Spend or Save: A guide to putting your hard earned wedding dollars to good use.

Let's talk about money and wedding budgets...

Of course we would all love to have Kate and William size budgets for our own royal wedding, but unlimited budgets are often not within our means.  So, we take to spreadsheets to help us determine where we need to spend our money to get the most bang for our hard earned bucks!

One of the first thing that I do with new clients is have the "budget talk" - sure... not as much fun as the cake tasting or the design meeting, but one that is absolutely necessary to start us off on the right track right out of the gate.

If you do a quick google search you will find hundreds of pre-fab budgets that pop up that provide you with a magical percentage of what you should be spending on each element of your wedding - and this is a great place to start.

But more importantly, I believe that you need to look at your own personal goals first and determine your own personal "save V.S spend" for each area of your wedding.  Not a flower person? cool... let's save some money here and go a different route.  Huge foodie: ok SPEND here and we can sacrifice in areas that are not as important to you.

For me, my top three "spends" are as follows:

1. Photography:  To me this is an area where you can not afford to try and save cash.  After your wedding is over and the last thank you note is sent out, it is these photographs that remain.  They capture all of the planning and all of the wonderful things that happened on your wedding day.  It is worth the investment in a GREAT photographer.  SPEND

2. Wedding Planner:  (yeah, yeah... I know, I know...stay with me here) Spending your money on a well trained, WPIC certified, experienced, professional planner that suits your style can save you time, money and many many headaches both during the planning process and during the wedding day itself.  I understand that not every couple needs a wedding planner for the full planning process - but I believe that every couple should have at least a month-of-planner who will not only be there for you during the most hectic time of the planning process (the month of) but will also protect the hard work and the investment that you have put into this wedding.  By managing the day-of, your wedding planner/coordinator will make sure that everything runs as it is supposed to, so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labour! This is important: SPEND

3.  Food:  Everyone loves to eat... and talk about food.  After the wedding is finished, most people will forget what the centrepieces looked like and which flowers you had in your bouquet, but they will always remember if there was lots of yummy food.

Determining your own personal "spend VS save" is an important part of getting the most out of your wedding day.  Keeping these top tier items in mind when planning your full wedding budget will ensure you get the balance right.   What are (or were) your "spend VS Save" priorities for your wedding day?
Tell me all about it in the comments!