Читать книгу Planning A Wedding For Dummies - Sarah Lizabeth Barker - Страница 46

The biggest budget buster is not setting limits on your guest list and budget. It’s important to make sure you have determined how much you can spend so that you avoid scrambling in the end, trying to come up with money you simply don’t have.

Your budget is often determined by how many guests you’re having at your wedding. Whether you have 50 guests or 200 guests, your budget will have to include everything you need to put on the size of a wedding that you planned. When you tell a vendor you’ll have 100 guests and you end up with 150 guests, that will be a big budget buster.

When I’m discussing a guest list with a client, I often say to them, “Can you hand each person on this list $200, and say, I want you to come to my wedding?” It’s easy to get caught up in who should and should not be invited. It’s a train that you can’t stop. You invite one person, then you must invite another person, then another, and another, and all of a sudden, you have 50 people on the invite list who really shouldn’t be.

I know, we’ve all been there and it’s easy to fall into this never-ending cycle. Therefore, it’s very important to put limits on how many people you invite. The more people you invite, the more budget you’ll need. It’s just that simple. In a wedding there are variable costs and fixed costs. The variable costs are anything that has to do with goods such as your food, bar, or rentals. If you have more people, you need more food, alcohol, or chairs. A variable cost is a service such as a DJ, photographer, or videographer. Those costs will not change based on how many people you invite.

I always encourage my clients to divide the list between their parents’ friends and their friends. It can be frustrating to feel like you need to invite someone because they’re friends of the family. You don’t really know them but now you must pay for them to come to your wedding. Set those limits early in the planning process. Consider your friends being 50% of the list and then divide the remaining 50% between both sets of parents. Make sure those limits are set and stick to it to avoid additional costs that weren’t originally factored into your budget.

Another train easy to get on is the “add-on” train. Here’s how this one goes. You met with a vendor; you locked in what you want included and what you don’t want included. Then here come the add-ons! “Why yes, we would love an extra floral arrangement that we don’t need.” “Yes, let’s do another signature drink.” “Yes, let’s add another band member. I just love a good trumpet player.” This train will never stop, and you’ll add what seems to be a simple thing every time. Before you know it, you have increased your budget by 5% in things you didn’t know were important to you. Stick to the plan. After you have everything in place and know that you have additional money in your budget, then add away!

Setting your limits, and sticking to them, will help avoid the dreaded scramble for more money. You have only what is in your budget. It isn’t magic money, so stay within what you have, and your planning process will be much more enjoyable.