First Things First.

The cost of weddings in line with everything else is rising all the time, currently (January 2007) the cost of the average wedding in Northern Ireland stands at a little under £18,000

The first task that you should tackle when planning your wedding, is to decide on an overall cost and do your utmost to stick to it, it is one factor by which unfortunately we are all, but for the privileged few, constrained. It is vitally important that you set a budget which can be realistically afforded.

Establishing who is paying for what is also of the greatest importance. In the past the brides family footed the bill for almost all the wedding expenses, this of course is not now the case. Today other members of the family's who are able and more importantly willing to contribute to the wedding should be allowed to do so. The bride and groom should talk to their respective families separately. Money matters can be a very sensitive subject, between parents and in laws to be, openness is the key to success, discuss all maters relating to contributions and expectations to avoid acrimony at a later date.

Have a meeting with all concerned to allocate funds to to the different sections of the wedding, get this down on paper, then you are in a position to find and contact the vendors of wedding service's to ascertain exactly how much your wedding is going to cost.

We have designed a free wedding budget spreadsheet which you can download without obligation, it will suggest amounts to allocate to the various sections ie. flowers, reception, lingerie etc. All you have to do is enter the total amount you plan to allocate to your wedding budget, the sheet will suggest amounts to spend on the different items. When you make a purchase or pay a deposit enter the amount in the relevant column, the sheet will be automatically updated and tell you the amount of the budget remaining and the amount outstanding, there is a column to record who is paying for the item.

The amounts suggested in the planner are designed purely as a guide it is up to each couple to make their own decisions when allocating funds, different couples will have different priorities, some may choose spend more on their honeymoon and make savings elsewhere, the bride may have a friend or relation who will take care of the makeup, if this is the case just skip that row.

If you download the spreadsheet save it as budget-org to keep a blank copy, you can experiment with different budget options save each option with a different name, eg. option-1 option-2 etc.

Open A Wedding Bank Account.

Before you start spending money on deposits to vendors etc., you would be well advised to open a dedicated wedding account, with this you will be better able to keep track of how the money is being spent. If you have all the money available at the outset split it up put the majority into a deposit account where it will earn interest for you not the bank, make sure it will be available to transfer to your current on short term call.

We have all the major banks in Ireland listed on this page, you can compare the services they have to offer on line.

Getting Started .

Download our free Wedding Budget Planner.

If you have Microsoft Office 2003 or later installed on your computer download here.

Please note this spreadsheet is not digitally signed so windows will warn you that the file may contain a threat to your computer. We made this spreasheet and are 99.99% sure that they don't pose a threat to you. We are currently looking into getting a certificate for it.

If you use the spreadsheet we would love to hear your comments good or bad you can contact us here.

These are average figures designed only as a guide, you may wish to economize on certain areas and splash out on others. When you get quotations from vendors you can enter them into the sheet, and it will keep you informed as to the amount you will have left. You could E mail the budget as an attachment to those who are involved in this aspect of your wedding. Also on the sheet there is space where you can enter who is paying for each particular item.

Don't Get Carried Away.

Once you have set your budget it is important to stick as closely as possible to it, you must research all of the items on your list, contact the vendors and get quotations, find out if the price includes VAT and exactly what you are getting for the price. When you book a service get a hard copy of the quotation and file it away.

Don't Break The Bank.

You don't have to spend a fortune to to have a wedding that is both enjoyable and tasteful, an occasion that will be remembered with pleasure by both you and your guests.
You will I'm sure have a picture in your mind of the mood and theme of you wedding, the setting and the formality. All these things will have a bearing on financial decisions to be taken later on, the venue for the service, the reception, the number of guests, your and the bridesmaid's dresses.
Bear in mind your wedding will be remembered for the taste and decorum with which it was executed, rather than the excessiveness of the expenditure.

Keep Records.

It is vitally important to keep records of all the quotations that you receive from your service providers. Create a folder in your e mail system for wedding related data, as well as a folder for information you receive by post. If you are using our budget planner enter the quotation into it. There are many software companies offering wedding planning software. As with all things the usefulness of these vary. If you have Microsoft Works installed on your computer you will find a wedding and party planner, you may find this useful to organize your guest list etc. There is supposed to be one available to download free from Sandals travel, we have tried several times without success to download it.

Become A Little Bit Mean.
And Save Money For Your Wedding.

There is an old saying "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after them selves." This like most old sayings is very true. The first thing to do is to keep records of everything you spend, establish a money diary and enter everything you spend into it

Why not consider making some small changes in your financial life style, it is surprising how a few £'s saved here and there on a regular basis can mount up over a period of time. If you have store cards and don't pay the balance on time you could be paying up to 28%, so consider giving them up altogether, or buying with them only what you are sure you can afford at the end of the month.

We are encouraged by the financial institutions to borrow, not for our benefit but simply to earn more revenue for them. Make use of the financial system don't be used by it, shop around the credit card company's there are some who offer interest free borrowing for the first six months. Transfer your overdraft to one of these and pay off the balance within the six months then transfer to another company, after the interest free period. You may find some help about this subject on this web site.

Try and live your life on a cash only basis, this is difficult today but you will probably find it is worth the effort, you will tend to think twice if you are passing over a handful of hard earned cash that you can actually see, as opposed to running a card through a machine.

Instead of throwing unwanted clothes or household items away why not sell them.

A Wedding Loan.

Browsing bridal magazines and web sites you may have seen advertisement for wedding loans. I really don't think it is a wise move to embark upon the adventure of married life encumbered with the cost of your wedding. You will in effect be paying probably for years to come for your one day of happiness.

We certainly wouldn't advise you to go for this type of loan although I'm sure lots do and get by, it would be nice to see you starting married life only with a mortgage, which in the fullness of time will give you some return, not so a wedding loan.

You can visit the web sites of the major banks in Ireland here.