When A Wedding Planner Plans Her Wedding - Page 4
Now that the decision of the date is still hanging, as we are waiting confirmation from our family and friends, we wanted to continue with the planning so we decided to discuss the budget.
Having a budget is very important, but sticking to it is hard. Planning for a wedding is a once in a lifetime thing (at least for most of us). So you don't really get to practice for it. So i suggest you talk to friends who got married or are planning their wedding to get more information about unplanned expenses.
Unplanned expenses are small amounts of unexpected fees that add up to your overall budget. A good example is crew meals. Crew meals are food for your suppliers. You can either get them through your caterer or you can get your coordinator to buy outside. You can simply choose to add your suppliers in your head count so they get to eat at the buffet. Sounds simple, but if your cost is at P1000/head and you have 4 photographers, 4 videographers, 5 coordinator and staff, 5 light/sound system staff and 2 makeup hair stylist, that's already an additional P20,000 to your budget. If you choose to buy packed meals, it might not look too good and you will come off as too cheap since you are giving these to professionals who are going to capture moments of your wedding, organize the timeline of your wedding day and make sure everything goes well, and make sure the mood and lighting of your receptions is perfect. You don't want to risk them doing mediocre work because they were too hungry to function. So what should you do?
There is an option for some caterers to buy "crew meals", these crew meals are less than half the price of your per head cost and they will be serving two to three dishes from your wedding menu. However, instead of lining at the buffet, the crew meals are plated (which is okay since your crew on the day will be eating at different times). What's important about this is they get to eat the food in your wedding, so it wouldn't be a packed lunch, and it wouldn't cost as much. Win-win!
Other unplanned expenses that brides often forget are gratuities and tips for your suppliers. Especially if the wedding was smooth sailing it is customary to give 5-10% of their service cost. However, there are other suppliers that already include this in your computations. Caterers have service charge that goes directly to their staff. So if you're in a tight budget you can choose the suppliers to give tips to.
Overtime costs should also be given allowance for, in case there is bad weather or a delay in your reception. Venues, musicians etc. usually asks for an hourly overtime fee. A way to avoid this would be to have your coordinator adjust your program with a plan B. But then again, your wedding is a once in a lifetime occasion, might as well spend a little more.
Venues also is a cause of these expenses. Some venues would require you to rent chairs and tables from them, or charge extra if you bring liquor. Incidental charges can also be incurred for damages made upon ingress and egress of suppliers. So always read the fine print of your venue rental contract so you can prepare in advance. And have one of your coordinator's staff look over suppliers upon ingress.
Unplanned expenses are important in sticking with your overall budget. If you are aware of these things, you can incorporate it in your overall budget and adjust if necessary.
Now that you are aware of the unexpected expenses, it's time to arrange your overall budget and its allocations.
I have been collecting bridal magazines for a long time, and i have come across a wedding pie chart from one of our local wedding magazines here in the Philippines - Metro Weddings.
Now you can do your own pie chart, and it doesn't necessarily have to be followed exactly. However, if you are working with a budget, it is easier to adjust amounts if you have specific allocations.
Here is mine: BUDGET - P400,000
Reception 35-38% - this includes the venue, food and drinks - P152,000
Attire 14-16% - this is for the groom, bride and entourage - P64,000
Photo/Video 10-11% - dame day edit, avp, projector and prenup shoot if you prefer - P44,000
Flowers 9-10% - this will invlude the flowers for the entourage, your ceremony and reception. You can also include the flower upgrades here for your caterer - P40,000
Wedding Rings 4-5% - P20,000
Music, Lights/Sounds, Emcee 4-5% - this would include musicians/dj, lights and sounds and your wedding host - P16,000
Hair and Make-Up 2-3% - includes entourage, parents and bride - P12,000
Hotel Room 2-3% - for wedding preps on the day - P8,000
Invites 2-3% - invitations and thank you cards - P8,000
Church, Ceremony 2-3% - this includes licenses and permits - P12,000
Cake 2-3% - P8,000
Bridal Car, Transportation 1-2% - if you are providing transportation for relatives - P4,000
Souvenirs, Gifts 1-2% - this will be your gift for the principal sponsors, parents and wedding favors for guests - P4,000
Miscellaneous 2-3% - this would be for your accessories, DIY materials and other additional details - 12,000
Other expenses will depend on your personal preferences. If you are doing a destination wedding you might want to increase your transportation budget. If you are like my fiancé who loves fireworks, you might want to use the miscellaneous budget for that.
A lot of other expenses can be incorporated and adjusted into the budget. However, these are the basic requirements.
On my next post i will be posting ways to maximize your budget, and my personal preferences as well. :)
Sample wedding pie chart.
Stretching your budget doesn't require much work. You just need to exhaust all your resources and find loopholes with supplier's packages. Here are some things thats i've learned from the wedding industry.
Reception (venue, food and drinks) - When choosing a venue, you have to really read the entire fine print. There are some venues that charge incidentals, corkage etc. You might think you are saving money, but in the end, you end up paying more if not properly calculated. Some venues will encourage you to book their packages that are inclusive of catering and some amenities you might not need (like ceiling drapings, stage or in house sound system). Just like booking a vacation, if you have enough time and exert enough effort you can book your flight, accommodation and tours separately and you end up saving money. Same with your venue, catering and sound system. However, there are venues that do offer honest to goodness cheaper all-in packages. You just have to do the math and voila, you will see which would best save you money.
Lastly if you are planning a garden wedding, you can have your ceremony and reception at the same place. It will be very convenient for your guests and all of you will save money on this.
As for the food, there are some venues that offer in house catering. So make sure you do food tastings at all your preferred caterers. Pick the best supplier and see if their packages fit your budget. There are some caterers that offer dinner/party packages that are far less expensive than their wedding packages. Sometimes you can get away in booking this, especially if your wedding month is off-peak. This will literally cut your budget in half. These packages however have simpler floral arrangements for the table centerpieces. So if you're looking to have grandiose styling, take into consideration the possible floral upgrades and compute which will be the cheaperHere is a sample of my styling. First is for dinner/party packages, second is for a wedding
Some food items that you can save on are desserts. Additional desserts, or an upgraded dessert buffet costs more than if you buy it yourself. Just have it delivered or have a friend/relative pick it up before the wedding at ask the caterer to include it in the dessert buffet. DIY dessert buffet designs are very easy.
Here is a sample of DIY dessert buffet i did. I used ribbons, cut out cute name tags and used pretty dessert plates and trays.
Now for the liquor, every good party needs some alcohol. I personally love craft beers, as i am also a beer bottle collector. It's nice to have a bartender with a styled bar set-up, but here in the Philippines this is considered an upgrade with most caterers. A cheaper alternative would be bringing your own liquor and just pay for bar service instead. This will include a bartender, then you can bring your liquor stash at home order from a dealer with the cheapest rates. If you are just going to bring beer, even better. You can just request for a galvanized tub from your caterer, pour ice and chill the beers. This way, you don't need to pay for bar service.
I know these things because i have experienced this first hand. Follow these tips and trust me, you will take down your cost big time. :)