WEBVTT
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We always say there's no funny budget stories, and that's true, but there are definitely ones that have taught us great lessons.
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And today we're gonna teach you those lessons.
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Over the next 30 minutes, we're gonna give you a real education on budget, hidden costs, questions to ask, and everything you need to go home tonight and create your own with the Let's Plan Workbook budget template.
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This episode is money.
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Literally.
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Welcome to Let's Plan Your Wedding.
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I'm Abby, and I'm Tamar, and this is Let's Plan Your Wedding, the podcast where we are your wedding planners, and every episode is a planning meeting just between us.
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When you subscribe online at Let's Plan Podcast.com, you'll get access to our exclusive show notes, timelines, budgets, and all the wedding planning templates we use with our own clients.
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And if you have questions, submit them directly on the site and we'll get right back to you.
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So pop in your earbuds, step into our podcast office, and we'll take care of the rest.
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Okay.
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Are we ready?
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Let's plan your wedding.
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So today we're gonna really dive into what we think everybody is sort of dying to understand, which is I have my budget or I think I have my budget in mind.
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And what does this even mean?
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How do I break it down into what am I spending on my venue, my food and beverage, Band or DJ?
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All of that we're gonna get into in really deep detail today, which I'm very excited for because I stink in love budget.
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Don't I?
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You do.
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I do.
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You do.
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I would rather anything administrative sit at my computer.
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Totally.
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All I want to do all day is like spreadsheet my way through this world.
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And all I want to do all day is talk to clients.
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Exactly, which is why we're a good pair.
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Exactly.
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By the end of this episode, our goal is that you're gonna have a very clear and specific picture of your own budget.
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We hope that this statement alone already begins to ease some stress because we know that this early part of the process can feel really overwhelming.
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Our recommendation is that you go online to let'splanpodcast.com and download our Let's Plan workbook.
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Here you're gonna see your guest list template, your timeline, and then our tried and true budget that we use with all of our clients.
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We make it really easy for you in that all you have to do is enter your budget at the top, and it's gonna automatically populate a budget template with the appropriate allocations for each line item on your budget for you.
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From there, you can edit it and then set it based in part on the conversation that we're about to have.
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It's a lot of information, but really don't worry about it.
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Don't worry about taking notes.
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Just listen.
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You've got this and we've got this.
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Okay, let's go.
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We want to try and kind of kick off each episode with a story that's relevant to the topic that we're talking about.
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And we're gonna try and give you actually like funny stories, but we were like, what's a funny budget story?
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And we're like, there are no funny budget stories.
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Not budget is serious, and budget is sometimes stressful.
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And so the stories we have are more about like cautionary tales.
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Totally, right?
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Absolutely.
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Okay.
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When we were sort of thinking about like what is the story we want to tell or a story you want to tell and I want to tell, what came to your mind of an experience with a client around budget that you felt was a good lesson or something to share that would be interesting?
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I think we share the perspective that this shouldn't, there shouldn't be an effort to hide costs from one another when planning.
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So it hasn't worked well in the past for our clients, for a a bride or a player in the planning process to try to hide a cost from the other stakeholders.
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So if in a meeting she or he has preferred a more expensive option and said, I'll just pay for that on my own, we feel like we've always seen the repercussions of that.
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We've heard about the the stories where the truth comes out in the end and that there really is no hiding.
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Right.
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And I feel like if our job is to de-stress the process, if you're holding secrets the whole time, if your parents or your fiance doesn't know that what we cost because you're hiding it from them, you're gonna be juggling a lot of secrets and holding all of that yourself throughout this process.
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And that's gonna add stress.
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So our whole thing is like, why are you doing this?
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You're like hold I always said like you're holding a grenade that you're gonna blow up yourself in your own hand.
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Like just be if you can be transparent.
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Transparent and honest.
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It just it's again a D a de-stressor.
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Okay, let's really get into budget.
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I feel like I look at budget every day.
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I think everybody should look at budget every day.
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Well, you can't really not every day, but like with consistency.
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Sure.
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You can't really set it and forget it because it's a it's a living document.
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Absolutely.
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And it's you have to it I think when you know what your parameters are, that's actually gives you the most amount of opportunity to flex.
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So when you know what your ranges are or what you're aiming to pay or spend in each category, and then you say, well, you know what?
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I a photographer is really important to me, but I I'm okay having a DJ instead of a band.
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You know that you can, if when we set this initial, you know, budget up for you, that you can take from Peter to pay Paul, that you can, based on your own priorities, that you can kind of, again, continue to adjust your budget so that it works for you, right?
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Exactly.
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Okay, absolutely.
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So, how do we create a budget?
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Here is the single most useful thing that we are going to tell you in this entire episode.
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We call it the 50-50 rule.
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And once you hear it, you're going to use it for every budget conversation you have about your wedding from this point forward.
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In the nearly 20 plus years that we have been working together and separately, we have come to a fairly consistent formula for how to create a budget caveat.
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This is pertinent to your wedding celebration only.
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If you are budgeting for an entire weekend, including a welcome reception or rehearsal dinner the night before, a post-nuptial brunch the day after, and if you are intending to include your personal effects, attire, gifts for bridal party, your honeymoon, your personal travel for your wedding.
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Exactly.
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There should be perhaps a 10% give or take holdback to your overall budget to compensate for those items.
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Absolutely.
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Otherwise, for purposes of this dialogue, when we discuss a budget, we're discussing one night celebration.
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And what we have learned over our decades of experience is that there is a very clear way to create a general budget w prior to looking for vendors and venues.
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And that is to take a piece of lined paper and fold it in half on one side of this line paper is 50% of your budget.
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And that you can assume will go to food and beverage.
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And venue.
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Plus, plus, plus.
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So when you are shopping for a venue, please be mindful, and we'll touch upon this later in the episode.
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There are additional fees, administrative fees, taxes, gratuities, service fees that are added to every dollar.
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So you are contracted for a specific food and beverage minimum, and there are additional costs.
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On the other side of this piece of paper, you can list fifty to a hundred other details as small as postage stamps and as large as rentals, linens, flowers, musical entertainment, photography, videography, transportation, valet parking, security, any of these sparklers, all the things we love, everything else.
