1. Engagement Ring Care

Many of you were presented with a beautiful sparkly engagement ring. However, overtime you may find that your little beauty may loose a little bit of her shine. Don’t panic! This is entirely normal. The use of hand sanitiser, soaps, makeup & cosmetics, plus a little wear and tear, can cause your engagement ring to look a little dull. Which is why you should have your engagement ring professionally cleaned once in a while.

If you’re wondering how often you should have your engagement ring cleaned and the costs associated, look no further. Here, I outline a few hidden wedding costs of ensuring your engagement ring is in tip-top shape for all of your pre-wedding appearances. 

I personally allocated 10% of my engagement ring value for a professional clean. And I wasn’t disappointed at all! My family jeweller had my engagement ring looking it’s best in no time. Within 24 hours, me and my engagement ring were ready to strut our stuff – cue Beyoncé ‘single ladies’ (put a ring on it).

2. Jewellery Care Kit

My ring made a star appearance at our professional engagement shoot, our engagement party and last but not least our wedding day. This should be obvious, right? If I was given a £1, each time a bride forgot to include the cost of cleaning her engagement ring in her wedding budget – I’d be the richest wedding planner in London! 

Please don’t stress if you’re unable to get your engagement ring professionally cleaned. For instance, you could always ask your jeweller for advice. They’ll be best placed to recommend an at home cleaning kit, which usually costs between £25 – £50. Just make sure that all of your wedding jewellery is glistening in time for your big day. The last thing I want, is for you to look back at your wedding photos with any regret. 

3. The Hidden Costs Of A Wedding Website

Is a wedding website, one of your hidden wedding costs? I hope not. Opting for a personalised wedding website was one of the best decisions my husband and I made. We were lucky enough to get married in 2019. During this time there was a lot of uncertainty due to Brexit. We found our wedding website was the best platform to bring all of our 300 guests together in once place – virtually. Plus it served as an excellent reference point for us all – guests, bridal party and suppliers included. 

With virtual weddings becoming more popular these days, in addition to traditional wedding stationary, a wedding website is a fantastic way to set the tone for your big day and give your guests a glimpse of what to expect. Just think, your guests will be given an incredible opportunity to gain an insight into your relationship and get to know your bridal party at their own pace. You can even set-up alerts to notify your guests of any last minute changes. 

Depending on the functionality, aesthetic and length of time you’d like your wedding website ‘live’. You should allocate £100 – £250 for the design and hosting of your wedding website. £250 – £500 if planning your wedding during COVID-19. You may find my wedding planning power hours handy if you need help writing your content.

While the main purpose of a wedding website is to assist ‘all’ in the lead up to your wedding day. For me, it served as a beautiful memento. A beautiful keepsakes for me and my family to reflect on many years after my wedding day.

4. The Costs Associated With Storing Your Wedding Dress

Whether you’re considering an elopement or need to store your wedding dress before or after your wedding day. I’d highly recommend you purchase a luxury wedding dress storage box with acid free tissue paper. This will protect your dress from any damage. I remember having to purchase several boxes: 1 for my wedding dress, 1 for my veil and a few for my flower girls and bridesmaids. Depending on the size of your dress, layers and veil length, a good quality dress storage box can cost anywhere between £75 – £200.

5. Wedding Dress Alterations

When searching for my own wedding dress, I quickly learnt that wedding dresses are not made to measure! Most brides will need some kind of alteration to ensure their dress fits them perfectly. Whether that’s adding 25 bustles as I did or raising the hem, each alteration will soon add-up. So I’d recommend you set aside 15% – 20% of your entire wedding dress budget for alterations. 

6. The Hidden Wedding Costs For COVID-19 Safety Measures

As if planning a wedding budget isn’t tough enough, you now have to factor in a global pandemic! During COVID-19, all couples should include a wedding budget line for COVID-19 safety measures. For instance, to keep your guests safe, its likely you’ll need to foot the bill for hand sanitiser, face coverings and possibly testing.

If you’re struggling to put together a wedding budget, or need help with anything else don’t be afraid to ask. For instance, you may want to consider my wedding planning services. Alternatively my wedding planning power hours have been very popular during the pandemic.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Marsha Mollineau-Griffiths, Laid-back Luxury Wedding Planner

The post Planning Your Wedding Budget – 6 Hidden Wedding Costs Every Couple Should Consider appeared first on Mollineau Weddings & Events.

