What’s Important to You?

So you’re engaged! This is such an exciting time in any bride’s life. There are so many things to consider, and they are all spinning in your head at once I’m sure. You might think to yourself, “Where do I begin?”

The very first thing every bride and groom should determine, is what the budget will be for their big day. How much do you have to spend on your wedding? Will family members be contributing to the costs? Will you be using other means (like 401K disbursements or bank loans) to supplement the cost? What is the most you want to spend? All of these questions need to be answered before you book your first consultation or appointment.
Unfortunately, far too many brides miss this key step and find themselves heartbroken when the “wedding of their dreams” is fiscally out of their reach. Knowing where you stand financially will help you keep a realistic view of what your wedding day will be.

Now, this is not to say that your wedding day still can’t be absolutely fabulous, BUT you have to recognize early on what is important to you. Once you know how much you can afford to spend, the very next question is how do you plan to spend it? You may love flowers, but not have a passion for stationery. You’re biggest desire could be having a designer wedding gown, but you’re not as concerned about the decorations at the wedding site. Knowing what elements of your big day are most important to you will help you better distribute your finances and resources.
Every bride should consider sitting down with her fiancé and going through a list of the following elements of their wedding day to determine which ones are most important to each of them:

1. Fashion
2. Transportation
3. Flowers
4. Music for the Ceremony
5. Ceremony Location
6. Ceremony/Reception Decór
7. Reception Location
8. Reception Entertainment
9. Food & Liquor
10. Stationery
11. Favors

There are more you can add to the list, but you get the picture. A great idea, is to look at the entire wedding budget and try to agree upon what percentage of the budget you would like to spend on each. You may be surprised to learn that you and your beloved place the same level of importance on the same things. Likewise, you may realize that you both have totally different ideas about what you expect your wedding to be. Either way, this is a wonderful way to get your groom engaged in the planning process from the start. But most importantly, it starts you down the right path of being a savvy bride!

Happy Planning!!!

Article submitted by Maria Morales of SYL Event Planners

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