As an event organiser of weddings and events the past 26 Years in Namibia I found that it is imperative to be as honest as possible with yourselves when it comes to the budget of your wedding and or event.  I have seen so many times when people are not honest with themselves about their budget, a wedding experience can become more than a nightmare for the couple and their families and eventually an awkward wedding the guest attended.

Breaking down your wedding budget is one of the trickiest but also the most important wedding planning tasks we as Organisers have to plan prior to sending out our TAMONIKA EVENT INTRODUCTORY CONCEPT AND BUDGET PROPOSAL. Never go to the final total to see if you can afford us but rather carefully go through each subsection and rather inquire how the budget was created and how we defined your wish list. Your budget is used as a tool to determine the refinement and level of assistance and expertise which is required and that is how we determine which vendors are appropriate for your given wedding.

So many brides and grooms think that service providers determine the budget but actually the one element that truly influence a wedding budget is the number of guests.  Since creating this figure influences all of your other decisions. No matter your budget, big or how small we always recommend to think about dividing your budget in terms of “for us” and “for them”

Explanation: “For Us”

This is fundamentals added to the budget that is solely there for you e.g. a specific photographer, a designer Invitation or a floral design or installations that would make or break the day or even a wedding dress you are adoring for a long time – Thus specific provision or service providers the bride and groom make provision for. (Never cut the budget when it comes to the “FOR US “you are likely to end sentences with “I should have or I wished I did this or that differently…. after the wedding.

Explanation “For Them”

These are non- fundamental items and normally wishes of the parents and normally gets influenced by one main factor “THE NUMBER OF INVITED GUESTS” and the biggest reason the bride and groom cannot afford their dream wedding and disappointment with the outcome.  I have found in the 26 years servicing the Event industry this is always the main reason couples do not host the wedding they initially wanted.

My advice… Make a list of guests that are important to you as a couple, don’t make these choices emotionally but rather invite people that are close to you on a daily basis – if you are contemplating a guest, then you have more than enough reason to eliminate such a guest immediately.  The smaller the guest list, the more fun, more intimate and the more money you have for your honeymoon or your new home you are moving into after the BIG day

“A budget should begin with a guest list and it will have impact on almost all of your wedding costs. Be prepared to spend the most of your budget on your guest’s basic needs, which is venue, food, and beverage and accounts for about 45% of your budget. The remaining amount includes costs to professional service providers like photography, videography and entertainment including DJ (as high as 20%) and only then the rest of your wedding ideals get realised for example the décor, look and feel (15 – 20 %), stationary (2%), wedding cake (4%), mood lightning (4%) and planning fees to your planner anything from 4-15%).

Important note:

As an event organiser, I use a group of trusted service providers that assist me and my team on a regular basis.  Yes, I can bargain with these vendors because of the amount of work we provide to them annually but the biggest reason is because of trust.  This is why I do not like to use vendors I’m unfamiliar with on your biggest day which will in all essence be the biggest party you would ever have to plan and consequently I cannot afford to make any mistakes… the risk is just too high.

Do not take the preparation of a wedding budget lightly and rather discuss and fight it out prior to your big day instead of after.  You do not need financial turmoil in a new marriage but rather seek amazing memories of a well organised and well executed day while you only had fun and no stress on the day itself.