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See literally everything else.
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Printed materials, everything else, and the two sides will have a symbiotic relationship.
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They will be related, if not equal, to one another.
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Okay.
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Can I get into the dorky nitty-gritty of this?
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Because we've always known that in our hearts.
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And then I went and did like deep dive statistical analysis of all of the budgets of all of our clients.
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Of course I did.
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And I loved it.
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And I was so excited to get these numbers.
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So I'm going to also start by sharing that what I'm about to share is based on an average budget.
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And I know this is going to sound to some people extraordinarily high.
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I think you can scale this down and then scale this up, but this is essentially based on an average budget of about$100,000.
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Where we see these percentages change dra more is if it's sort of$60,000 and under, or if you're getting up to$200,000 and above, the ratios begin to shift.
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The 50-50 rule kind of stays in place, but if you're over essentially$200,000, your food and beverage and venue percentage is going to start to go down to maybe 40% versus the 60% of everything else, even 35%, 65%.
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And if you're under 60, your food and beverage and venue cost is probably going to be a greater percentage than 50%.
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So we're thinking also tenting will skew if you are tenting.
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Yes.
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That will skew your budget by at least 10%.
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At least, yeah.
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Can we put tenting aside for another episode?
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Absolutely.
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Okay.
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Absolutely.
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Okay.
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I want to walk you through exactly how we would allocate a$100,000 budget line by line.
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Don't try to write all of this down right now.
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It's on our website, it's in your workbook.
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So for now, just listen and let it sink in.
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Here's how we break it down.
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So you'll see that the first area of line items are venue, food, and beverage.
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And we've allocated essentially 50% for your ceremony venue, your ceremony efficient, which probably sometimes comes with your ceremony venue as the clergy member or your friends will do it.
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It's not a big cost.
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And then your reception venue, food, and beverage, and essentially desserts and any other like food-based things that you're gonna bring in.
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Going down to entertainment, we have 6% allocated for entertainment, 6% allocated for photography and videography, 20% dedicated to event design.
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So this includes your floral design, some lighting design, your maybe tabletop rentals, chairs, a bar, lounge furniture, et cetera.
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3% dedicated to transportation.
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We're gonna continue to get into all of this detail, but transportation meeting, bridal party transportation, sometimes guest transportation, sometimes personal transportation and parking.
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Four percent for printed materials, which includes save the dates, invitations, menu cards, escort cards, cocktail napkins.
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We have a whole list.
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2% for miscellaneous.
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What this sometimes can include are things like event insurance, licensing fees, tips, and other such things.
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1% dedicated to hair and makeup and day of services around what you look like.
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We have 10% at the end dedicated to hiring an event planner.
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This 10%, depending on your budget, you can evaluate whether this 10% is better spent on a wedding planned.
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Half of the 10%, so maybe 5% if you do day of, 10 to 15% if you do full service wedding planning.
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Or you can take this 10% that we've allocated for wedding planning services and redistribute it into your budget.
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You may want to put it back into entertainment, you may want to put it back into decor, but we've put that in there as a line item that you can then decide how this fits into your priorities and your needs in your budget.
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And that gets you to 100%.
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May I offer some thoughts?
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Yes.
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I don't, and you can tell me whether you want to elaborate on them or not.
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Yeah.
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The one thing that we didn't touch upon is that there are within this budget, there are some elements that are per person prices.
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So your guarantee or your guest list will dictate that budget line item.
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Yes.
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There are some that are fixed costs.
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There you're paying for a band or a DJ.
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They don't care whether they're playing or singing to 50 people or 500 people.
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That's in in by our definition a fixed cost.
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Yes.
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And then there are some costs that are per 10 people, for example, a rental table, a rental linen, a floral centerpiece, candle and vessel rentals.
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Yeah.
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That's per table.
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Right.
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I feel like the father of the bride movies, like back in the day, and I think in general, everyone was like, the per person cost of a wedding.
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That is not how we calculate budget.
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Exactly.
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There's just no way.
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And I don't know if it ever was, but I actually think the per person cost, the variable cost, if you will, is much lower than the fixed cost of everything else.
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This is actually a great transition to talk about venue, food and beverage and what you may see at different categories of venues.
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There are some venues like hotels, especially, where everything is included in the food and beverage minimum.
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And then there are going to be spaces that you're going to take if you're tenting, if you're renting a museum, if you're renting a raw art space or a unique space where you're going to just pay the venue the one-time venue fee, and then you're going to have a caterer and you're going to have your rentals and it's going to be structured differently.
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And to that end, your budget will probably be flipped.
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So if you're renting a space to then erect a tent, to then have to build a ballroom, flooring, HVAC, bathrooms, electricity, generator, lights, your budget will likely be flipped.
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And your food and beverage is actually the lesser side of your budget.
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Yep.
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So if you listen to our first episode, we touched on some of the overarching processes around budget and budget management.
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So we've talked about how to find your total number, which is talking to the people in your life, the stakeholders, if you will.
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We had like a whole debate about who are the stakeholders and what does that mean and who are decision makers and what does that mean.
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So if you want to go back and listen to episode one, awesome.
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But you have to get to your total number.
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So you have to understand what can you, what are you contributing as a couple?
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And is there anybody else that's going to be contributing and what does that total number look like?
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And you need to start there.
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Once you've established a budget, we think it's important to discuss organization and payment cadence throughout the process.
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There will be several inflection points where great deals of money will be spent or due to vendors and venue.
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Upon signing contract, you will probably have to pay a 50% deposit in most cases.
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The contract will typically outline further payment plans.
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And two weeks prior to the wedding, you will owe your final payments.
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So over the course of your planning, there will probably be four times that you will be laying out large chunks of money to secure vendors and venues.
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So pay attention, please, to deposits that are due up front.
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What I always do, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but what I have what we have always done, I, because I'm like the contract lady.
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I will go through the contract, I'll highlight all of the payment percentages or amounts and when they're due, and I stick it straight in my calendar.
