10 Little Expenses That Can Bust Your Wedding Budget

You’ve chosen your wedding venue, your DJ, your photographer and caterer. You know you still have to buy a gown, and flowers, and formalwear, and favors. You’re prepared for all the big wedding expenses; but these little details can suddenly leave you way over budget if you don’t catch them early.

Postage. It’s expensive to print all those save-the-date cards, wedding and shower invitations, and thank you cards; but it may be even more expensive to mail them all. Did you make room in your budget for that expense? Which brings us to our next hidden expense.

Thank you cards. They can be as simple or as elaborate as you like, but each one should be personalized and handwritten; and you’ll need one card for everyone who gave you a gift, or traveled a long way to be at your wedding, or otherwise helped to make your big day special in any way.
 
Pictures. We’re not talking about your wedding album photos. You may also want to display photos and portraits of yourselves, or your parents’ and grandparents’ weddings, at your reception. You may want pictures for your save-the-date cards and your thank-you cards. If your photographer doesn’t include those other pictures, plus enlargements and printing in his/her price, you’ll have to pay for all those extra photos yourselves.
 
Frames. You’re not just going to display those special reception pictures by pinning them to a wall, are you? Frames cost money — sometimes lots of money. If you’re having a rustic themed wedding, you can save a bundle by buying old frames at Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
 
Emergency wedding day expenses. What if someone rips a shirt, and you have to rush to the tux shop for a replacement? What if a vase breaks, and you need a new one? Have you planned for your vendors’ tips? What if the party goes into overtime, and you have to keep the bar open an extra hour? A thousand things can crop up on your wedding day, and every one of them costs money. Give yourself a generous cash cushion.
 
Photo albums. Does your photographer’s price include albums, or just prints? Does it include a couple of big framed prints of your favorite wedding photos? If it’s not included in writing, you’ll have to pay extra.
 
Gown cleaning. You’re going to clean and preserve the most special dress of your life, aren’t you? Get price quotes from cleaners.
 
Dry cleaning. Your cocktail dress, your groom’s suit and your honeymoon wardrobe will need cleaning.

Transport. You’ve reserved a limo for the ride to the church, and to the reception; but what about the ride to the airport to start your honeymoon? And the ride home?
 
Filling the gaps in your registry. Your families and friends will buy you a lot of great stuff. But you may wish to complete your collections of tableware, flatware, towels, kitchen electronics and so forth. Allow some cash for one last buying binge before you settle down.

Once you’ve made provisions for these often forgotten expenses, you’ll have a much more accurate wedding budget because you’ve accounted for the most common hidden costs. Happy planning!

To learn more about Fourth Estate Audio’s incomparable service, call me at 630.654.4440. I’m here to help.

© Fourth Estate Audio, 2015 – Jay Congdon is president of Fourth Estate Audio, a professional Chicago DJ and Chicago Wedding DJ company.

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