film 

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