Congratulations! You’re Engaged. ~ Your Wedding Budget ~ Part 3

Two major keys to having a wedding budget that works for you are making a realistic budget and sticking to it. At the end of this post you’ll find some sample budgets and worksheets.

Be sure to research wedding cost in your area and include those cost in your budget. Pricing in different regions can differ quite a bit. Recently married friends and family are a good source of information. They also know about budget busters that you wouldn’t think to plan for.

It is important that you do not exceed your total budget amount. You wouldn’t want to start life happily ever after in debt would you? However, if you need to, you can adjust or eliminate various components of the total budget. This is when deciding when to splurge and when not to splurge becomes important.

When making your budget, you and your fiancé should rank the various categories of your wedding budget based on importance. By doing this in the beginning, you know where to splurge and where not to splurge. Being a scrapbooker, I chose the splurge on photos. Photos last a lifetime and we were willing to pay more for quality products and service. We chose not to hire a videographer. A wedding video was not important to us. You have to decide what is important to you.

Be sure to refer to your wedding budget often. Post it to your bathroom mirror and refrigerator if you have to. Out of sight is out of mind. Remember don’t exceed your wedding budget.

Below you find other articles on wedding budgets:
--Your Wedding Budget - When to Save and When to Splurge by Bridget Mora
--5 Tips to Cut Down Your Wedding Guest List and Your Budget by Erica Tevis
--How to Calculate Your Wedding Cost Breakdown by Marcie Pearsons

Sample Budgets and Budget Worksheets from my Google search.
--The Knot’s Sample Budget
--Sample Budget from images.della.com
--RealSimple.com’s Wedding Budget Worksheet
--WeddingDetails.com’s Wedding Budget Worksheet

In the previous post of this serious the topics were Getting Started and Wedding Planning Checklists. I hope you got some good information from this series. Email us if you have any topics you would like to see discussed on our blog.

Congratulations! You’re Engaged. ~ Wedding Planning Checklists ~ Part 2

Previously in Part 1 ~ Getting Started I recommended that you get a wedding checklist as soon as possible. You can use one provided in a wedding planner or customized one to fit your specific needs. You can find several checklists online. At the end of this post you’ll find some samples.

It’s best to keep everything in one place. This will reduce your chance of forgetting something. I used a workbook, but you could use a spreadsheet, or an online site. I suggest using what is most familiar and comfortable for you. You want something that you will ACTUALLY use because this checklist will be the key to keeping you organized.

Below you find another article on wedding planning checklists:
--Why Do You Need A Wedding Planning Checklist? by Jake Springhurst

Sample Checklists and Wedding Planners from my Google search.
--Best-Wedding-Plan.com’s 12 Month Wedding Countdown Checklist
--The Pash FREE Wedding Planner
--WeddingWire a free wedding planning site.

Next week, look for Part 3 of this series Your Wedding Budget.

Sketches ~ Card

Starting today, we’ll post a sketch at least once a month on Fridays. We’ll post our designs created from the sketch a few weeks later. You’ll have a couple of weeks to create your design from the sketch. If you want your design posted on our blog, just email us a JPEG of your design.

So here we go!


Below is a sketch for a 5 ½ x 4 ¼ card.

The dimensions for the paper pieces are as follows:

A - 2 ¾ x 3 ¾
B - 5 ¼ x 2
C - 5 ¼ x 7/8
D - 2 ½ x 3 ½ w/ 4 embellishments

Don’t forget many of cards can be purchased in our Etsy Shop.

PD4U Etsy Promotion

Distinctive Moments belongs to Paper Designs for You (PD4U), an Etsy Team. Staring tomorrow, September 19, 2008 we are having a promotion bag giveaway.

There will be two FREE promotion bags available sometime between Septmber 19 - October 24, 2008 in Distinctive Moments Etsy Shop. Thirteen other PD4U shops are also participating. Click here for more information on the promotion.

We have included bookmarks in the promotional bags. Below you’ll find sneak peek of our bookmarks.

Congratulations! You’re Engaged. ~ Getting Started ~ Part 1

I’m sure your are happy and excited about your engagement and your upcoming wedding. If you haven’t started yet, you are probably starting to panic about planning the biggest event of you life up to this point. My first piece of advice is to STAY CALM. With proper planning, preparation, and a team love ones supporting you your day will be perfect.

I recommend that you read a wedding planning guide and get a wedding checklist as soon as possible. You’ll need to have a clear idea of what is in store for you until your wedding day.

When I planned my wedding I bought the Easy Wedding Workbook & Organizer. I’m sure you’ll be able to find something similar at your local bookstore. I liked this organizer because it had a checklist, budget worksheet, vender comparison charts and a host of other information. I also stored my wedding planning documents in the organizer. I liked having all of my wedding planning information in one accessible location.

A major part of your wedding planning efforts will be making a realistic budget and sticking to it. That’s when the fun really begins. You’ll have to decide when to splurge and when not to splurge.

Below you find other articles on wedding planning:
--I'm Engaged! Now What? by Pamela Kazmierczak
--Wedding Planning Guide - Tips For Planning Weddings by Jen Carter


Stay tuned for more post about wedding checklist and your wedding budget.