Wedding Budgeting and Planning Tools

Weddings:  Who Pays for What?

Who pays for what for your wedding?  It's a very important question, and one you need to address right from the start of your wedding preparations.  Finalising your financial arrangements as soon as possible will help you relax, knowing you have a firm and realistic budget to work with for your wedding day.

Some things to consider include:

• How much money do you want to spend?
• Who will be making a financial contribution
  to your wedding?
• What aspects of your wedding
  are most important to you?

Traditionally, a bride's parents pay for most wedding expenses.  However, times have changed, and with more people living together before their big day, many couples pay for their own weddings, with their parents providing small contributions (say to the bride's dress, or to the honeymoon).  Whatever you choose, you need to ensure that everyone understands who is paying for what. Read more...

Should You Hire a Wedding Planner?

So, you want the wedding of your dreams but don't have the time to make it happen?  Or you have a vision of your perfect day but worry that you don't have the skills or experience to make it a reality on your own?  The solution is simple: hire a wedding planner to help you. 

Wedding planners, wedding consultants or coordinators, are the bride's right hand person, right down to the last detail in the ceremony and reception.  A wedding planner can be there with you from the moment you announce your engagement to the
minute the last guest has left your reception.

So what are the benefits of hiring a wedding planner? 

• They will probably save you money. Wedding planners have ties with the best vendors in town, so not only can they recommend the best, they can probably save you money too because they are a repeat client, whereas you will probably only be booking once in a lifetime with reception venues, cars and florists.  Read more...

Creating a Wedding Day Vision

To create your dream wedding, the first thing you need to do is get your vision down on paper - together.  Because guess what?  Your dream wedding may be very different to the one your partner has in mind!

You may already have some idea of what you do and don't want at your own wedding.  So may your partner.  Many wedding stresses arise when the bride and groom don't have a clear, consistent picture of their wedding day, with arguments about the colour of the napkins and flavour of the wedding cake a natural result.

Writing your vision helps you to determine together exactly how your wedding will be.  But working together to tease out your dream wedding doesn't mean focusing on each and every detail.  While the style of flowers and the selection of canapés will be important down the track, at this stage consider the outcomes you wish for.  Read more...