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So I would just go in and say, you know, hotel deposit due, hotel payment one due, hotel payment two due, and then final payments due.
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And what Abby is saying is you're gonna basically pay for your entire wedding before your wedding night.
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And that you should not feel nervous about.
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As we said in our first episode, in our industry, unfortunately, it is far more likely that a client will stiff a vendor than a vendor not show up and perform their contract for their client.
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And so, especially post-COVID, it is very common, if not the absolute rule, that vendors will require 100% payment in advance of the wedding.
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And also it eases, as we said before, it who wants to be paying vendors the night of their wedding?
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You don't want to be running around with a stack of envelopes and checks and tips and cash to hand out to people.
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You want to be at your wedding enjoying yourself.
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But that's the standard.
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So you really will walk into your wedding day, everything will be paid for.
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Yes, ideally.
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So our recommendation for managing your budget and tracking your payments, if you can, is to open a new checking account.
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Have everybody contribute what they're going to contribute to the wedding to this new checking account.
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And we also would recommend opening a new credit card or using a credit card that you can collect whatever is important to you, collect points on for travel, get cash back, whatever it is.
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Some vendors will accept credit card.
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And we think that that's a great opportunity to get some added value out of your these big payments that you're going to be putting out.
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But essentially what we want to do is streamline where your money is coming in and going out from so that it's very easy for you to continue to track.
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If you forget, did I pay payment number two for vendor number six?
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You can go online and look at your new checking account and just see, yes, I did pay them.
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And here's the date.
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Or you say, oh, I don't see a payment.
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I I guess I do owe them.
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It's so much easier if you can manage it this way than saying, hey, mom, did you guys pay the second payment on the band yet?
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Or hey, honey, did you send that deposit out?
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If one person can really be in charge of tracking the budget and tracking the payments, again, it's going to be more organized.
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It's going to take the stress out, it's going to be a lot smoother.
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And you may, again, get some benefit from balancing a credit card along with a checking account.
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Right?
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Absolutely.
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Yes.
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Cool.
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Before we get to dollars and cents, Linda has a question for us that I want to spend a few minutes on because our answers surprised even us.
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Here's my question to the two of you.
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Does a bigger budget give the client a better event?
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No.
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Yes.
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Come on.
00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:42.240
And tell me why.
00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:44.079
Abby, why no?
00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:45.440
Tomorrow why yes.
00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:47.839
Sorry, I'm gonna qualify my answer.
00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:50.000
Meaning does not come from budget.
00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:56.640
So if you're getting married and you have no budget, you can make an incredibly meaningful event.
00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:01.359
But I think when you asked me, when you use the word, sorry, you can make a meaningful wedding.
00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:07.680
When you ask the word an event, I'm thinking like the mic the the things that we put into place.
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:09.839
Do you want me to rephrase the question?
00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:12.559
No, because tomorrow it's the same.
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:19.119
The same explanation, but our immediate answers were different.
00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:19.519
Okay.
00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:21.920
So how so?
00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:42.319
A budget doesn't what creates a meaningful and memorable night are the personal touches that you or that we incorporate that help the bride and groom the the guests feel what creates the meaning is what you're trying to answer.
00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:44.400
Yes, and that to me is people.
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:44.799
Right.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:21:00.079
I think that there are essentials that are important to a guest experience and important ceremonial pieces to a wedding celebration that people expect and want to see and share in.
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:06.880
But I don't think throwing money at an event or a wedding makes it any more meaningful.
00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:07.519
I agree.
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:14.000
I agree with the meaningful part, but you can't tell me that when you I was thinking more from the mechanics of an event.
00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:19.200
Like when you have bigger budgets, you can be doing more exciting things.
00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:22.079
I hate saying that out loud, but that was what my reaction was.
00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:27.279
But I agree with you that meaning comes from the couple and the people in the room.
00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:29.920
But that was a good question because we came out of it.
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.640
But see, that's I don't know if I answered it the way I wanted.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:34.240
I'll come up with more.
00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:37.599
That was just something because I love that you gave different response.
00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:39.519
What's your answer to that?
00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:40.880
Definitely not.
00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:48.160
Well, for several reasons, but I think sometimes some of the bigger budgets that we've had, the weddings have been bombs.
00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:49.039
Totally.
00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:50.160
Totally landed.
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.359
Of the ball.
00:21:51.759 --> 00:22:01.279
Because they were throwing money at the problem if the expectation of those people was that if the They spent more, they'd get better.
00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:02.559
Stop knocking on the table.
00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:03.440
I'm sorry.
00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:08.480
If if they spent more, they'd get and that that's just not how it works.
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:15.839
But tomorrow, I think about the band from New York that we were so excited, the 15-person band.
00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:16.799
Yeah.
00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:18.960
And they were fine.
00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:19.759
Agreed.
00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:20.319
Agreed.
00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:33.200
Or the decor, that same wedding that we had to cut back on because things were created with such opulence they didn't even fit in the room.
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:33.920
Yes.
00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:35.519
I think I was answering it.
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:41.519
My perspective was as an event planner, as a professional, if someone gives me more money, can I make a better event?
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:42.400
Of course I can.
00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:42.960
Right?
00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:44.400
I don't think you can.
00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:45.440
I don't think you can.
00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:46.799
What defines better?
00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:47.920
More meaningful?
00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:49.599
No, I can't make anything more meaningful.
00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.400
I mean, I'm not answering this the right way.
00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.519
Well, no, no, no.
00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:58.480
No, you're talking about you're talking about two different things.
00:22:58.720 --> 00:22:59.440
Sorry.
00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:03.519
One is the heart and soul of the wedding.
00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:08.160
The other is the physical things that you're saying with the bigger budget.
00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:08.640
Yes.
00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:10.799
I can have more flowers, prettier flowers.
00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:12.960
I can do better design work if I have a bigger budget.
00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:14.960
I can do better lighting work if I have to do it.
00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:17.119
All of that might fail, by the way.
00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:17.440
Yes.
00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:19.359
Because you can have it all and still have it done.
00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:21.200
No, I'm kidding.
00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:28.319
No, but you can't infuse the, you know, like I always people always want huge dance floors.
