Money Matters

A wedding involves lots of money & prior arrangements. A wedding is not just a matter of a few thousands, but the essentials often make it to a lakh or more. So the budgeting has to be done very carefully in order to avoid any extra costs. There is also the question of allocating the budget into different accounts. All this is a careful plan, which can make the marriage an affair well within the reach of the family members.

First decide the amount you want to spend for the wedding & divide the amount into various accounts. Whatever be your amount, if you divide this roughly according to the below chart then you can end up the whole affair in a convenient fashion. You can divide your amount in the same way for a hassle free way to budgeting. Take a look at the chart for a clear view of the budgeting break up.

Ceremonies Breakup
Bridal Trousseau	15%
Jewellery	15%
Pre-wedding Ceremonies (if any)	2%
Catering (plus gratitude)	20%
Gifts	10%
Wedding day celebrations	10%
Venue	10%
Photography/ Videography	10%
Decor and florists	2%
Brides attire and make up	3%
Miscellaneous	3%

Budgeting

The most important part of any wedding is how do you plan to finance the wedding? It is a good idea if the parents commit a precise amount of money, and the bride & groom supplement it.

• Take references from friends or relatives who have recently conducted weddings.
• Maintain a budget file to check your expenses.
• Make a list of urgent & optional items.
• Assign each element an approximate amount or a percentage.
• Get quotes from more than one service provider for catering, photography, décor, venue etc.