Indian Wedding Budget Worksheet
Your wedding budget is one of the very first things you will need to look at when you are planning your special day. It will allow you to have some control over your day, and will help you get a better idea of the tone of your Indian wedding.
It will help you define what is important and what is a “nice to have” touch.
Not having a set and solid budget for your wedding can result in over the top and out of control spending which can be fun in the moment, but no one wants to start their married life together buried under a mountain of wedding debt.
Sit down with your fiancé and have a frank and open discussion about what you can afford to spend on your wedding. In some cultures the bride’s family will be prepared to pay for the wedding, while in others, both the grooms and brides family will contribute funds.
More often than not, today, if you and your future spouse are both working, you may expect to pay for some of your wedding expenses.
Regardless of who is paying for the wedding, having a realistic, working budget is going to be vital to the planning of your wedding.
Weddings can be expensive. If you do not set a working budget for your event, then you may be very unpleasantly surprised at how fast costs add up and how quickly you find yourself in matrimonial debt.
Here is a budget planning tool provided by: Beyoutiful Beginnings
Here is how you can plan an Indian Wedding on a small budget
Allocate Funds
Once all of the contributors to your Indian wedding have put their financial cards on the table and you know what kind of funds you are working with, your next task as a couple, will be to determine how to allocate your funds.
You and your betrothed will need to spend some time (if you have not already) talking about what you hope your wedding day will look like.
From that launching point, the two of you can start determining where you want your money to be spent. For example, if you and your fiancé have determined that ensuring that everyone has the best dining experience, you may wish to allocate a larger portion of your budget to the catering and reception costs.
Or if you and your fiancé are committed to hiring a hot air balloon to deliver you to the ceremony, then you will need to work that into the budget as well!
Make sure that you take into consideration what both of you want in your wedding day. Once you have a better idea of what you are both hoping for, you can start prioritizing those wishes and determining how you spend your budget.
Determine what is most important to you both and what would fall into the “nice to have” category and determine your plan of action from there.
Set some touchstones that may or may not affect your budget
Before you move too far ahead into the wedding planning, you will need to set some touchstones that may or may not affect your budget.
One of the most important factors to consider before you get much further is to determine the size of the wedding you want to have. Specifically, determine the guest list (at least in a draft form).
A wedding budget can be divided up very differently with a guest list of 250 people then it would be for a guest list of 1000.
Engage your friends
If your budget is tight, which more and more brides to be are finding, then start accessing your network of resources.
Do you have a friend or family member who is crafty and has great attention to detail? Why not enlist him or her to help create beautiful centerpieces for your reception tables?
Many of the tasks (and fees associated with them) that traditionally go to very high end businesses can be re-directed to smaller companies and individuals with comparable skills.
Get estimates and customer feed backs for a better deal
Do some research in your geographic area and find out who provides the services you are looking for and get some estimates and customer feedback.
Talk to friends, co-workers, and family members who have had their own wedding experiences and get first hand recommendations that you can consider when looking at your own options.
Visit company websites, instagram pages and visit bridal shows to get an all around view of the companies you are interested in.
Try home made favors
Homemade favors can be a wonderful, personal touch to add to your wedding. If you choose to do a “do it yourself” favor for your wedding, ensure that it is something you enjoy doing (because you are probably going to have to do more than one or two of them!) you have enough time to do it properly and have it done in a timely manner.
You do not want to find yourself scrambling to finish a project the night before your wedding.
Rushing at those times can lead to sloppy workmanship which will not be the reflection you want on your wedding!
Budgeting is really not a very fun task at any time, but especially when you want to ensure that your big day is going to be the beginning of your “Happily Ever After” story, and you want it to be perfect.
It can still be perfect when you operate within a budget. You will need to prioritize your wants and renegotiate your budget if necessary.
Your wedding day is about the two of you, so be true to yourselves and make it a day to remember.
Edited By Must Be Kismet
