Wedding Budget Challenge

As you plan your wedding, the most important task you have is to
set your wedding budget. Weddings are expensive events. The
average cost of a wedding in the America is more than $20,000.
The honeymoon is not calculated in the cost. Although $20,000
sounds like a lot of money for a one-day event, keep in mind
that it is an average and a many weddings cost significantly
more.

No wedding budget is ever too big. It is your budget not your
imagination that sets the limits of what you can or can’t do on
your wedding day. Formal weddings in hotel ballrooms or other
trendy wedding reception venues will require a much bigger
budget than a reception held at your parents house. Normally,
formal weddings are more expensive because everything about them
is expensive such as the food, music, etc.

The summer months are the most popular and most expensive months
of the year to get married. Due to the high demand during the
busy wedding season, hotels and other wedding reception venues
can ask higher than usual prices. If you must have a summer
wedding, expect to pay a premium.

The more guest you invite to the wedding, the more money you’ll
spend. You have to calculate your food budget based on a
per-head cost for food and liquor. The type of meal you serve
your guest is limited by your budget. For instance, seated
dinners are more expensive than a buffet style dinners.

Some locations are more expensive than others. Certain cities
such as New York and Los Angeles can be expensive, but far away
places can be just as pricey due to high travel costs and the
lack of competition.

Don’t worry if your wedding budget doesn’t cover everything you
can dream of. It may require compromises, scheduling changes, or
simply begging for more money, but even with a small budget you
can plan a beautiful wedding.

Developing the wedding budget is challenging, and the bride and
groom should work on it together. If your parents are footing
part of the expenses, you have to involve them in the process
too. Traditionally, the bride’s family covers most of the
expenses. Today, such tradition is not necessarily relevant. The
bride and groom normally pay for most of the weddings.

Is a Destination Wedding Right for You?

What exactly does ‘destination wedding’ mean? Well, this is the term used for a wedding which takes place in a desired location which is away from the bride and grooms’ home town. The wedding ceremony and reception is held in a location where everyone (including all guests) has to travel to get to the wedding.

Choosing a destination for your wedding is probably the most important wedding planning decision you will have to make. After all, the location of your wedding will dictate many factors of your wedding, including the cost. For example, many people are now opting for a more tropical and exotic location to get married, and if you have to travel to the other side of the world to get to your dream wedding destination, then that can be pretty expensive.

Destination weddings are certainly growing in popularity. While there are still many couples who go down the traditional route of getting married in a church followed by a reception in a banquet hall, there is no doubt that a destination wedding is a new and upcoming trend with couples wanting to tie the knot.

Why are destination weddings so popular?

Well, one good reason is that they mean a vacation for everyone involved in the wedding and not just a honeymoon for the bride and groom. Some people keep it small and quiet with just immediate family and friends, while other couples have a huge wedding party traveling with them - it all depends on what you want. A destination wedding is also popular with people getting married for the second or even third time. They don’t want all the fuss and formality of a traditional marriage, they simply want to ‘get away’ and get married.

Things to consider when planning a destination wedding:

• If wanting a tropical wedding, remember that it will be very hot and you and your partner could feel very uncomfortable in your wedding attire

• Do you want only close family/friends to come with you, or a larger wedding party?

• Can all of your guests afford the travelling expenses?

• Can you afford to pay for your guests to travel?

• Do you want to hold a second reception back home for friends and family that couldn’t travel with you?

• Is privacy important to you? You will be surrounded by your guests for the whole duration of your wedding / honeymoon.

Remember that you will be inviting the guests to travel with you. Most likely, the guests will be paying their own way and are essentially planning their entire vacation around your wedding. Therefore, you will have to give considerable thought in what both you and your guests want to do before and after the wedding.

In summary, destination weddings are becoming very popular and because of this there are many travel agents who now specialize in these types of weddings. Make a decision on how large you want your traveling party to be and if your guests can afford it. Make sure to have some kind of understanding with your guests if you want a few days of privacy.

Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of http://www.1stweddingplanningguide.com Find out further information about Destination Weddings from her site.

Wedding Reception Ideas

Truly unique wedding reception ideas are often hard to come by.
In an age where many bride and groom wish for their wedding to
be special and truly creative, finding innovative ideas for wedding receptions is much sought after.

Much of what you decide to do for your wedding reception party
will have to do with your overall wedding plan - your theme.
Sticking with a planned theme can often make planning your reception more difficult. For example,
throwing a Western cowboy themed wedding makes it difficult to
throw a reception at a cozy ski hill resort without breaking
with your theme.

The best thing to do is to plan the majority of your wedding
events around what you want - your wedding ceremony location and
particulars. Since location is probably one of the most
important aspects of planning a wedding, we suggest looking at
unique locations first and ask yourself (and the owner) whether
those places would fit your wedding reception idea.

Some ideas might be:

Romantic restaurants Small cruise Ranch or private home Sports
venue Private or rented movie theatre Ballroom Amphitheatre or
outdoor venue (good in sunny weather locales) Ski Lodge
Cornfield clearing complete with tents and large awnings

There are many ideas for locations for wedding receptions (and
weddings for that matter). Once you have selected the proper
location, find out if the location supports the number of people
for your reception - the entertainment, refreshments, food and
people. Why not try customized refreshments, themed wedding
favors, even reception games. By being creative with location
and your wedding theme, you will find that the rest of the
wedding reception planning will fall right into place.