Unexpected Wedding Costs No One Told You About

What would a wedding be if you never invited your guests (aside from a great deal cheaper!)? Invites are an essential part of the wedding budget, but what isn’t always accounted for in that budget are the extra details that come under the wedding stationery bracket, such as the cost of stamps for the RSVPs, the menus for each table, the personalised place name cards, and the thank you cards after the big day. Even those brave enough to tackle all the stationery themselves are sometimes surprised by the cost of all those DIY supplies. ImagineDIY is a great source of wedding stationery ideas and detailed tutorials with links to all the supplies you need, but even though they have simplified the process, the costs can mount up quickly.

Organising a wedding and ensuring that everything runs smoothly is no easy task, and making use of your wedding party is essential to its success. When your bridesmaids have been running around organising guests for photographs, or fetching a thread and needle when your veil gets caught and tears, you want to be able to thank them properly for their hard work. Nowadays buying gifts for bridesmaids, flower girls, groomsmen, parents and any friends and family who made cakes or contributed to the wedding is almost expected and the costs can quickly escalate. Many brides are choosing to prepare a little package for their bridesmaids on the morning of the wedding, containing gifts of jewellery, dressing gowns or pyjamas, perfume and personalised glasses, for example. And of course, you can’t forget to get a gift for your partner for the morning of the wedding.

Many beauticians and hair stylists will have a price list to help you budget, but what that might not include is the cost of hair and make-up trials before the big day. If you are also paying for your bridesmaids and any family members to have their hair and make-up done on the day, they may want a trial too, to ensure they are comfortable with the artist’s style. Sometimes the stylist will recommend that you buy some of the products they use, such as lipstick, so you can do touch-ups during the day. There is also the cost of any beauty treatments before the day to consider, such as manicures, pedicures, eyelash extensions, haircuts and male grooming. Everyone wants to look their best, but these details quickly add up.

The venue package price listed in the brochure is often just the beginning. It may be listed as a licensed wedding venue, but there are a few steps you need to complete yourself, such as paying for the registrar, which starts at £46 but can reach £500 depending on the venue. You also need to pay £35 each to give notice and £11 for the certificate itself.

It is worth checking with your venue if they have a list of approved vendors, as some venues will charge you extra if you use vendors that aren’t on the list. Also find out if there is a cake cutting fee or corkage in addition to the package price. Some venues can be deceptively cheap, because they aren’t upfront about these costs. Check with all your vendors about overtime fees – if the day is running a little late will the band be able to stay late and do they charge for this? This goes for the photographer and any transport too.

The dress is, unsurprisingly, the biggest clothing expense, but not all dressmakers will include the cost of alterations in the price of the dress. There are also the potential alterations for your bridesmaids or groomsmen to consider. If you are very organised and have bought your outfits a year in advance, you can’t guarantee that everyone in your wedding party will stay the same size, so add a little extra into the budget to account for any unexpected pregnancies or dress size changes that might happen over the next year. You may also need to account for dry cleaning costs or dress preservation after the wedding.

Quite often people also find themselves buying new outfits for the day before and the day after the wedding, as they want to look their best with all their friends and family coming for the weekend. And of course, there are all the accessories that go with the outfits, such as shoes, jewellery, bags and hair accessories.

Something will always go wrong, no matter how much you want the day to be perfect. It might be something tiny or it might be a series of unfortunate events, but having a little wiggle room in the budget to cover surprises and mistakes will make your life easier should anything happen. For example, it is surprisingly common for the bride and groom to not include themselves in the final count, or forget to provide the photographer with a meal. Unexpected guests are also a common surprise and often it is too awkward to refuse them entry so many couples simply have to cover the costs and hold their tongue. You might forget a key part of your outfit if you are staying somewhere the night before, like the groom’s shoes, or underwear. Re-buying these items on the morning of the wedding isn’t the end of the world, but having money in the budget for them will make things less stressful.