Planning the wedding of your dreams is a fun task to do, but one thing that makes the process stressful and difficult is setting a budget for the wedding. Yes, it can be quite a daunting task to set a budget for the wedding, and to ensure that you don't go off limits and miss out on unforeseen wedding expenses, you have to track it daily!
From maintaining an excel sheet to tracking the expenditure by securing the bills in a separate folder, you need to keep track of expenses regularly. Hence, to ensure that you are aware of all the teeny-tiny expenses involved, here are some unforeseen expenses that you should be prepared for before finalizing your wedding budget. So dear brides, make sure that you keep all these unforeseen expenses in mind before making the final budget!
9 Unforeseen Wedding Expenses That Brides Should Know Of
- Beauty Regime: When it comes to weddings, brides always book their makeup artist and hairstylist in advance , but there are other beauty expenditures too that you need to keep in mind for the big day. It would be better to set some money aside for your pre-wedding beauty rituals like massages, spa, facials, pedicures, etc. These things are equally important - hence adding them to your list while creating a budget for your beauty and makeup is necessary. So that you don't stress over the amount in the future.
- Outfit Fittings & Alterations: This is one of the most common unforeseen wedding expenses that brides tend to overlook. Yes, we know that your wedding outfit is customized as per your measurements, but at times, you will need some alterations to get the perfect look. For example - if you want the hem the length of the outfit or add extra layers to it, or change the sleeve length, etc., the scope of alteration is always there. And some boutiques and designers do it free of cost, while others charge you for it. Hence, while setting a budget for the outfits, keep some amount aside for the alterations.
- Unexpected Guests: We live in India, where weddings are known to take place on a grand scale. And unexpected guests attending the wedding is not an alien concept for us. Hence-dear brides- while booking the food and hall, always add some extra plates so that everyone is fed well at your wedding. You might ask people to RSVP, but we are sure not everyone will do that, so instead of panicking and paying extra money later, add some additional plates to your wedding budget before itself.
- Bachelorette Parties And Favours: Your girlfriends are planning a perfect bachelorette for you, but there are some expenses like transfer, meals, etc., that you will have to take care of, so keeping a budget aside is a MUST. Besides, if you want to give your gal pals a small gift and favors, don't forget to include these hidden costs in your wedding budget so that they don't seem like unforeseen wedding expenses in the future.
- Giving Tips: Yes, tips are optional, but if you think that tipping people who put in so much hard work in your wedding is necessary, set aside a budget for this as well. From tipping your hair and makeup artists and photographers to drivers and florists, there are a lot of people you will have to tip. So instead of counting this an unforeseen wedding expense, budget it ahead of time so that you don’t end up taking last-minute trips to the bank.
- Hired Vendor Meals: While setting a budget for your wedding meals, you include the guests and add 10-15 extra people- however, dear brides, make sure you include the hired vendors as well. Hired vendors like photographers, DJs, musicians, and wedding planners will stay during your wedding functions - hence you have to take care of their meals as well. Don't try to skip this cost. Keep them comfortable so that all your functions run smoothly. Remember that hungry people don’t function well and you surely wouldn’t want to ruin your wedding just because of some extra penny.
- Lingerie: Brides often tend to add their wedding outfits budget to the wedding expenditure list. However, there's one more thing that you need to take into account , and that's expenditure on your lingerie and accessories. There are multiple things like shapewear, undergarments, shoes, jewelry, etc. you will buy for your wedding, so make sure to allot a budget for it.
- Add The Miscellaneous Expenses: Some unforeseen wedding expenses come along the way, and you cannot set a prior budget for it. Hence, for such situations, make sure that you have a budget set for Miscellaneous expenses, which can be used in such situations. Yes, you have planned everything well, but dear brides, there are chances that you might have to spend a bit extra - hence it's better to set some cushion money aside as well.
- Post Wedding Expenses: Your wedding costs don't end after the wedding - there are some post-wedding expenses that you need to take care of. Sending thank you cards, sending the wedding outfits to dry cleaning, getting some post-wedding massages, and outfits for post-wedding dinners need money. So do not forget to set a budget for these expenses in advance too. Don't consider this as an unforeseen wedding expense in the future and add it to the wedding budget right in the beginning.
So dear brides, while setting a budget for your makeup, outfits, decor and other things is essential, setting a budget for the above-mentioned things is important too. So don’t forget to add them to your wedding budget list, and save yourself from unforeseen wedding expenses in the future.
