This is the final article in the series of three short articles on planning your dream wedding celebration by Cain Humphrey, based on research and 23 years of wedding experience. In our first article we discussed factors in choosing your wedding date which should be done 12-14 months in advance at a minimum. In the second installment we talked about prioritizing the items and professionals in your budget.
The best way to prioritize your budget is list all of the items in your budget (venue, meal, beverages, entertainment, photographer, gown, flowers, etc.) in the order that you feel are the most important to you. (When we say YOU here I am talking of course about the most important person at the celebration, the bride of course.) If you want the most beautiful wedding gown that ever strolled down the aisle, put that at the top of your list. If you want your guests to leave with full stomachs going on and on about how wonderful the food was move catering to the top. If the most important thing to you is that your guests stay all night and celebrate your wedding day with you, you will need to keep them entertained throughout your wedding day and should have entertainment at top of your budget. Plan to spend the higher percentage of your budget on the things that are most important to you and cut back on the lower priority items.
Now you have your beginning budget, begin looking at venues and interviewing your wedding vendors and choose those that offer the selection of services you are looking for and fit within your budget. Keep in mind as you begin to meet with your vendors, that it may be necessary to adjust your budget so it realistically matches your priorities and expectations for each vendor. Don’t be tempted to ask only about pricing, if you don’t yet know what you are getting for your money, price doesn’t mean much but that’s another article.
Contact DJCain.com today to setup a free no obligation consultation. Email Cain@DJCain.com to receive a free Microsoft Excel ™ file with a sample budget that you can adjust to fit your budget. DJCain.com can help even if we are not available for your wedding day.