00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:29.039
Yeah.
00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:29.759
Why?
00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:30.319
Oh my god.
00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:32.400
You need to be bumping shoulders.
00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:33.920
You need to be sweating.
00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:38.720
So there's something that I feel I know about a good wedding.
00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:39.039
Right.
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:46.720
I'm thinking very specifically of a client at AFH who was very specific with us about a dollar amount.
00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:47.200
Yeah.
00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:51.839
And we spent to the penny, if not minus 10 cents.
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.240
That's sweating ever.
00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:54.400
Yeah.
00:23:54.720 --> 00:24:00.880
And it was the most beautiful, the most meaningful, and the most memorable wedding.
00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:06.559
I wouldn't have done anything differently for that client.
00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:08.880
It was reflective of them.
00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:15.920
They were at their most comfortable and most joyful that night.
00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:17.119
It was amazing.
00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:20.799
But we also had a a large budget to do that.
00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:23.200
But it was a defined budget.
00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:23.920
Absolutely.
00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:25.839
More would not have been more, is what you're saying.
00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:27.359
Or would not have been more.
00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:36.880
And I actually, like it's funny because the way I'm answering this, again, it's very different than how I feel, which is, you know, I actually don't want to spend money at a wedding in general.
00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:40.240
Like I would, if it were my kids, I'd be like, Do you really want to have a wedding?
00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.000
Like, do you want just take the money or, you know, do something.
00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:45.599
It's a lot of money to spend.
00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:51.759
And I see how that money can be saved, invested, or spent in other more meaning not more meaningful ways, in meaningful ways.
00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:52.799
Mes thoughtful ways.
00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:57.680
That said, again, what I was answering was professionally, can I do more with more?
00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:57.920
Yes.
00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:03.119
But it's not that more equals more in terms of your experience and how special your wife is.
00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:12.559
And then I think part of our responsibility is to say to case in point that client, there's no more we can do.
00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:14.160
Take that money.
00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:15.920
We don't need that money.
00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:17.920
This is perfect.
00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:25.519
Because I have never said, I have never, have we ever had a client who's like, spend please, like when we say this is such a great wedding that they're like, go spend more?
00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:26.400
We've never had that.
00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:28.559
Everyone has to be.
00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:30.880
Is there anything else that we need to do?
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:32.880
I've heard that so many times.
00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:33.359
Yeah.
00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:35.920
What else would you suggest that we could do?
00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:37.039
Nothing.
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:38.640
Nothing to think of more questions.
00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:39.599
I like that question, though.
00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:40.640
That was a great question.
00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:41.279
Thank you.
00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:42.480
Great question.
00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:44.480
Did you want to play Dollars and Cents?
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:45.119
Yes.
00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:46.960
Do we know how to play Dollars and Cents?
00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:48.720
Because we're making this game up on the fly.
00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:49.279
We are.
00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:56.640
So are we just going to like throw out things that are part of wedding planning and decide whether we think it's cool to spend money on it?
00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:58.079
Spending your dollars on it?
00:25:58.400 --> 00:25:59.440
Or are you using good sense?
00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:01.279
Oh, that's great.
00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:02.720
Or use your good sense.
00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:03.279
Okay.
00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.319
Okay.
00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:05.440
All right.
00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:06.160
Ready?
00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:06.640
Yeah.
00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:07.759
Fireworks.
00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:08.720
Sense.
00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:10.000
Sense.
00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:10.880
Sense.
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.880
But if you have budget for it, go for it.
00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:22.480
Fireworks are on my wish list all the time because don't forget you pay up front for fireworks, and we have had situations where it's been cloudy and you can't see them.
00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:23.599
You can't see them.
00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:24.240
Yep.
00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:25.039
Yeah.
00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.079
Are fireworks as expensive as people think they are?
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:28.480
Yes.
00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:29.279
They are.
00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:30.319
Yes.
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:33.680
There's a difference between sparklers and fireworks.
00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:35.920
You could have a sparkler send-off.
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:36.960
Which is so gorgeous.
00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:42.960
Quite beautiful in photographs, but fireworks are Especially now.
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:43.519
Yeah.
00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:45.039
Grave expenditure.
00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:46.400
I love sparklers.
00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:47.200
Me too.
00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:49.039
They're beautiful in photographs.
00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:54.240
They make for such a gorgeous And a beautiful moment because right?
00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:56.799
Like you're in that moment and everyone anyway.
00:26:57.359 --> 00:26:57.759
Sense.
00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:00.640
Okay, I have another one.
00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:01.359
I do too.
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:02.559
We're going around in a circle.
00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:03.599
Sorry, go ahead.
00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:04.799
What's your next one?
00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:08.880
A paper invitation versus an online invitation.
00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:11.680
Dollars on the paper invitation.
00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:12.880
Sense.
00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:16.240
This day and age, it's a great way to save money.
00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:17.039
I'm sorry.
00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:20.400
Paper costs a lot more now than it ever did, stamps everything.
00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:21.839
It's a it's an investment.
00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:29.920
And for some people, if you're budget conscious, it's an easy people can still get to your wedding if you send them a digital invitation.
00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:30.480
Sorry.
00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:31.599
I love a printed invitation.
00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:42.000
I have to say, with the caveat that I have to say, there's nothing that is more welcoming or beautiful than a printed invitation.
00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:42.640
No doubt.
00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:47.680
But again, if we're talking dollars and cents, I gotta say cents.
00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:48.079
Yeah.
00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.279
Sorry, ladies.
00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:49.680
No.
00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.799
It's not uncommon that we have opposite opinions.
00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:54.160
Wedding favor.
00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:55.279
Sense.
00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:56.160
Sense.
00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:57.440
I mean sense.
00:27:57.839 --> 00:27:58.079
Yeah.
00:27:58.480 --> 00:27:58.960
No thank you.
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:02.400
Not no thank you, it's great, but unnecessary.
00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:04.319
Valet parking.
00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:05.519
Dollars.
00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:06.720
Sense.
00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:07.440
Sense.
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.200
Ah Yep.
00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:10.480
After party.
00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:11.359
Sense.
