While people may know the basics to sticking within their budget like not overdoing it with over-the-top florals, there are some less obvious ways to keep the budget in check.
Wedding planner Claudia Hoste advises on what you need to be aware of to keep your budget in check:
* Buying things before you have a budget and a plan: Don't buy anything for the wedding until you make your budget guidelines. It's so easy to get caught up in the excitement of starting to buy things, that money can get spent on little fun details that in the end will not mean as much as you originally thought. You could end up spending way more on something that turns out to be not important and then have to skimp on things that are.
* Getting carried away with the guest list: You want to invite everyone to celebrate the life moment, but not being careful with the guest list is the easiest way to blow up your budget. In addition to the cost of food and beverages for each additional guest, you'll also have to factor in costs of rentals, transportation, and favours.
* Not being clear on what the site fee includes: Every venue is different. Some might require you to rent everything from the napkins to the tables to the lights and bathrooms, which adds up very quickly. Make sure you call a rental company and get quotes for anything that is not included with the site so that you'll know what the total cost is for that venue before you book.
* Not sticking to your timeline: Usually you contract vendors for a specific number of hours. If you don't stick to your timeline, you run the risk of things running late. This means that you'll end up incurring expensive overtime fees that were not budgeted.
