I don’t need to tell you weddings are expensive. You’re regularly exposed to studies, pins and infographics telling you that the average price of weddings is hovering around 30K.
And even if you have a little more to spend on your destination mountain wedding, money isn’t infinite. You’d prefer not to blow your budget, even if it’s $70K or more.
Here are the top 3 wedding budget mistakes that practically guarantee you’ll go over budget.
1. Not creating a cushion
Remember this post where I talked about hidden wedding costs? Yeah, well, wedding planners and experts alike caution that weddings often cost up to 20% more than what a couple originally plans to spend. So if you’ve budgeted $50,000 for your destination mountain wedding, 20% is an extra $10,000! Your $50,000 wedding just became a $60,000 wedding.
2. Not counting “here-and-there” purchases.
Think of all those little purchases at the craft store. Some ribbon here, card stock there, oh, and those bottles! They’d be a good DIY project. Or how about those toe clips you bought on a whim for your wedding shoes? Or maybe you picked up some colored sand on sale for your ceremony. All those little purchases add up, and if you don’t keep track of them, they could cause you to blow your budget in a big way. You should account for every purchase in your wedding budget spreadsheet. A ten-dollar purchase here and twenty-dollar purchase there can really add up.
3. Pulling out the credit card.
Unless you’re like my in-laws who put EVERYTHING on their credit card to collect airline miles, but pay off the full balance each month, do not go into credit card debt to bankroll your wedding. With the associated interest and fees for carrying a credit card balance, you could add thousands of dollars to your wedding costs and take years trying to pay it off. At best, you could be bickering about this wedding for years as you struggle to pay off your the debt from the largess of one day. At worst, you won’t be able to put a down payment on your first house or you may not be able to provide your children with everything you want to give them because of those never-ending wedding bills.
