How To Stick To Your Wedding Budget

You have established your wedding budget and what you want to spend it on. So, how do you stick to your wedding budget? 

Whether you need to be really strict with your wedding budget or have some spending wiggle room, it's important to try and stay on track with your target spend. Here are our top tips for sticking to your wedding budget. You can also listen to our top tips in our wedding budget podcast episode.

Track Your Budget

Essentially, strictly tracking your budget is the only fail-safe way of making sure you don’t go over it. This can be a boring task but it will definitely be worth it in the long run! Set up a spreadsheet that you and your partner have access to. Then, in one tab, put the rough budget you’ve allotted for each of your purchases; in another tab, note down literally every purchase you make.

Every month, add up what you’ve spent in each area and compare it to your original, estimated spend. So, if you can see you’ve already used up a lot of your decor budget on half the things you need, you’ll be able to reevaluate before it's too late!

Use a Separate Bank Account 

You might want to set up a separate wedding bank account so it's easy to see exactly where your money is going. Also, you can take advantage of new account offers! For example, some banks will give you £100 for setting up a new account or free travel insurance, which could cover your honeymoon.

Use Your Credit Cards and Loans Responsibly 

For some couples, the best avenue to pay for their wedding will be through personal loans or credit cards.

Loans: Couples choosing a loan often do so in order to have all the money they need for their wedding and pay this off in manageable chunks. If you are considering taking this route, think carefully about the loan you choose. We recommend you do your research on personal loans on a comparison site such as Loans Warehouse and always read the small print before agreeing with the lender. Borrow responsibly, by ensuring that the payments are achievable for your lifestyle and the annual percentage rate (APR) is suitable for you. 

Credit Cards: The most popular credit cards used by wedding couples are 0% interest credit cards and rewards-based credit cards. While both have their perks such as being able to spread the cost of what you borrow and earning cashback or bonuses on your purchases, they must be used responsibly. Before purchasing on any credit card, ensure you are able to pay off the full balance in time to avoid affecting your credit score and getting into unmanageable debt.

Take Out Wedding Insurance

Wedding insurance may seem like an additional cost but it can certainly save you money down the line! While it’s unlikely anything will happen and your day will go completely to plan, it’s good to know you’re covered in case of the unexpected. You don’t want your budget being wasted if you have to cancel or postpone your wedding.

Find areas in your daily life where you could save. But be realistic!

There are so many areas in your life where you could save money day to day and put those funds towards your wedding. For example, by simply cutting out takeaway coffees from your daily expenses, you could save a significant amount of money. For a couple who each spend £3 on a takeaway coffee Monday - Friday, over the 18 months they are planning their wedding they could save £2,340! That's a significant amount to save and could pay for the bridal wear, suits and may even stretch to your bridesmaids outfits.

However, while you may think that it will be easy to cut out many of life's luxuries to save for your wedding, just remember that this isn't as easy as it sounds. There will always be Christmas / birthday presents to purchase, dinner dates with friends and even the occasional takeaway! So, just be realistic with where you can cut costs in your daily life.

Be confident in your decisions and protect your investment

Finally, make sure you are certain about a supplier or venue before you pay your deposit or booking fee. Inevitably, the wedding industry can attract opportunists who (especially in a post-covid world) see weddings as an easy win. This makes it incredibly difficult for the newly established and legitimate businesses (who genuinely want to bring you the best service possible) to attract clients. If you aren't sure about the legitimacy of a business, these questions will help you determine whether you are comfortable investing in their services:

• Are they investing in their business? Many wedding professionals will advertise on wedding directories like Guides for Brides, in magazines and/or represent their business at wedding fairs or shows.
• What is their website like?
• How active is their social media? 
• Are they involved in styled shoots?
• Are they recommended by or regularly working with other suppliers or wedding planners?
• What are their reviews like? 

Top tip: See whether the supplier in question is on Wedding Safe. This is the new industry standard where businesses can demonstrate that they have the correct insurance, covid safety knowledge and show they're trusted and reputable. More and more businesses are joining Wedding Safe to give couples reassurance in the post-covid world. So, if the supplier in question isn't on there, don't be afraid to ask why.

Sticking to your wedding budget may seem overwhelming but don't panic! If you are on the same page as your partner and are sensible and organised, you shouldn’t have any difficulty sticking to your wedding budget.

Use the Guides for Brides budget calculator below to see whether you're on track with your budget and find out how other couples would allocate your spending.