5 Unforeseen Wedding Expenses to look out for

You’ve met that special someone, asked ‘that’ question or said that ‘Yes’, and now it’s time to start the exciting task of planning your perfect wedding! When organising your special day, it’s helpful to have worked out a budget, so you can keep control of your costs. Most people will start with having all the obvious things accounted for – wedding dress, venue, the wedding breakfast and so on. It’s those little things that you may not think of straight away that can end up adding unforeseen expenses to your wedding budget. Here’s a heads up on some of the things that are often unplanned for.

Stamps

When choosing or making your wedding invitations, it’s easy to overlook the cost of actually posting them out to your guests. It’s worth thinking before you choose your stationery, about how many you will need to post, and how big they’ll be, so you can work out the costs of posting your invites.

One modern way that you could potentially avoid this expense is to send out e-invites!

Welcome drinks

Maybe you’ve planned for the cost of feeding your guests, and thought about what drinks (if any) you’ll offer with the meal, but have you thought about giving a welcome drink as people arrive? It’s quite common for guests to receive a drink as they start to arrive at a wedding reception, so if you’d like to do this, factor it in to your budget.

If you’re having your wedding catered for at a venue, they’ll probably offer this as either a separate charge, or have it included in one of their wedding packages.

Corkage fees

This is one to watch out for! If you’re planning on buying and serving your own wine at your wedding reception, you might need to factor in a corkage charge. A lot of wedding venues will apply a set charge per bottle for bringing in your own drinks.  It’s worth checking out the prices of drinks offered by your venue as well before deciding, so you can go with the cheaper option.

Table or room decorations

Another expense that might not come to mind straight away is the cost of wedding decorations. A lot of couples like to decorate their venue or tables with things like candles, flowers, confetti or centrepieces. Even if you choose to craft these yourself, you’ll still need to factor in the cost of supplies. Budgeting for this now can save having to add extra expenses to your wedding costs later.

Gifts for your wedding party

It’s quite customary at weddings for the newlyweds to gift their bridesmaids and groomsmen, and often the couple’s parents, with a token of their appreciation. If you’d like to give gifts at your wedding, plan to add this to your budget early on, so you’re not presented with additional expenses last minute. Getting organised and buying these early on can also help to avoid any more last-minute wedding stress!

Having a wedding and wedding reception can throw up a lot of unforeseen expenses but a bit of advance planning and working out your budget, can really help with being financially prepared. Creating a list of what you would like at your wedding and thinking about the costs for those things in advance, is a great way to help your wedding planning run smoothly and take away some of the stress about spending.