00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:12.000
Sense.
00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:12.640
Sense.
00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:13.599
Right?
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:15.440
You don't have to host an after party.
00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:16.400
Go to a bar.
00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:20.240
And or leave your guests wanting more.
00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:20.880
Totally.
00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:25.440
What's better than leaving a packed dance floor to tips?
00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:31.440
And family all dying for one more song.
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:31.920
Yeah.
00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:34.000
That's the best feeling ever.
00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:38.319
You through a wildly successful evening.
00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:39.599
It can end there.
00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.519
It doesn't need to fizzle out.
00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:42.640
It can end with a bang.
00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:43.119
Yep.
00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:46.079
Vintage cars per ceremony.
00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:47.440
Sense.
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.640
Sense.
00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:49.200
Sense.
00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:50.079
Yeah.
00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:52.079
That shit breaks down.
00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:54.240
It's always late.
00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:58.079
I'm always freaking out and calling the driver.
00:28:58.400 --> 00:28:59.200
No one fits.
00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:00.799
It's they're really not.
00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:06.000
It's like the bride fits, and sometimes her dad is in the front seat.
00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:07.839
You're not even comfortable.
00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:10.880
There's no air conditioning or heat.
00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:14.240
It's really and it's old, it's gas smelling.
00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:17.039
Like it's sometimes if it's a true antique car.
00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:19.200
Just um a photograph.
00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:19.839
Yeah.
00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:20.400
No.
00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:21.119
It's funny.
00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:22.000
Sense.
00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:24.400
How about rehearsal dinners?
00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:25.519
It's a good question.
00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:33.440
In the traditional sense or in the more modern adapted welcome reception.
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:35.519
That's sort of why I asked it.
00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:37.119
With that in mind.
00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:39.839
I like something that marks the occasion.
00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:47.519
Whether you do a small rehearsal dinner because that's what you can afford or want, or you're doing a big welcome party for everybody because that's what you can afford or want.
00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:58.400
I like the idea that there is a kickoff to the celebration and it sets the kind of like joyful tone and tenor for this is the weekend is beginning or the weekend.
00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:00.559
Maybe you're in the back having hot dogs.
00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:02.799
I guess it doesn't have to be, yeah.
00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:04.960
It doesn't have to be exactly yep.
00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:05.519
Dollars.
00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:06.480
Dollars.
00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:08.319
Champagne toast.
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:09.359
Dollars.
00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:10.240
Cents.
00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:11.359
Sense.
00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:11.759
Oh.
00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:12.799
Sorry.
00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:14.480
I need to stop judging my own.
00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:19.279
Like I would be like, don't be so don't have such a toast with anything.
00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:20.880
Especially nowadays.
00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:24.799
I don't think champagne is like a I just think the cost, I agree with you.
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:29.359
You could toast with anything, but the cost, the waste cost for that to me is is typically high.
00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:34.400
I feel that way about wines, though, at the dinner table, if I'm being honest.
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:38.400
They servers have been trained to pour.
00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:39.039
Yes.
00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:42.640
Because it's a moneymaker for a catering outfit.
00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:47.039
So they pour and they re top it off and they re-pour and re-report.
00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:47.359
Right.
00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:51.680
But you also have the agency in that moment to say no thank you.
00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:56.960
Whereas a champagne pour is all 200 people coming into the room, no matter what.
00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:58.400
I don't drink champagne.
00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:00.480
It's a wasted love champagne.
00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:01.279
I drink yours.
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:02.880
You you both can have mine.
00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:17.839
But I actually love champagne, but I I think it's again It's a way if you're looking I guess it's what we're saying is like if you're looking for small ways to save or big ways to save, but like any way to save this You don't have to convince me.
00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:20.000
I know, but I need your approval constantly.
00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:22.559
So when we disagree, you know I do need to convince you.
00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:24.480
I I it's okay.
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.000
Just making that clear.
00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:26.640
I like it.
00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:29.599
So here's the big takeaway from today's episode.
00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:35.200
Approximately 50% of your budget will be food, beverage, and venue costs.
00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:49.680
The other 50% is everything else that you have budgeted for from the smallest detail like a postage stamp to the larger elements like music and flowers.
00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:57.440
Your homework before our next episode is to go to let'splanpodcast.com and download our workbook, including the budget breakdown template.
00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:03.039
When you input your ideal total budget at the top, it'll automatically fill in the individual line items.
00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:10.079
From there, it's yours to edit, but it has all of those percentages that we talked about today laid out in a simple but powerful spreadsheet.
00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:13.519
It's the same template we use with our own clients, and now it's yours.
00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:14.640
Feel free to go get it.
00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:29.519
On our next episode, we're talking about timeline, how to choose your wedding date, how to build your planning timeline, and why not understanding timeline and what needs to get done when creates the most expensive mistakes we often see.
00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:35.920
Also, we'll play a round of Love or Hate the Wedding Date, 4th of July, Love It or Hate It.
00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:39.039
We have a lot to say about that and many other dates.
00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:48.240
And as always, please subscribe to our Substack at Let's Planpodcast.com, leave a review if you're enjoying this, and follow us at Let's Plan Podcast on Instagram.
00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:54.000
If after today you have any specific questions about your budget, submit them online and we will get right back to you.
00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:57.440
And remember, more would not have been more.
00:32:57.920 --> 00:33:00.400
Okay, talk to you next time.
00:33:03.359 --> 00:33:05.359
This podcast is for entertainment only.
00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:09.920
The Let's Plan Your Wedding podcast assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:18.640
It is produced by AGTF LLC in a separate capacity and is provided as is with no guarantees of accuracy, completeness, or usefulness.
00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:22.640
The podcast is for informational, private, and non commercial use only.
00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:28.559
Reproduction, modification, or redistribution without AGTF LLC's consent is prohibited.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.160
We always say there's no funny budget stories, and that's true, but there are definitely ones that have taught us great lessons.
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And today we're gonna teach you those lessons.
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Over the next 30 minutes, we're gonna give you a real education on budget, hidden costs, questions to ask, and everything you need to go home tonight and create your own with the Let's Plan Workbook budget template.
