Congratulations. It is now the perfect time to start planning on your wedding day preparations. Even if it’s one year to come, the earlier, the better it will be for you.

Don’t be surprised, people have a tendency of doing things later and at times they are motivated by saying that “It’s still early, I know I will catch up with time. It is important to account for everything such as the wedding event, bills, and expenses. The trickiest part is how you should stick to your planned budget because there are so many hidden costs. To help you out, you should be able to answer questions such as; are you comfortable with your estimated budget? And how should you split the wedding expenses? Our wedding blog has checked in with various wedding vendors and financial experts to uncover the top most secret on how to split the wedding bills.

Budgeting for the Wedding: How to split it

The rules of the modern wedding protocols are that the bride and the groom should choose on how their budget will be governed. That said they need to choose on who should pay for what. First, it is important to consider the personal and financial situation of your family, committees, bridal party and friends in general. As a bride, you may choose to pick up some of the expenses such as paying for the bridesmaid’s shoes, if you want to be sure that will all wear the same stilettos heels. You can even decide to host the engagement party if you want it larger than what the grooms parents can afford.

Sometimes it might be better to forget about the budget rules on who should pay for certain things. Your parents should not take a second mortgage just because you are planning for an exquisite wedding. Most couples tend to cover the huge part of their wedding bills. A possible way to work it out is to sit down with a paper, pencil and a calculator and figure out on what you want and can afford. Keep in mind that small wedding typically is quite cheaper and large, while formal weddings are quite expensive. Below are the traditional breakdowns on how you should split you wedding expenses, but sometimes remember the rules are meant to be broken.

• Ceremony: The bride and family are set to pay for church thus where the wedding event will be done. The groom and family are also entitled in paying for the marriage license and also cater for the officiate fee.
• Wedding Dress and Full Attire: The bride and family are chosen in paying for the bride’s wedding dress, veil, and attached accessories. Groom and family are also set to pay for the grooms wedding attire such as the suit, tie, shoes, watch and all attached accessories. All attendants pay for their clothing.
• Decorations and flowers: As a bride and family pay for the arrangement in church, they also pay for the reception, additional bouquets, and corsages for bridesmaids and flower girls. Besides, groom and family are also set to pay for bride’s bouquet and going-away corsage, they also pay for boutonnieres for men and corsages for grandmothers and mothers.
• Honeymoon: This is typically the norm that groom and the family should be prepared to pay for a complete honeymoon destination.
• Photography: The bride side and family are set to prepare for the cost of all wedding photos and video.
• Pre-wedding parties: The grooms and brides family host together the engagement party. If it happens that there will be more than one engagement party, then the bride’s family will cater for the first party. Also, the groom’s family tends to host the rehearsal dinner, groom hosts for bachelor’s dinner, maid of honor host bridal shower party and friends can also choose to host an additional engagement or shower party.
• Reception: Bride side and family are set to pay for all professional services such as decorations and food. Grooms families are also notified that they will cater for the chosen DJ or band.
• Wedding Rings: Bride or her family pays for the groom’s ring and groom or his family pays for bride’s wedding ring.
• Stationery: Bride and her family are chosen to pay for wedding card invitations, programs, and announcements.
• Transportation: Brides and family pay for all transportation cost to and from the ceremony and reception.
• Travelling and lodging expenses: If you are having a destination wedding, it is important to notify your guest early since they will cater for all their travel expenses.

Hidden wedding bills and how to avoid them

When signing a contract, don’t forget to ask about the delivery time and clean up schedule, so as to avoid being surprised later one. As you split for other wedding bills account for the following expenses.

• Postage stamps: As stated above, that bride’s family should cater for all stationery. But it is up to you as a bride and groom to remember that stationery don’t advertise for any shipping costs. To avoid such technicalities, it is advisable to skip the fancy look box invitations that can bulk up quickly hence costing a lot more than you bargained for.
• Wedding Dress steaming: While the groom’s family is set to buy the bride’s wedding dress, they should understand that most stores don’t include the steaming or alteration price, in the price of the wedding gown. To avoid additional expense ask about how the stores charge for every streaming, you may need to know the extra bill before purchasing the chosen wedding dress.
• Overtime costs: Your wedding photographer, DJ and videographer are usually booked for just a certain amount of time. If your wedding runs, a little longer than expected. They will tend to charge you per hour. To avoid the additional cost, get an overtime cost by writing and it should not be more than fifty percent than the regular rate.
• Welcome Bags delivery: Most hotels don’t include a welcoming bag delivering fee. You will notice an additional fee on your bill. You might also be charged if you drop the bags before the guests arrive. To avoid such disappointments, ask about the hotel’s rules and policies during the booking process. It may also be cheaper if they hand the bags out for you on the counter. You can also decide to distribute them on the rehearsal dinner.

In order to cut down the wedding cost without you looking cheap, you should cut down the number of guest invitations and compare your other wedding bills option with you, family and friend. If you are not comfortable with a luxurious and fancy wedding, then the decent wedding will be the best decision to agree upon. Remember that wedding is just planned for one day, but you also need to save on your future expenses.