Singaporebrides | Weddings 101

August 2021

10 Common Wedding Budget Mistakes You Can Actually Avoid

By Tansey Tang

Share this article on:
Facebook

Don’t make these common wedding budget mistakes that could blow your budget!

Planning a wedding is probably the biggest and most expensive project you’ve undertaken as a couple, and one of the hardest things involved is managing the budget! With all the excitement around your once-in-a-lifetime celebration and the pressure of planning everything yourself—amidst COVID-19, no less—couples often get overwhelmed and make some very common wedding budget mistakes that lead to stress and panic.

But these common wedding budget mistakes can be easily avoided. Read on for some of the usual culprits for going over a wedding budget, and how you can sidestep them!

1. Not Knowing Where to Start

After the excitement of the surprise proposal success fades and you’re faced with the daunting prospect of planning a huge celebration out of your own pocket, you might be at a loss for where to begin. We recommend sitting down with your partner to discuss what amount you’d like to set aside for your wedding, and the kind of wedding you want—a casual beach solemnisation, an intimate garden wedding, or a grand and formal affair in a ballroom? Knowing your wedding vision will help you gauge how much you’ll need to save up for your wedding budget.

2. Using “Average Costs”

Each weddings is as unique as each couple, and how much one wedding costs can vary widely from another. Average costs can serve as a guide, but they shouldn’t go into your actual wedding budget. Don’t make the common wedding budget mistake of taking the figure of an “average wedding gown cost” or “average wedding photographer cost” and plugging that into your wedding budget, because the costs of wedding gowns and photographers have a big range. For more accurate estimates, use our Featured Vendor lists to find a few vendors who resonate with you. You’ll get a better idea of your wedding cost with their published rates.

3. Not Starting Early Enough

The earlier you start, the more opportunity you have to take advantage of promotions and extra privileges during wedding events or sales. You’ll also be able to space out your deposits and final payments, so you have more time to save in between.

4. Not Focussing on Priorities

There are a million things that go into a wedding, but not all of them will be important to you. Couples who get caught up with booking vendors without stopping to think about what they truly want can find themselves having to sacrifice something they love later on when the wedding budget runs dry.Focus your wedding budget on the details that matter to you—whether you’ve always dreamt of a garden wedding or of looking like a Disney princess—and you’ll be able to save money while creating a wedding that’s really special to you.

5. Forgetting Small Items

Many couples make the common wedding budget mistake of missing out smaller items when noting down the budget for a big-ticket item. When budgeting for your wedding gown, don’t forget to account for things like your hair accessories, shoes, veil, or dry cleaning into your costs. Forgetting small items like these can add up and make you go over your wedding budget.

6. Making Emotional, Impulse Buys

Spur-of-the-moment purchases often result in buyer’s remorse, and that’s even more true when you’ve got a tight wedding budget. You might feel stressed and pressed for time, but allow yourself to do the research and mull over a purchase before hitting that “Order Now” button. Chances are, you won’t miss that backup wedding gown or those 100 fairy light strings that went on sale.

7. Shopping in the Wrong Price Range

If you’ve already set aside an amount for a particular item, don’t go window shopping in price ranges that are out of your budget. Once you’ve tried on that designer wedding gown and fallen deeply in love, it can be hard to say no to it to stick to your budget.

8. Not Allocating a Buffer

No matter how meticulous you’ve been in planning your wedding budget, there will be some miscellaneous items that crop up. Going over budget here, racking up some after-hours costs there, having to pay for a delivery cost that you weren’t expecting—these can give you a nasty surprise. Don’t make the common wedding budget mistake of forgetting to allocate a buffer of 10-15% so you can pay for all the extra costs.

9. Not Asking about Additional Costs

On that note, make sure you ask your wedding vendors about any additional charges you may incur. Are there early surcharges; are service charges and GST built into your quote; will you need to top up beyond a certain amount of images? These additional costs can blow up if you didn’t factor them into your wedding budget.

10. Not Keeping Track of the Expenses

Planning the wedding budget is just the first step; you’ll also need to make sure you manage it by tracking all of your expenses. With many different vendors taking a deposit upfront and then the rest of the fees at a later date, it easy to lose track of the many intervals when you need to fork out some cash. Keep track of your wedding budget by inputting due dates and figures, so you won’t be caught short when an invoice suddenly arrives in your inbox.

Credits: Feature image from Antoinette and Terrence’s Dreamy and Modern Pre-Wedding Shoot in Singapore by Bridelope Productions

All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeBrides.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram for the latest article and promotion updates!