If you are a bride (or the mother of a bride) in the process of planning your wedding, stressful situations have probably become normal occurrences for you. Because of my experience planning and coordinating weddings and events, I will venture to say that I can probably name four of the top five elements that are causing stress as your wedding day gets closer.
In the next few blog posts, I am going to cover these top five stressors and ways to eliminate, or at least reduce the stress involved with each one. The first of these top five is BUDGET.
I would venture to say that you have already encountered the stress related to your budget. Don't feel that this is a unique problem. Very rare is the bride who has an unlimited budget. Whether your budget is $5,000 or $50,000, believe me, you will not have any money left over after all is said and done. The best way to avoid stressing over your budget is to stay within it.
The first thing you should do is determine what that budget is. One way to do this is to make a list; a list that is divided into three categories of elements that you have in mind for your wedding: the "must haves," the want-to-haves," and finally the "nice-to-haves." * These will vary, depending upon the type of wedding you are planning.
Example: must haves - church and/or reception venue, minister, bride's attire and groom's attire, flowers, photographer, videographer, caterer, invitations, etc. Want-to-haves (these are negotiable): champagne, beer, wine, dance band or dj, custom linens, etc. Nice-to-haves: antique get-away car, those precious Monolo Blanik's, a second dress for the reception, guest favors, etc.
Put a value on each item in each category. You can get information from many of the internet wedding sites, Perfect Wedding Guide, Get Married, etc., as to what to expect to pay for these elements. Pretty soon you will have an overall budget range to work with.
Be sure and follow my posts in the coming days to see what I think the number two stressor is when planning your wedding.
* Thanks to Rick Brewer, consultant to wedding industry professionals, for providing information for parts of this post.
In the next few blog posts, I am going to cover these top five stressors and ways to eliminate, or at least reduce the stress involved with each one. The first of these top five is BUDGET.
I would venture to say that you have already encountered the stress related to your budget. Don't feel that this is a unique problem. Very rare is the bride who has an unlimited budget. Whether your budget is $5,000 or $50,000, believe me, you will not have any money left over after all is said and done. The best way to avoid stressing over your budget is to stay within it.
The first thing you should do is determine what that budget is. One way to do this is to make a list; a list that is divided into three categories of elements that you have in mind for your wedding: the "must haves," the want-to-haves," and finally the "nice-to-haves." * These will vary, depending upon the type of wedding you are planning.
Example: must haves - church and/or reception venue, minister, bride's attire and groom's attire, flowers, photographer, videographer, caterer, invitations, etc. Want-to-haves (these are negotiable): champagne, beer, wine, dance band or dj, custom linens, etc. Nice-to-haves: antique get-away car, those precious Monolo Blanik's, a second dress for the reception, guest favors, etc.
Put a value on each item in each category. You can get information from many of the internet wedding sites, Perfect Wedding Guide, Get Married, etc., as to what to expect to pay for these elements. Pretty soon you will have an overall budget range to work with.
Be sure and follow my posts in the coming days to see what I think the number two stressor is when planning your wedding.
* Thanks to Rick Brewer, consultant to wedding industry professionals, for providing information for parts of this post.
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