Weddings and Budgets Don’t Mix

Planning for a wedding will   result in a person experiencing a whole range of emotions –   excitement, fear, nervousness, shock

One part of the planning that can really set the emotions off is the budget! Setting a budget is always a good idea and this is no exception, because once the budget is set you feel excited and more importantly, in control. However, this is the moment when things can turn! As I have been through this process only very recently, I can vouch that I felt good once the budget was set. It was only now that we tallied how much things actually cost, that my feelings certainly changed.

Firstly, when you are planning for a wedding and trying to get quotes on flowers, rings, suits, etc. there is always a mark-up as soon as the word ‘wedding’ gets mentioned.

Secondly, when the bride-to-be wants to include a few extra things that weren’t initially budgeted for, there is no option to say no, so these ‘little’ things can certainly add up.

Thirdly, when you want a certain type of car and it’s more expensive than the alternative, you always go for the more expensive  option – simple logic that if it costs more, it must be better!

So when it came down to actually working out how to pay for everything, we realised that we ended up quite over budget.

Of course I was blamed because as the accountant, I was supposed to be in control of this!

Looking back it was a good idea to try to set a budget, but instead of trying to work out how much each individual item cost, then working out the total, we should have worked out how much we were willing to spend in total and then trying to fit everything into that amount.

You’ll be happy to know I got married at the end of November, so I’ve been   happily married for a few days now – long may it continue!

By Christian Sloniec