Lorie with H & L Lovely Creations has been such a good friend since the beginning of our journey to be wedding photographers, and we are so excited that she is being featured on our vendor spotlight today. Today Lorie is giving us tips on how to allocate your wedding budget!
Lorie and her husband, Howard, are a husband-and-wife team who love bringing exceptional events to life. Whether you’re dreaming of a luxury destination wedding or an intimate gathering closer to home, they work closely with you and a team of handpicked vendors to create a day that’s as unique as your love story.
Determining Your Wedding Budget
Can you please tell us a little more about you and your company/team? How did you get
started with wedding planning?
It all started when my then-boyfriend, now husband, proposed to me and we had to start planning our own wedding. We didn’t have someone who can help us with it, we didn’t even know that you should hire a wedding planner; and although our wedding planning journey was wonderful, we wish we had known about a planner/coordinator ahead of time. So based on our personal experience, we wanted to help and serve others to avoid them going through the stress that planning a wedding entails. Then is when the idea of H & L (our name initials) started. And the rest is history!
Wedding planning and allocating the wedding budget can be intimidating – How do you
recommend a couple determine their overall wedding budget?
Talking about money is something uncomfortable for the majority of people, however, it’s one of the most important topics in marriage (in life and when planning something as big as your wedding), you need to KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. Otherwise, you are going to have lots of heartbreaks and potential debt.
When determining your financial comfort zone, answer these 3 things:
- WHERE: The venue should be your # 1 thing in the list (besides the wedding dress). The location of your venue will help determine a lot of other things.
- WHAT: Hosting a wedding is technically inviting all your guests out to eat, so this is where most of your money will gravitate towards. Think of what would you want those options to be.
- WHEN: The season of your wedding will also play a very important role in your wedding finances allocation. Spring and Summer weddings tend to be more popular than winter weddings, so can run into “prime date” fees when booking your venue and vendors.
You do not need to spend millions to have the wedding of your dreams, you just need to have the right plan. Sit down with your future spouse and write down all the things you both want for your wedding, then go over the list and ask yourselves: do you just want it or do you really need it? and start scratching things away.
Keep yourselves accountable to the final list so that way you do not end up overspending.
Another important thing to consider when accounting for your overall wedding fund is your families. Most parents -and sometimes grandparents would want to contribute to their child’s wedding. Sit down with each of the families and have those conversations too.
6 Tips on How to Allocate Your Wedding Budget
1. Define Priorities
Your wedding can be magical if you define priorities: what do you really want? An insurmountable location? A spectacular dress?A wonderful honeymoon? Luxury rings? Decide what you want most and dedicate a significant percentage of your capital to fulfill your dream. The rest of the preparations should be subject to what is left of your wedding fund.
2. Plan with a lot of time
This point is basic. If you organize your wedding within one or two years you will have enough time to raise money and make payments little by little. However, if you want to organize your wedding in a matter of months, you will have to settle all the invoices in a very short space. In addition, some providers charge an extra fee for acting urgently -a “rush fee.”
3. Limit the number of guests
The more people you want at your wedding, the more your expenses are going to rise. So, even if it’s hard to decide who to invite and who not to, having a fixed number of guests is the most practical way to take care of your wedding finances.
4. Use local and seasonal flowers
The roses always look good, the gerberas look amazing at garden or beach events, and you can usually get them at a great price. In contrast, orchids and tulips are among the most expensive flowers. Ask your flower vendor for recommendations.
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5. Save at the banquet
Your banquet can be delicious without spending too much. Offer chicken, instead of meat or shrimp, and request that your wines be consigned. In this way, you will only pay for what is consumed. Limit your alcohol choices, most food can be nicely paired with wine, so if you offer 3 kinds of wines (white, red, and pink) it will be enough. Hard alcohol and/or bottled alcohol (beer) can be on the expensive side. If you decide on beer, try to get the kegs, they seem to be more cost/efficient than the regular cans or bottles.
6. Don’t hurry up
Take your time to reflect and buy what you really want. Avoid making impulsive or pressured acquisitions, like those beautiful and very expensive shoes, I know they look very pretty! but you want to be comfortable during your big day, so skip the fancy shoes and get some nice flats, your feet will thank you and your guests won’t even notice.
Thank you so much Lorie for helping our couples determine their budgets! We can’t thank you enough for being such a good friend. If you are looking for wedding planner and designer in Southern California give Lorie a call!
We’re now booking for 2023, let’s get your date secured!