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This episode is money.
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Literally.
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Welcome to Let's Plan Your Wedding.
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I'm Abby, and I'm Tamar, and this is Let's Plan Your Wedding, the podcast where we are your wedding planners, and every episode is a planning meeting just between us.
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When you subscribe online at Let's Plan Podcast.com, you'll get access to our exclusive show notes, timelines, budgets, and all the wedding planning templates we use with our own clients.
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And if you have questions, submit them directly on the site and we'll get right back to you.
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So pop in your earbuds, step into our podcast office, and we'll take care of the rest.
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Okay.
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Are we ready?
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Let's plan your wedding.
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So today we're gonna really dive into what we think everybody is sort of dying to understand, which is I have my budget or I think I have my budget in mind.
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And what does this even mean?
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How do I break it down into what am I spending on my venue, my food and beverage, Band or DJ?
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All of that we're gonna get into in really deep detail today, which I'm very excited for because I stink in love budget.
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Don't I?
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You do.
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I do.
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You do.
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I would rather anything administrative sit at my computer.
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Totally.
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All I want to do all day is like spreadsheet my way through this world.
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And all I want to do all day is talk to clients.
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Exactly, which is why we're a good pair.
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Exactly.
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By the end of this episode, our goal is that you're gonna have a very clear and specific picture of your own budget.
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We hope that this statement alone already begins to ease some stress because we know that this early part of the process can feel really overwhelming.
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Our recommendation is that you go online to let'splanpodcast.com and download our Let's Plan workbook.
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Here you're gonna see your guest list template, your timeline, and then our tried and true budget that we use with all of our clients.
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We make it really easy for you in that all you have to do is enter your budget at the top, and it's gonna automatically populate a budget template with the appropriate allocations for each line item on your budget for you.
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From there, you can edit it and then set it based in part on the conversation that we're about to have.
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It's a lot of information, but really don't worry about it.
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Don't worry about taking notes.
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Just listen.
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You've got this and we've got this.
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Okay, let's go.
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We want to try and kind of kick off each episode with a story that's relevant to the topic that we're talking about.
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And we're gonna try and give you actually like funny stories, but we were like, what's a funny budget story?
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And we're like, there are no funny budget stories.
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Not budget is serious, and budget is sometimes stressful.
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And so the stories we have are more about like cautionary tales.
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Totally, right?
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Absolutely.
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Okay.
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When we were sort of thinking about like what is the story we want to tell or a story you want to tell and I want to tell, what came to your mind of an experience with a client around budget that you felt was a good lesson or something to share that would be interesting?
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I think we share the perspective that this shouldn't, there shouldn't be an effort to hide costs from one another when planning.
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So it hasn't worked well in the past for our clients, for a a bride or a player in the planning process to try to hide a cost from the other stakeholders.
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So if in a meeting she or he has preferred a more expensive option and said, I'll just pay for that on my own, we feel like we've always seen the repercussions of that.
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We've heard about the the stories where the truth comes out in the end and that there really is no hiding.
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Right.
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And I feel like if our job is to de-stress the process, if you're holding secrets the whole time, if your parents or your fiance doesn't know that what we cost because you're hiding it from them, you're gonna be juggling a lot of secrets and holding all of that yourself throughout this process.
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And that's gonna add stress.
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So our whole thing is like, why are you doing this?
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You're like hold I always said like you're holding a grenade that you're gonna blow up yourself in your own hand.
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Like just be if you can be transparent.
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Transparent and honest.
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It just it's again a D a de-stressor.
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Okay, let's really get into budget.
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I feel like I look at budget every day.
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I think everybody should look at budget every day.
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Well, you can't really not every day, but like with consistency.
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Sure.
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You can't really set it and forget it because it's a it's a living document.
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Absolutely.
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And it's you have to it I think when you know what your parameters are, that's actually gives you the most amount of opportunity to flex.
00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:14.079
So when you know what your ranges are or what you're aiming to pay or spend in each category, and then you say, well, you know what?
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I a photographer is really important to me, but I I'm okay having a DJ instead of a band.
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You know that you can, if when we set this initial, you know, budget up for you, that you can take from Peter to pay Paul, that you can, based on your own priorities, that you can kind of, again, continue to adjust your budget so that it works for you, right?
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Exactly.
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Okay, absolutely.
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So, how do we create a budget?
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Here is the single most useful thing that we are going to tell you in this entire episode.
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We call it the 50-50 rule.
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And once you hear it, you're going to use it for every budget conversation you have about your wedding from this point forward.
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In the nearly 20 plus years that we have been working together and separately, we have come to a fairly consistent formula for how to create a budget caveat.
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This is pertinent to your wedding celebration only.
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If you are budgeting for an entire weekend, including a welcome reception or rehearsal dinner the night before, a post-nuptial brunch the day after, and if you are intending to include your personal effects, attire, gifts for bridal party, your honeymoon, your personal travel for your wedding.
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Exactly.
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There should be perhaps a 10% give or take holdback to your overall budget to compensate for those items.
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Absolutely.
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Otherwise, for purposes of this dialogue, when we discuss a budget, we're discussing one night celebration.
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And what we have learned over our decades of experience is that there is a very clear way to create a general budget w prior to looking for vendors and venues.
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And that is to take a piece of lined paper and fold it in half on one side of this line paper is 50% of your budget.
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And that you can assume will go to food and beverage.
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And venue.
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Plus, plus, plus.
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So when you are shopping for a venue, please be mindful, and we'll touch upon this later in the episode.
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There are additional fees, administrative fees, taxes, gratuities, service fees that are added to every dollar.
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So you are contracted for a specific food and beverage minimum, and there are additional costs.
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On the other side of this piece of paper, you can list fifty to a hundred other details as small as postage stamps and as large as rentals, linens, flowers, musical entertainment, photography, videography, transportation, valet parking, security, any of these sparklers, all the things we love, everything else.
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See literally everything else.
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Printed materials, everything else, and the two sides will have a symbiotic relationship.
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They will be related, if not equal, to one another.
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Okay.
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Can I get into the dorky nitty-gritty of this?
