By Toyosi Adeniji
One of the most daunting tasks about wedding planning for every couple is creating a wedding budget. A wedding budget is a financial plan that outlines all the expenses that will be incurred during the wedding planning process.
At Planaday, we have created a wedding budget calculator that makes the process of creating a wedding budget easy and stress-free. Just follow a few steps, and you can get a suggested estimate for your budget!
Steps to Follow When Using the Wedding Budget Calculator
Step 1: Budget Vs No Budget
You can choose to set a specific budget, but if you don’t have one, you can let the calculator determine the estimated cost of your wedding based on your preferences.
Step 2: Enter Your Preferences
After setting your budget or selecting the no budget option, the next step is to enter your preferences. This includes the number of days, guests, and location (we are currently limited to certain locations as we're conducting research for other locations in Nigeria). Once you have entered all your preferences, the wedding budget calculator will generate a comprehensive budget report. The budget report would include a breakdown of the entertainment, media, food and drinks, planning, decoration, wedding apparel, and miscellaneous.
Step 3: Download Your Budget
Just like that, you've created your wedding budget. Input your email and get the budget sent to your inbox, download it, and save it for future reference.
What to Do If Our Estimate Exceeds Your Budget
If the estimated cost of your wedding exceeds your budget, there are several things you can do to bring the costs down. Here are some tips:
1. Uncheck Certain Categories
One of the easiest ways to reduce the cost of your wedding is to uncheck certain categories that are not a priority for you. For example, you can choose to use a DJ instead of having both a DJ and a live band or include just soft drinks instead of including mocktails or cocktails.
2. Reduce Your Guest Count
Fewer guests mean less food and drinks, and you can choose to get a smaller venue if you reduce your guest count. This can significantly lower your expenses.
3. Host Multiple Ceremonies in One Day
The cost of having multiple ceremonies across different days can be quite high. You’ll have to incur costs to pay for a venue, catering, clothing, get a DJ or band for each of those ceremonies. The cost would be high, so it’ll be better to fit those ceremonies into one day to significantly reduce your budget.
Planaday’s wedding budget calculator gives you the best estimate and helps you narrow down the essentials for your wedding budget. You can create your budget here.
