They popped the question, and now it’s time for the planning to begin! With wedding planning comes a lot of responsibility. But, have no fear, there are ways to combat the financial stress by adding more structure and organization when planning your big day and the events leading up to it! There is so much excitement around getting married, however, it’s vital to stay on top of all parts of planning to ensure the day ends up perfect!

Consider the following tips to ease the financial side of wedding planning stress:

Craft a Vision

Before booking any service or making any reservations, create a vision board or folder with picture cutouts or prints of colors, fabrics, room decorations, flowers, etc. you are inspired by. Along with the initial ideas on wedding details, you can also think about how many people you’d like to have attend your big day so you know how much you can add to the space. This directly affects how much you’re going to have to spend, so having a good grasp on what you need and want can give you a glimpse into how much you’ll need to budget.

A Pinterest board is a fantastic place to start since it’s a downloadable app you can access at any time on your smartphone.  By opening the app, you can quickly show vendors exactly what you’d like or a photo for inspiration. If you want to get really creative, search Google, or other wedding websites, and print out pictures to create a non-digital vision board to get an idea of what theme and style you are looking for. Either will get your creative juices flowing and your wedding planning process off to a wonderful start.

What is your ideal range for the total cost of your wedding and the vision it will create? Setting a specific budget will help keep you on track and within your limit and your dreams. Here’s how to break it down for yourself, so you can just start to think about the details: 

1. What do you envision your bridal shower, wedding ceremony, and wedding reception looking like? Consider scale and location. Thinking about your priorities will help you determine how much you want to spend on each. 
2. Do you have a wedding theme you want to accomplish through decor and your invitations? Depending on how extravagant you want these to be, the more it may cost.
3. What are your needs vs. wants? You may have to scale back on certain things to splurge on others. For example, maybe you have a dream wedding dress in mind that comes with a pretty penny, so, think about cutting out wedding favors or other minimal aspects that won’t necessarily make or break your wedding day. 
4. How many wedding guests do you plan to invite? Or, do you want it just to be a quaint and small group of people? The number of guests directly impacts the amount you’re going to have to budget for when considering food, drinks, wedding favors, and event venue. 
5. What is your Plan B? Having a backup plan is super important especially if things have a chance of falling through due to weather or potential staff shortages and can influence your budget and savings plan. 

Crafting a vision and considering these five ideas can help ease the financial stress that can arise when speaking with your wedding planner, venue manager, and vendors. 

Layout an Initial Financial Plan

After you create a vision, develop a thoughtful financial plan. It’s imperative to map out what categories you need to spend your money on so you can accurately choose certain details of your wedding without worry. You can do this by developing an excel spreadsheet or using a budgeting app to make lists and track prices. This will keep your wedding finances organized and allow you to go through and check off items once purchases are complete. 

A well-defined financial plan should include how you plan to pay for your wedding. Figure out whether you and your soon-to-be partner are paying for everything, or if your parents are planning on helping out. Different payment methods to consider would be cash upfront, credit cards or a personal line of credit, or even a personal loan. You can even do some extra digging and see if you can utilize installment plans. This is a great way to break up payments so you don’t have to pay for everything all at once–since that can cause stress itself.

Once you have an initial idea of how you will be financing your wedding, it’s now time to look at a spending plan. Developing this will ensure that you are staying on track and navigating wedding finances flawlessly through more organization. While you develop your spending plan, look at where you and your partner currently stand financially. Take a look at current debts (if any), monthly bills, how much money is in your savings and checking accounts, and current credit limits to get a better idea of how you will want to navigate various expenses. 

Next, you should research the price ranges for items like wedding invitations, save the dates, venues, caterers, a wedding dress, wedding party attire, photographers, transportation, etc. Utilize your financial plan and implement these prices into your spreadsheet or app and get the big picture of what you could potentially be spending. Consult your vision plan and original budget thoughts to see how the prices compare to what you were hoping to spend and the vision you want to create. 

Within your spending plan, list out your priorities from most expensive to least expensive. Maybe even go the extra mile and break down how you plan on tackling each payment. You may find that you want to mix and match payment methods depending on how big or little the purchase is. 

Utilize Resources

Utilize various resources to help ease the stress of wedding planning. Consider looking into wedding planning apps and software along with checklists and spreadsheets to help you stay organized and on track financially. This is also a great way for you to stay on top of all the moving parts of your wedding. Do some research to find the most user-friendly wedding planning tech. 

However, your loved ones around you are your best resource, and you should lean on them. Ease stress by asking for help. Consider reaching out to your family, wedding party, maid of honor, and, of course, your partner! The more help, the better. This is a great way to utilize the people who are there to help you, so don’t be afraid to hand off some of your tasks to prevent feeling overwhelmed. 

Prioritize Self Care

It’s inevitable that some financial stress could cause you to have family conflict between you and your future spouse and even your family. Yes, it can be tough when navigating family conflict, but it’s important to take care of yourself in order to keep calm during the process. There are several ways you can prioritize your self-care. Do this by planning a couples massage, a spa day with friends, journaling daily, and reconnecting with your partner through date nights. Consider planning something weekly or biweekly to keep your mind at ease. 

Using these tips will allow you to have a set plan in place to help you manage the stress partners may have to deal with when it comes to planning their big day.  Remember, don’t sweat the small stuff and just enjoy the final outcome!