1. Start Working On Your Wedding Budget As Soon As Possible 

While it may be tempting to plan your wedding on a pay-as-you-go whim, by doing so you run the risk of depleting your funds before you’ve secured all of the wedding suppliers you want and need to achieve you wedding day goals.

2. Manage Your Wedding Budget In A Spreadsheet 

With more than 15 years experience managing multi-million pound budgets, I’d always recommend you start planning any budget with a good spreadsheet! However, I know my eagerness to get number crunching will not be shared by all. So, to get yourself off to a good start, I recommend you contact me to request our easy to use Excel wedding budget template, Designed with couples in mind, it’s the best way to keep all of your information together in an easy-to-scan format. Plus, I’ve pre-populated expenditure headings and formulas (with COVID-19 in mind) to help you apportion your budget with ease and make your money go further. 

3. Don’t Be Embarrassed To Ask For Help Setting Your Wedding Budget 

If the thought of talking figures or using an Excel spreadsheet is worrying you, don’t put it off! You could always join one of our wedding budget workshops or arrange a one-to-one wedding planning power hour with me. Just remember, I’m always at the end of the phone if you need a helping hand. 

4. Decide If You’ll Use Your Savings To Set Your Wedding Budget

My husband and I found using savings to pay for our wedding would be the most affordable option. As a result, we were able to avoid paying interest and fees associated with borrowing money. Don’t worry if you don’t already have money set aside or if your existing savings are earmarked for something else. You can always open-up a new savings account that’s exclusively dedicated to your wedding. The sooner you can start saving the more you can set aside. Plus this will allow you more time to research venues and services. 

Don’t feel pressured into adopting the 50:50: rule. Instead work out the amount you can both comfortably afford to save each month without compromising your quality of life. It’s a good idea to set yourselves a deadline too, otherwise you could be saving for too long and risk loosing wedding planning momentum. I’d recommend you cap your savings target at 24 months, 36 months max!

5. Decide If It’s Worth Using A Bank Loan To Bump-up Your Wedding Budget 

If you can’t save enough to cover the full cost of your wedding day, taking out a personal loan could be your best alternative. Although this is not the cheapest option, it will allow you time to repay your wedding tab in fixed monthly instalments over a set number of years. That way, you’ll be able to apportion your budget accordingly, and know exactly what’s owed, thus reducing the risk of overcommitting yourselves.  

6. Consider Using A Credit Card As An Extra Layer Of Security

My wedding costs are still very fresh to mind. Given the many varied costs associated with planning a wedding in the UK, there can be some advantages to using a credit card. Many UK credit cards offer purchase protection, so you may be able to get your money back if something goes wrong. Depending on the card, this could include protection in the event of defaults or cancellations. If you’re considering using your credit card towards some of your wedding costs, you need to decide whether you’ll repay the spending immediately or over a longer period of time.

7. Think Carefully Before Accepting Contributions From Family And Friends 

Traditionally, the family of the bride would pay for the entire wedding, but times have changed. The majority of my clients usually cover some or all of their wedding expenses. If you are a couple already living together when you marry, your friends & family may present you with cash gifts in lieu of more traditional gifts, that could also help pay for your big day. Be sure to plug these figures into our excel budgeting template if that’s the case for you.

If your relatives are insistent on contributing a lump sum to your wedding day, try to have an open and honest conversation about their expectations. Where many relatives are happy to consider their contribution as a gift and let you spend it as you wish. Some relatives may automatically assume that they have a stake in your big day! Just remember, regardless of the amount, your relatives will deem  their contribution as an investment – and it’s likely they’ll want to see a return.

8. Allocate Your Wedding Budget 

Before you begin allocating your budget, I recommend you ring-fence 15% as a contingency, 20% if planning during COVID-19. 

All you have to do now is allocate your budget. Easier said then done right? By far this will be one of the more challenging tasks on your wedding planning to do list. You could always use our wedding planning budget template and go it alone. Chances are you’ve never planned an event on this scale before, so not sure how much things costs. This is when our wedding planning budget template or wedding planning power hours could come in handy, as a laidback luxury wedding planner, I know exactly how to apportion your wedding budget to make your money go further and deliver the wedding your hoping for.

Boutique soirée, simple but stylish, grand and lavish… whatever you’re dreaming of, we’ll make it come true.

I do hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog. Please do feel free to connect with me on anyone of our social media channels. YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Pinterest

Written by Marsha Mollineau, East London Wedding Planner & Founder of Mollineau Weddings & Events

The post Planning Your Wedding Budget – Set Your Wedding Budget Successfully appeared first on Mollineau Weddings & Events.