The first note to yourself should be it does not need to be either or decision. You can still have a wonderful dream wedding on a budget. Unless you are from a high income family, you will need to think about the budget. Even if you have been working hard and saving all your life for this big day, you should definitely set a budget for yourself .
One sincere advice that I'll give to every bride-to-be is remember this is not the end, this is the beginning. Most brides usually think of their wedding day as the one day when heaven should meet earth and then the rest will sort itself out. Well, the truth is there are tons of other expenses that will be just as important if not more than your wedding day.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't have fun. I'm all for a dream wedding, just the dream doesn't have to be a Yash Raj movie.
Now there are tons of site with tips on how you can plan a wedding on a budget. Below are some of my personal learning.
How to fix the budget?
Have a 3 tiered budget - super soft limit , soft limit and then hard limit. I like to think of them as must, should, want.
- Super Soft Limit : Indian weddings have tons of musts and they need to be covered (clothes for everyone, venue, food, jewelry, cameraman, so on). Got to have them, these are non-negotiable.
- Soft Limit : These are what make your wedding fun. Mehendi and Sangeet nights, band bajaa or DJ, gifts for relatives etc. There are ways to get these done on a small budget, so not something to lose your sleep on.
- Hard limit : This is the final limit and anything exceeding needs to be replaced with something else. I would recommend to set this at almost 10% of your soft limit amount. This is to take care of last minute, "oh I didn't think of that" expense. Believe me there are tons of those even if you have planned every single second.
Tips to keep in mind while estimating expenses:
- don't try to cut corners on your dress/saree, the venue, the cameraman and your make up. Those are the only memories that will be left of that day years after your big day
- food should be good but you can't please everyone. People will complaint so just think of what you or your groom likes to eat.
- you will need to spend on gifts for your in-laws and their family. This is kind of your first interaction with the extended in-laws and you want to start on a strong foot.
- Indian weddings are synonymous to eating. So beside the full meals, there are going to be other small meals/snacks that you need to cater.
Hope you find these helpful! Happy budgeting :D
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