Creating and sticking to a budget until your wedding day can be arduous. It will have an impact on every single decision from your guest list to wedding gown. Ensuring that you are not going beyond the set limit is very stressful. The fear of falling off the track heightens if you have taken out a loan. A wedding day is an occasion when couple spare no expense to deliver the perfect celebration. According to a study, Brits spend £1 on wedding out of every £2.14 earned.

Since wedding is one time celebration, people do not hesitate to take out loans for bad credit with no guarantor and no fees to fund a portion of their expenses. If you have also funded your wedding with loans, be careful because it can take a toll on your finances down the road. You may think that you cannot make a realistic wedding budget, but this is possible if you try to avoid following mistakes:

Not doing research to know the real cost

You have made a list of expenses you are about to incur until your wedding day. You probably have noted down the cost, but estimates are not going to help you at all. It is paramount that you conduct enough research to know about the actual cost before preparing a budget. If you have been reliant on estimated figures, you will suffer from huge stress later.

Before creating supplier estimates, make sure that you have done enough research. Contact multiple venues, catering companies, designers to choose the one that fits your budget. However, make sure that low prices will not compromise with the quality.

Not keeping tabs on expenses

You have allocated funds, but your role does not end here. With a lot of money going out in regular intervals, you are likely to have cash shortfall just before your wedding day if you do not track your expenses. Suppliers take a deposit upfront and remainder prior to your wedding day. If you do not have knowledge of where your money is going and how much, you will likely be running out of money on your wedding day.

Prepare a spreadsheet to record all of your wedding expenses such as deposit payments and final payments. If you do not have enough time to make a manual spreadsheet, try to use online budgeting tools. Apps will alert you if you are on the brink of overspending. Automated reminders will help you stay on the track.

Not finalising invitations

Creating your budget before finalising invitations is your biggest mistake. Each guest adds up to the total cost of your wedding. A large list means bigger venue and higher cost of food and drink. The numbers really add up.

Make a list of guests whom you want to invite. You do not need to feel pressured to invite those who play no role in your life. Try to avoid calling distant relatives or friends as this increases the headache of their accommodation. Once you have fixed the limit for venue and catering, make sure that your guest list fit in it.

Not saving where you can

It is not necessary that you always spend more than your budget, for instance, you have £1,500 budget of buying a wedding dress and you get it at £1,200. You have saved £300. It does not mean that you will use savings in impulsive buys. You will likely face cash shortfall for other categories where you can use these funds.

When you set limit for each category, decide which of them is most important. If you have saved a few bucks, allocate those funds to the other category. You will be fortunate if you have saved some money from each of the category. These savings will help you settle your debt outright.

Sticking to your existing plans

Maybe you have thought of certain flowers to be used for decoration of the reception hall or you have certain wine you want to serve your guests, but you do not need to stick to it. It may be unavailable or very expensive. If you stick to your plan, it will never work according to your budget.

You should be flexible with changing your plans. You may not be able to buy the same wedding gown or same flowers you have decided. You should have an alternative so that you do not panic last moment.

The bottom line

Aforementioned tips will help you have your wedding celebrated in budget. It ensures that you are not spending more than your capacity. Some couples take out short-term loans like loans for unemployed with bad credit to fund even a smaller wedding expenditure. A wedding budget can help you avoid falling into the pressure of debt.