OH&L Weddings - A Bridal Bouquet of Budgeting Tips

by Jamie M. O’Donnell

As a wedding planner, I’ve grown familiar with the glazed look on the faces of the bride, groom and parents when I ask them, “What is your budget?” The look tells me they don’t know where to start.
Well, to coin a phrase: I do.

Romance and realism make a great couple. Here are some tips for joining the two.

Don’t spend beyond your means. I always cringe when couples overspend for one lavish day and then start their lives together in debt. You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a wedding you’ll cherish forever.

Identify your priorities. If you love flowers and want them to be a main focal point of your day, that’s fine. Let’s offset that expense via a less expensive menu. If you’re a foodie, let’s create a feast that guests will talk about for years to come. If you’re into music, find a killer band. Choose where you want to splurge.

Start with food and drinks. Why? Because feeding your guests will virtually always comprise at least half of your overall budget. Consequently, it’s smart to nail down these costs first and then work with what you have left for everything else.

Use an Excel spreadsheet. Run your wedding like you’d run your business. A budget on a spreadsheet is the best way to make certain you don’t overspend. I create a line item for each expense category, and the spreadsheet automatically tallies subtotals and grand totals.

Rely on trusted vendors for advice. Don’t be too proud to ask the experts for creative, money-saving ideas. You can reduce your floral costs, for example, by replacing large centerpieces with a variety of candle arrangements, or by using dramatic tall glass vases containing one or two tall flowers. If you need to save on dinner, ask the caterer to slightly reduce the portion sizes of your entrées.

Find a photographer you genuinely like. Good photographers and videographers can range in price from $2,500 to 10 times that amount or more. Make sure you find their personality, their visual style and their price range attractive. And make sure a DVD containing all your photos and video will be provided to you after your wedding. You, not the vendor, should own the images.

Let them eat cake! But bear in mind what that cake will cost. It can range from a few hundred to thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the guest list and the style of the cake. Consider, believe it or not, a Publix cake. Its delicious, and the simplicity of its design allows for easy customization.

Home or away? You’d think hosting a wedding at a private home would be a less expensive option than hosting it at a hotel or other venue. In reality, a home wedding can actually cost more. Most homes aren’t set up for entertaining large groups of guests. Therefore, all the elements, including tents, tables, chairs, linens and even generators for additional power, must be brought in.

Beware the ++. It’s very important to understand the “++” after each number in a contract, especially for food and beverage. The dual pluses signify tax and gratuity. So, at $100++ per person for 100 dinner guests, you’ll actually spend $13,206. That’s because most venues tack on a 24 percent gratuity/service charge and a 6.5 percent tax.

Hire a wedding planner. A good wedding planner can save you both money and friendships. For most people, having a professional wedding planner managing vendors, rentals, parking and much, much more simply works out better than having family and friends do it.

Be true to yourselves. Feel free to combine or incorporate elements of your respective heritages. Do something ultra-traditional or completely off the wall. Incorporate some of your favorite things, such as warm chocolate chip cookies and shot glasses of cold milk instead of a large cake. Your wedding is about the two of you, so make it your goal to please yourselves, not everyone else.

Jamie O’Donnell, Event Planning and Design, has been a celebrity wedding planner, bridal consultant and stylist for 20 years.