7 Easy Tips To Stick To Your Wedding Budget & Avoid Overspending

South Asian Weddings are always known to be a larger-than-life affair for couples and their families, but keeping a check on the budget holds great significance whether it's an intimate, home garden wedding or a grand destination wedding with all pump and show. 

Every couple wishes for something spectacular or unique in their wedding, be it their venue, destination, outfits, decor, cake, or DJ which eventually adds to the total cost. Deciding on a wedding budget is a very crucial thing to do, so you can have a stress and friction-free wedding. 

You may also notice during the wedding season, almost all the good venues or vendors are either booked in advance or are overpriced. Thus, managing everything to be within the budget is not possible for everyone. But, you can always learn tricks and tips to manage and create the wedding of your dreams without making a hole in your pocket. 

Easy Tips To Stick To Your Wedding Budget & Avoid Overspending

Wondering where and how to do that? Fret not, Pyaari Weddings - Your Elegant, Easy, and Effortless South Asian Wedding Planner is here to guide you with all the ways to sort your wedding budget and keep a check on the costs to spend effectively and wisely. 

1. Create a budget and stick to it

Source: Farah Talib Aziz ; Nadir Firoz Khan

Managing a wedding is the trickiest task for any couple especially when it comes to budgeting. With so much coming in and out, sticking to the budget is quite difficult. But worry not, we are here to help you. Once both the partners or families are OK with the wedding dates, openly discuss your wedding budget, or the amount you wish to spend. Make a list of things you want or you have planned for your wedding (include everything from the venue to food to decor to DJ etcetera). If you have any special demand or wish for your wedding like any special vendor or destination, discuss that as well. Take out the approximate cost of every single thing that is important to you both and the family, and match it with your decided budget. If it fits within your budget, then it is the cherry on the cake, and if anything is over budget, try to take alternative options or try some DIY hacks or consult the local vendors or take some advice from wedding experts.

2. Prioritize your spending

If you haven't done this earlier, now is the time. Prioritize your spending and make a note to remind yourself. Preparing for a wedding is a wholesome job, you have to do everything but nothing should go off the charts. We all are aware that during weddings the spending is countless. You cannot track everything at once. Breaking down the money/spending as per the priority and on the valuable goods would be a smart decision. For instance: You can set outfits, and makeup on priority, and jewelry you can rent out to save a little bit or vice versa. The footwear you can shop anytime during the sales or try purchasing a not-so-expensive pair for the wedding day. In the same way, the venue, decor, food, and music should be on the top list along with a minimal guest list. So instead of spending thousands of dollars on everything, divide the money from the most important tasks to the least important things so that you can make your dream wedding a reality.

3. Look for cost-saving opportunities

Source: CJ Williams Photography

Knowing that everything in a wedding costs and most of the time is overpriced during the season which somehow can fluctuate your budget. To mind your pocket and budget during your wedding, try to search for some cost-saving opportunities like booking the same venue for all events can save some bucks and provide you with some complimentary services, choosing the caterers suggested by venue owners can also help, hire the same vendors for all events (haldi, mehndi, sangeet, reception) like DJ, caterers, decor, accommodation, etcetera. Also, you can hire the same henna vendor for the bride as well as guests to save money. He/she can get more people with them to help with henna for guests.

Source: Marigold Design House ; Alante Photography

The wedding decor also costs dollars, you can save some by opting for natural or outdoor venues like beaches, gardens, or mountains or you can move one step ahead by choosing DIY or eco-friendly decor ideas.

Also Read: 15 Creative Decor Ideas For An Eco-friendly Wedding

4. Avoid hidden costs

The weddings always come with miscellaneous or hidden charges and the couple has to incur them sooner or later. There are ways to protect that too. And if you're thinking how? Let us share. For instance, inform your guests to arrive or leave the accommodation on time so that you can avoid extra charges; many hotels or venues allow personal liquor but charge a corkage fee per bottle, you can avoid that by confirming before; try to avoid overtime at the venue because it costs extra; strictly mention +1, kids or pets in your cards if allowed or not allowed to save the money; etcetera. Keeping these little things in mind to save from a long list of extra expenses. Couples can keep track of these things or assign someone from their friends to keep a check.

5. Do thorough research before purchasing

An elaborate shopping list can never be completed at once. We advise you to never shop for everything from the first shop you visit for your wedding. Accessories like stationary, gifts, makeup products, outfits, footwear, kaleere, floral jewelry, and many more things, could be shopped after researching many stores, online and offline, and can even visit shops. Your wedding shopping is a never-ending thing that will not end until the last minute of your wedding. 

So we would love to advise the couple, to start researching months in advance for their wedding and every single detail you seek in your wedding preparations like the vendors, destination, venue, music, the latest trends, etcetera should be cross-checked before the beginning of your preparations to avoid chaos and extra spending. 

6. Minimize the guest list

We prefer you to invite guests that are extremely important and close to you and your family and who truly deserve to be with you on the most special day of your life. You can avoid spending extra by thoroughly checking the guest list. Every single addition in the guest name will cost extra and separate for everything. Inviting several guests just for the sake of inviting is of no means to anyone. Therefore prepare a list calmly with the consent of both families and have fun at your wedding.

Also Read: 15 Elements We Loved From Ranbir & Alia’s Intimate Home Wedding

7. Try DIY Ideas

Source: Hitched & Clicked

There are many tutorials available online on Youtube, Pinterest, and Instagram regarding decor ideas, creating hashtags, wrapping gifts, preparing flash cards, deciding games, and props, packings the trousseau, designing cards, and styling as well, makeup hacks, etcetera.

Source: Naman Verma Photography

You can try all those things at home if you have time and want to add some touch of creativity and personalization to your wedding celebrations. No doubt it will be time-consuming but can save you thousands of dollars. To manage everything on time for certain DIY ideas, you just have to start preparing everything a week ago, to execute it perfectly. You can also take the help of your friends and family.

Also Read: 25+ Latest and Trending Paper Decor Ideas For 2022-2023 Weddings

Conclusion

We understand it's a once-in-a-lifetime moment for the bride and groom and they want it to be nothing, but the best. And this is very much possible if you make wise and careful decisions for wedding planning. Even the smallest of efforts count, and if both families try and take efficient decisions, this will definitely result in staying within your budget while planning a wedding and avoiding overspending. 

Thus, these easy tips can help in turning your dream wedding into a reality and making it memorable.

Edited & Photo Sourced By: Neha Garg Ahuja