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Because we've always known that in our hearts.
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And then I went and did like deep dive statistical analysis of all of the budgets of all of our clients.
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Of course I did.
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And I loved it.
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And I was so excited to get these numbers.
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So I'm going to also start by sharing that what I'm about to share is based on an average budget.
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And I know this is going to sound to some people extraordinarily high.
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I think you can scale this down and then scale this up, but this is essentially based on an average budget of about$100,000.
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Where we see these percentages change dra more is if it's sort of$60,000 and under, or if you're getting up to$200,000 and above, the ratios begin to shift.
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The 50-50 rule kind of stays in place, but if you're over essentially$200,000, your food and beverage and venue percentage is going to start to go down to maybe 40% versus the 60% of everything else, even 35%, 65%.
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And if you're under 60, your food and beverage and venue cost is probably going to be a greater percentage than 50%.
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So we're thinking also tenting will skew if you are tenting.
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Yes.
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That will skew your budget by at least 10%.
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At least, yeah.
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Can we put tenting aside for another episode?
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Absolutely.
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Okay.
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Absolutely.
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Okay.
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I want to walk you through exactly how we would allocate a$100,000 budget line by line.
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Don't try to write all of this down right now.
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It's on our website, it's in your workbook.
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So for now, just listen and let it sink in.
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Here's how we break it down.
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So you'll see that the first area of line items are venue, food, and beverage.
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And we've allocated essentially 50% for your ceremony venue, your ceremony efficient, which probably sometimes comes with your ceremony venue as the clergy member or your friends will do it.
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It's not a big cost.
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And then your reception venue, food, and beverage, and essentially desserts and any other like food-based things that you're gonna bring in.
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Going down to entertainment, we have 6% allocated for entertainment, 6% allocated for photography and videography, 20% dedicated to event design.
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So this includes your floral design, some lighting design, your maybe tabletop rentals, chairs, a bar, lounge furniture, et cetera.
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3% dedicated to transportation.
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We're gonna continue to get into all of this detail, but transportation meeting, bridal party transportation, sometimes guest transportation, sometimes personal transportation and parking.
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Four percent for printed materials, which includes save the dates, invitations, menu cards, escort cards, cocktail napkins.
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We have a whole list.
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2% for miscellaneous.
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What this sometimes can include are things like event insurance, licensing fees, tips, and other such things.
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1% dedicated to hair and makeup and day of services around what you look like.
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We have 10% at the end dedicated to hiring an event planner.
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This 10%, depending on your budget, you can evaluate whether this 10% is better spent on a wedding planned.
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Half of the 10%, so maybe 5% if you do day of, 10 to 15% if you do full service wedding planning.
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Or you can take this 10% that we've allocated for wedding planning services and redistribute it into your budget.
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You may want to put it back into entertainment, you may want to put it back into decor, but we've put that in there as a line item that you can then decide how this fits into your priorities and your needs in your budget.
00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:39.519
And that gets you to 100%.
00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:42.320
May I offer some thoughts?
00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:42.639
Yes.
00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:45.440
I don't, and you can tell me whether you want to elaborate on them or not.
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Yeah.
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The one thing that we didn't touch upon is that there are within this budget, there are some elements that are per person prices.
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So your guarantee or your guest list will dictate that budget line item.
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Yes.
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There are some that are fixed costs.
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There you're paying for a band or a DJ.
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They don't care whether they're playing or singing to 50 people or 500 people.
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That's in in by our definition a fixed cost.
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Yes.
00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:31.919
And then there are some costs that are per 10 people, for example, a rental table, a rental linen, a floral centerpiece, candle and vessel rentals.
00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:32.159
Yeah.
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That's per table.
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Right.
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I feel like the father of the bride movies, like back in the day, and I think in general, everyone was like, the per person cost of a wedding.
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That is not how we calculate budget.
00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:42.879
Exactly.
00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:44.639
There's just no way.
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And I don't know if it ever was, but I actually think the per person cost, the variable cost, if you will, is much lower than the fixed cost of everything else.
00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:05.120
This is actually a great transition to talk about venue, food and beverage and what you may see at different categories of venues.
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:12.799
There are some venues like hotels, especially, where everything is included in the food and beverage minimum.
00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:31.039
And then there are going to be spaces that you're going to take if you're tenting, if you're renting a museum, if you're renting a raw art space or a unique space where you're going to just pay the venue the one-time venue fee, and then you're going to have a caterer and you're going to have your rentals and it's going to be structured differently.
00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:36.960
And to that end, your budget will probably be flipped.
00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:52.960
So if you're renting a space to then erect a tent, to then have to build a ballroom, flooring, HVAC, bathrooms, electricity, generator, lights, your budget will likely be flipped.
00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:58.399
And your food and beverage is actually the lesser side of your budget.
00:14:58.639 --> 00:14:59.120
Yep.
00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:07.919
So if you listen to our first episode, we touched on some of the overarching processes around budget and budget management.
00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:16.159
So we've talked about how to find your total number, which is talking to the people in your life, the stakeholders, if you will.
00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:20.879
We had like a whole debate about who are the stakeholders and what does that mean and who are decision makers and what does that mean.
00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:23.600
So if you want to go back and listen to episode one, awesome.
00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:26.159
But you have to get to your total number.
00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:30.399
So you have to understand what can you, what are you contributing as a couple?
00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:34.879
And is there anybody else that's going to be contributing and what does that total number look like?
00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:36.559
And you need to start there.
00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:47.200
Once you've established a budget, we think it's important to discuss organization and payment cadence throughout the process.
00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:57.120
There will be several inflection points where great deals of money will be spent or due to vendors and venue.
00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:05.759
Upon signing contract, you will probably have to pay a 50% deposit in most cases.
00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:10.399
The contract will typically outline further payment plans.
00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:16.399
And two weeks prior to the wedding, you will owe your final payments.
00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:27.840
So over the course of your planning, there will probably be four times that you will be laying out large chunks of money to secure vendors and venues.
00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:32.879
So pay attention, please, to deposits that are due up front.
