Your Cheshire wedding doesn’t have to come with a price tag to rival a prize collection of diamonds. Use these top wedding planning tips to manage your wedding budget wisely.

1. Know The Numbers

How do you even begin to work out the spend for your big day if you don’t know what each element will cost? Contact suppliers for quotes as soon as you begin to think about wedding planning to get ballpark figures.

2. Set Aside Contingency Funds

Most wedding planners recommend taking 10-15% off your absolute maximum wedding budget and planning to spend the 85% you’re left with. That way, you’ve left yourself some wiggle room for unexpected costs.

3. Set Your Budget

Once you’ve got an idea of your priorities and the elements you’ll need to pay for, you’re ready to set a budget. The key is to be realistic from the outset: you don’t want financial worries to spoil the run up to your wedding day. If you need a year to save up, that will affect when you set your wedding date. Alternatively, if you want to get married sooner, you may need to find areas you’re happy to scale back.

4. Beware Of Hidden Costs

This should be included as standard, but always check whether supplier quotes include VAT when wedding planning. An extra 20% here and there will soon wreak havoc with your wedding budget.

5. Timeline Your Deposit Payments

Part of successfully staying within your wedding budget is spreading out your spend. If you’ve given yourselves a year to save up, you could still find yourselves falling short financially if you haven’t got the funds available when they’re due.

6. Research Your Ceremony Fees

When it comes to getting hitched, civil ceremony and registrar fees are typically in the region of £500. Talk to your wedding venue and local registrar to establish an accurate number to factor into your wedding budget.

7. Find Out About Financial Contributions

Traditionally, the father of the bride funded the entire wedding. And while the fact that’s no longer expected probably brings sighs of relief to many fathers, parents on both sides often still like to contribute. Have a chat with family early in your wedding planning process to establish what help, if any, you may receive.

If family aren’t able to contribute, they could still help you save in other ways that can help your wedding budget. Could they help grow flowers for your table arrangements? Bake your wedding cake? Design your stationery? There are more ways to create value than money alone.

8. Get Familiar With The Fine Print

Check with your venue exactly what is included in your hire fee. Do you get access to accommodation, like Combermere Abbey’s idyllic North Wing? Are table linens and servingware for dinner included, or will you need to hire those in? How about the smaller details, like the garden games Combermere Abbey provides?

Little costs soon add up and can be the difference that make a venue look affordable at first glance, before then blowing your wedding budget through the roof. At Combermere Abbey, you can check out our pricing and our wedding coordinators will be happy to talk you through exactly what’s included.

9. Cutting Back Costs

Inevitably, at some point during your wedding planning you may need to rein in your expenses. The trick is to do this in places that you and your guests won’t notice.

Ideas for this include leaving out wedding favours, which when multiplied by your guest list numbers rack up a hefty total, or by choosing two courses for dinner rather than three. Your cake could even become dessert to make your wedding budget go further without compromising on the party.

10. Choose A Cheshire Wedding Venue That Wows

If your venue already offers stunning views and beautiful interiors, the amount you’ll spend on styling dramatically reduces. Our Edwardian Glasshouse is framed by a magical fruit-tree maze, so no decoration is required! Likewise, our Garden Pavilion for your reception features airy drapes, romantic chandeliers and a chic bar area, so all you need are a few finishing touches to add a personal stamp.

Find out more about weddings at Combermere Abbey and what you’ll get for your budget here.