Friday, September 6, 2013
Your fiancé will be more than happy to help with this great trick.
The joy of planning a wedding is something that a girl dreams about as soon as they are big enough to make toilet paper veils. But I’d challenge any guy to raise their hand and admit they’ve been dreaming about their wedding day! I’m pretty sure a groom’s not spending his days dreaming about the color of his tuxedo, or whether he’ll wear a tie or bow tie.
Even when guys do finally take the plunge, offering up a ring to the one they love, they are rarely the one stressing about wedding details. Menu selection, venue, color schemes, decorations, music, a cake designer, a wedding planner, showers, or any of the other details that go into planning that “dream wedding – that’s firmly in the hands of the bride to be.
This planning burden, coupled with “sure honey, whatever you want dear” responses from the groom can add to a bride’s stress level. Many brides get annoyed and frustrated trying to get their fiancé to participate in the wedding plans, without feeling like they are pulling teeth.
But stress no more. We have come up with a great solution that will help you get your future husband involved with the wedding try using: TheWeddingRegistry.me universal gift registry.
Typically when you go to register for wedding gifts you are stuck at those typical big box retailers such as The Bay and Home outfitters for the typical wedding gifts like kitchen appliances and bedding. Most grooms would rather have their back teeth removed than head off on a gift shopping excursion and meeting with a bridal registry consultant.
Inquire at your favorite store if they have a universal gift registry it is something completely different from the typical. It allows you and your groom to register for any item, from any store anywhere, by using your smart phone to swipe a product’s bar code. If shopping on line, you can use our handy tool bar button to add items to your list from various web sites. This allows you to add virtually any gift you can imagine to your registry.
So if your guy wants to add new flat screen TV, accessories for his Harley, or a new snowblower, he can, simply with a swipe of his smartphone.
Another great feature that your future husband will love is our cash gift registry. They can allocate a dollar amount to specific goals and items that they are saving for, e.g new golf clubs, fishing trip, theatre room renovations, anything they truly want and collect the funds directly from your wedding website!
We’re pretty sure we’ve come up with a sure fire way to finally get your future husband involved at last. What do you think?
Knowing how to budget for a wedding keeps spending on track. A
beautiful, romantic wedding will come off as sleek as the blue garter on the
bride’s leg with a solid budget and careful planning. Begin with an initial
planning stage, create a wish list, pare it down, and finally develop a budget.
Couples who come up with a realistic budget and stay within the parameters they
set come out on the other side free of stress and with wonderful memories of
their wedding. Staying focused on a budget helps eliminate impulsive buying
that can throw a bank account into a downward spiral. Take the necessary steps
to learn how to budget for a wedding and revel in the celebration of love
without worrying about the cost the day after.
Initial Planning
The initial planning begins the process of figuring out how much
a dream wedding may cost. The couple must sit down together and begin creating
a strategy of how to budget for their wedding. Do not think in details during
the discussion. The details will come together later. Think in numbers while
discussing the elements of the ceremony and reception. A formal wedding tends
to cost more than an informal one. Estimate the number of guests that may be
invited and keep that number in mind when considering all aspects of a
reception. A sit-down dinner for 50 people may be feasible but a sit-down
dinner complete with servers for 500 may prove to be
too expensive. Create a color palette during your planning. Although color may
not seem important now, purchasing white roses rather than red ones may break
the budget. Always keep in mind the budget for a wedding while covering each
suggested topic.
The theme or style of the wedding often dictates whether it will
be formal or informal. A wedding with the gentlemen attired in tails and the
ladies in Victorian inspired dresses complete with bustles inside a cathedral
says formal. A garden wedding with bridesmaids wearing street-length cotton
sundresses gives an informal air to the celebration.
Below are some questions and points to ponder, that may save you
money:
-Discuss the color palette. Color may have less impact on the
cost, but it’s a good idea to think of color when it comes to flowers.
-Where would you like the wedding ceremony to be held? Will the
reception be in a different location than the ceremony?
-The clothing is an important point of discussion and comprises
a fair amount of the budget depending on the style of wedding you choose.
-How many guests would you like to invite? Will the wedding be
large with family, friends, and acquaintances or a small intimate gathering of
just family? A rough estimate at this point will help keep numbers in mind as
the planning continues.
-Share ideas on the reception. The reception as a whole takes
the lion’s share of the budget. Again, the food served may depend on the style
of the wedding and whether it’s formal or informal.
-Don’t forget to include the wedding cake and groom’s cake, if
you choose to have one, under the food heading.
-Music lends a very personal note to a wedding. Discuss the
music for the ceremony and music for the reception.
-The photography will capture your wedding in pictures or a
video and can be pricey, but capturing the special day forever remains toward
the top of the priority list.
-Wedding rings or bands should be a part of the discussion
unless they’ve all ready been purchased.
-Toss around the idea of a honeymoon at this point.
