Hidden Wedding Planning Costs You Need to Know About
Planning for a wedding involves lots of thought, as you must prepare properly for the big day and ensure everything fits within your budget. It’s always difficult to budget, even at the best of times, but when wedding planning costs are involved, it can make it even more difficult to manage your finances. While elements like the venue, wedding dress, guest meals, seating charts, and wedding welcome signs are all obvious and easy things to plan for, there are hidden planning costs that often hit couples by surprise.
It’s important to conduct thorough research to understand everything that should be included in your wedding costs, which is why we have created this insightful guide to help you. After you read this article, you should be made aware of the hidden wedding planning costs so you can get ahead of your finances and ensure that everything is on track for your special day.
Continue reading whether you are currently planning your wedding or want to know beforehand about these hidden costs so that you don’t have to worry down the line.
Uncover 6 shocking hidden wedding planning costs that could derail your big day. From sneaky venue fees to unexpected vendor charges, learn how to save thousands. Don't plan your wedding without reading this first!
Wedding Insurance
Perhaps the biggest thing that is often overlooked by couples when planning their wedding is wedding insurance. Having this in place can keep you protected if something goes wrong with your wedding plans, and it requires significant costs to sort out. This can cover a variety of things, such as:
If you run a business and need the finances generated from that to afford your wedding, you would need other types of insurance. For example, bad debt insurance will cover your business in the case of there being a buildup of unpaid invoices that is preventing your business from operating and stopping you from affording your wedding.
Marriage License Fees
A cost that is often sprung upon couples without them realizing it is marriage license fees. Many people don’t even know this is a thing. In the UK, a marriage license costs £35 per person, or £47 if one or both of the parties are not British citizens. However, prices can differ based on the local register office you choose and any extra charges involved. Notice of Intention to Marry or enter into civil partnership fees can be £42 per person or £57 per person if you are referred to the Home Office under the referral and investigation scheme.
Beauty Trials
When couples think about wedding planning costs, they often expect it to go towards the actual day. However, some things need paying for a few times during the planning process, one of them being beauty trials. It’s often the case that brides will get their hair and makeup style tested out beforehand, but this is often forgotten when budgeting for a wedding. This is worth doing to avoid any disappointment or confusion in what style you want on the morning of your wedding.
Corkage Fees
Corkage fees are an interesting concept. Many venues that have bartending services will charge you for any alcohol consumed that was purchased from elsewhere, and this can add up fast if you have a lot of guests coming to your wedding reception/party. While a lot of venues can be expensive when it comes to buying beverages, it can work out cheaper than receiving corkage fees for attempting to get them elsewhere and bringing them into your wedding party establishment.
Clean-up Costs
Venues can sometimes charge up to several hundred pounds for events in the hours after midnight and then even more so for any cleaning costs that are required after the event has finished. You can choose to clean up the mess yourself after your wedding, but nobody wants to do that the day after when they are likely to be hungover from the previous night. You must keep some remaining budget to the side in case you need to pay for cleaning services after the reception.
VAT
It’s often hidden from couples who have no idea that they need to pay VAT costs. “VAT” stands for Value Added Tax, and it is usually applied to many wedding services, such as venue rental, catering, and occasionally stationery. This means that if you’re getting married, you will have to pay a percentage more than the quoted price for these services; always ask your supplier if VAT is included in their price or added separately.
Coming up with a Wedding Budget
Here’s how and how much to put in your wedding budget.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’re aware of these hidden wedding costs, revisit your budget. Are there areas where you can adjust spending to accommodate these additional expenses? Perhaps you can prioritize what’s truly important to you and your partner and make some compromises in other areas. Remember, a beautiful and meaningful wedding doesn’t have to break the bank. Careful planning and a realistic budget are your best allies in creating the wedding of your dreams.
Photo by Engin Akyurt
