Five Easy and Practical Steps to Creating Your Wedding Budget

By Vic Madriaga

Achieve the wedding of your dreams – without going to debt.

Getting married in the Philippines is no joke. Culturally, we’ve been influenced that weddings should be grand and fancy but I guess the new generation of Filipinos have learned to be practical. 

Stick around as I discuss some practical ways for you to budget your wedding.

1. Estimate the wedding cost 

Asking newly married friends for an estimate of their wedding cost will make you think of how much to spend on it. 

2. Reflect on your affordability

Think and decide on a budget you can afford. If you’re getting married in a year, take a look if you both of you can earn the money within the timeline. Ask yourselves: Is it feasible?

I would recommend if you allocate an additional 5% – 10% budget for the excess expenses. Having an emergency fund for your wedding will assure you that everything will be manageable.

3. List only essential services and products needed

Set your priorities straight and only list down the services and items you would need. One of the many items we have to give up was having a low-level smoke machine. It was a little expensive than being practical so we crossed it out. May I also add not that you should consider the pre-wedding or prenup shoot expenses. 

4. Get quotes and compare.

Once you have the list, the groundwork begins. It’s time to get quotes from your potential suppliers and compare prices. There’s a lot to consider here. A couple of which includes the quality of work, fee/rates, reading testimonials or reviews, and location. 

5. Create a wedding budget spreadsheet.

Put every item and cost on an excel sheet. In this way, you’d have a better view of where the chunk of money will be put in. You may also adjust which items to give up and prioritize. 

In the beginning, Steph and I have made it clear to only spend within our means. We created this wedding budget sheet which helped set priorities and monitor our expenses. I suggest you use it. You may get a copy of it on www.vicmadz.com/weddingbudget. 

I hope these steps will help you properly budget your wedding expenses and eliminate the stress in your preparation. We’ve been to your position and we know it’s not an easy task to do.

I wish you the best in your preparation and wish you a great wedding day! 

Remember that getting married is only the beginning.

I’m @vicmadz on Twitter and Instagram. If you have questions, email me at vicmadz@live.com.