Discuss these major points, jot down ideas, and then move on to
the next step to continue the process of budgeting for the wedding.
Wish List
Every little girl dreams of being a princess on her special day.
Making the dream come true requires careful planning and knowing how to budget
a wedding. Use the list under initial planning as a guide and jot down every
little thing that captures the imagination. Leave out no detail. If releasing
doves from a gilded cage is part of the dream wedding scenario, then write it
down. It’s important to list everything from gifts for attendants to the white
silk and lace lingerie to wear beneath the elegant white gown. Use the list for
discussion to make sure each aspect of the wedding is covered. Take your time
with the wish list and add more as wedding desires come to light. Once you
complete this step you’re ready to move on to the next.
Paring It Down
Reality must prevail after dreaming and wish list making. It’s
doubtful that every thing from the wish list will make it to the special day,
but making as many dream-wedding wishes part of the celebration as possible
will keep the celebration unique. Take a hard look at the wish list and
prioritize it. Choose the most important aspect of the wedding day and place it
at the top with a number one. If the most important element of the wedding is
walking down the aisle in a Vera Wang gown, place it at number one, but
remember something else might have to go. Continue prioritizing the wish list
until every item has been designated and assigned a number of importance.
You’ll return to this list later, but now it’s time to get nitty-gritty and
down to business.
Create the Budget
Before the wedding budget begins to take shape take account of
available funds. What funds are available for the cost of the wedding? The
website, Bridalassociation.com, projects in the Wedding Report the average cost
of a wedding in 2007 to be over $28,000 with 77% of brides and grooms paying
for the wedding themselves. The bride and groom should look at their savings
accounts to see how much they have to get started with. If the wedding won’t be
for a year or so, consider putting money into a CD (certificate of deposit) to
help save for the big day. Parents often help out couples with wedding
expenses. Be gracious when approaching parents to ask if they would be able to
assist with the cost of the wedding. Consider selling a couple stocks or mutual
funds to help defray the costs. Depending on the size of the savings account
downsizing may be an alternative to finding more money. - See more at:
The time has come to get out the spreadsheet program and sharpen
the pencil. Create a budget for a wedding by listing all possible expenses
under headings. Assign each heading an approximate percentage of the pot. The
reception usually grabs up the largest chunk of the overall budget. Knowing the
number of invited guests gives a more accurate price tag for the reception.
Assign a larger percentage of the budget for the more important elements. An
example: If the most important aspect of the wedding is wearing a beautiful
designer gown, allow for a greater percentage of the overall budget for the
gown. Use the following headings as a guide and then assign percentages to each
group according to importance and what the wedding budget will allow.
Ceremony – include the place of the ceremony, the fee for the
official, and the marriage license.
Clothing – account for the wedding gown, veil, shoes, lingerie,
hair, make-up, and jewelry for the bride also the groom’s tuxedo or suit,
shoes, and haircut
Wedding rings
Flowers – the bride’s bouquet, attendants’ flowers, flower
girl’s basket, boutonnieres, corsages, centerpieces, and any other flowers to
grace the church, hall, or reception venue
Music – include music for the ceremony and if you’re hiring a DJ
or dance band for the reception
Photography – the cost of the photographer and the purchase of
photos must all be taken into consideration along with disposable cameras for
guests to use
Reception – budget for the venue, the food, the caterer, drinks
and bar service, wedding cake, groom’s cake, favors or gifts for guests, and
any decorating items beyond flowers like rentals
Transportation – transportation for wedding party and parking
attendants
Stationery – invitations, name cards, guest book, calligraphy,
and thank you notes fall under this heading
Odds and Ends – This is a catch all heading that can break a
budget if not planned within the budget. Put the wedding planner and any tips
in this category. Items like bird seed to toss or bubbles to blow, the small
boxes tied with ribbon to use for the groom’s cake, gifts for attendants,
welcome baskets for out of town guests, and the doves in the gilded cage should
be accounted for.
Honeymoon – whether you include the honeymoon in the wedding
budget or as a separate big ticket item, it should be accounted for in some
way.
As the count down to the wedding day proceeds keep track in the
spreadsheet of every item purchased and how much it costs. Keep a running total
of each heading and the overall amount that’s been spent. Stay aware of what’s
been spent and what needs to be purchased. Staying on top of expenditures keeps
the couple grounded and less likely to buy on impulse. Try to pay for all
expenses prior to the wedding and keep all receipts in case of a dispute.
A wedding is a big deal and for many people the biggest party
they’ll ever throw. A day marred with stress from overspending and unexpected
costs can be avoided by learning how to budget for a wedding. Through planning,
listing, and budgeting a dream wedding can become a reality, but unless the
budget is adhered to throughout the entire planning it will not work. The
choice is up to the couple to start a life together that is stressful from an
overdrawn bank account or walk away from the day with grand memories of a
wedding paid for in full thanks to creating and sticking to a budget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)