00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:39.039
What I always do, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but what I have what we have always done, I, because I'm like the contract lady.
00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:47.919
I will go through the contract, I'll highlight all of the payment percentages or amounts and when they're due, and I stick it straight in my calendar.
00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:57.519
So I would just go in and say, you know, hotel deposit due, hotel payment one due, hotel payment two due, and then final payments due.
00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:04.079
And what Abby is saying is you're gonna basically pay for your entire wedding before your wedding night.
00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:07.839
And that you should not feel nervous about.
00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:20.720
As we said in our first episode, in our industry, unfortunately, it is far more likely that a client will stiff a vendor than a vendor not show up and perform their contract for their client.
00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:32.000
And so, especially post-COVID, it is very common, if not the absolute rule, that vendors will require 100% payment in advance of the wedding.
00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:37.200
And also it eases, as we said before, it who wants to be paying vendors the night of their wedding?
00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:42.960
You don't want to be running around with a stack of envelopes and checks and tips and cash to hand out to people.
00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:44.880
You want to be at your wedding enjoying yourself.
00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:45.839
But that's the standard.
00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:50.000
So you really will walk into your wedding day, everything will be paid for.
00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:51.359
Yes, ideally.
00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:59.279
So our recommendation for managing your budget and tracking your payments, if you can, is to open a new checking account.
00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:04.720
Have everybody contribute what they're going to contribute to the wedding to this new checking account.
00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:16.400
And we also would recommend opening a new credit card or using a credit card that you can collect whatever is important to you, collect points on for travel, get cash back, whatever it is.
00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:18.880
Some vendors will accept credit card.
00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:25.519
And we think that that's a great opportunity to get some added value out of your these big payments that you're going to be putting out.
00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:35.359
But essentially what we want to do is streamline where your money is coming in and going out from so that it's very easy for you to continue to track.
00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:39.759
If you forget, did I pay payment number two for vendor number six?
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:45.599
You can go online and look at your new checking account and just see, yes, I did pay them.
00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:46.319
And here's the date.
00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:47.920
Or you say, oh, I don't see a payment.
00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.359
I I guess I do owe them.
00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:57.279
It's so much easier if you can manage it this way than saying, hey, mom, did you guys pay the second payment on the band yet?
00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:00.559
Or hey, honey, did you send that deposit out?
00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:08.960
If one person can really be in charge of tracking the budget and tracking the payments, again, it's going to be more organized.
00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.160
It's going to take the stress out, it's going to be a lot smoother.
00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:18.160
And you may, again, get some benefit from balancing a credit card along with a checking account.
00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:18.880
Right?
00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:19.759
Absolutely.
00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:20.640
Yes.
00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:21.119
Cool.
00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:29.359
Before we get to dollars and cents, Linda has a question for us that I want to spend a few minutes on because our answers surprised even us.
00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.000
Here's my question to the two of you.
00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:37.359
Does a bigger budget give the client a better event?
00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:38.640
No.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:39.519
Yes.
00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:40.400
Come on.
00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:42.240
And tell me why.
00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:44.079
Abby, why no?
00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:45.440
Tomorrow why yes.
00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:47.839
Sorry, I'm gonna qualify my answer.
00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:50.000
Meaning does not come from budget.
00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:56.640
So if you're getting married and you have no budget, you can make an incredibly meaningful event.
00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:01.359
But I think when you asked me, when you use the word, sorry, you can make a meaningful wedding.
00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:07.680
When you ask the word an event, I'm thinking like the mic the the things that we put into place.
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:09.839
Do you want me to rephrase the question?
00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:12.559
No, because tomorrow it's the same.
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:19.119
The same explanation, but our immediate answers were different.
00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:19.519
Okay.
00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:21.920
So how so?
00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:42.319
A budget doesn't what creates a meaningful and memorable night are the personal touches that you or that we incorporate that help the bride and groom the the guests feel what creates the meaning is what you're trying to answer.
00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:44.400
Yes, and that to me is people.
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:44.799
Right.
00:20:44.960 --> 00:21:00.079
I think that there are essentials that are important to a guest experience and important ceremonial pieces to a wedding celebration that people expect and want to see and share in.
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:06.880
But I don't think throwing money at an event or a wedding makes it any more meaningful.
00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:07.519
I agree.
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:14.000
I agree with the meaningful part, but you can't tell me that when you I was thinking more from the mechanics of an event.
00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:19.200
Like when you have bigger budgets, you can be doing more exciting things.
00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:22.079
I hate saying that out loud, but that was what my reaction was.
00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:27.279
But I agree with you that meaning comes from the couple and the people in the room.
00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:29.920
But that was a good question because we came out of it.
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.640
But see, that's I don't know if I answered it the way I wanted.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:34.240
I'll come up with more.
00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:37.599
That was just something because I love that you gave different response.
00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:39.519
What's your answer to that?
00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:40.880
Definitely not.
00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:48.160
Well, for several reasons, but I think sometimes some of the bigger budgets that we've had, the weddings have been bombs.
00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:49.039
Totally.
00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:50.160
Totally landed.
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.359
Of the ball.
00:21:51.759 --> 00:22:01.279
Because they were throwing money at the problem if the expectation of those people was that if the They spent more, they'd get better.
00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:02.559
Stop knocking on the table.
00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:03.440
I'm sorry.
00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:08.480
If if they spent more, they'd get and that that's just not how it works.
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:15.839
But tomorrow, I think about the band from New York that we were so excited, the 15-person band.
00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:16.799
Yeah.
00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:18.960
And they were fine.
00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:19.759
Agreed.
00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:20.319
Agreed.
00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:33.200
Or the decor, that same wedding that we had to cut back on because things were created with such opulence they didn't even fit in the room.
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:33.920
Yes.
00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:35.519
I think I was answering it.
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:41.519
My perspective was as an event planner, as a professional, if someone gives me more money, can I make a better event?
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:42.400
Of course I can.
00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:42.960
Right?
00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:44.400
I don't think you can.
00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:45.440
I don't think you can.
00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:46.799
What defines better?
00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:47.920
More meaningful?
00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:49.599
No, I can't make anything more meaningful.
00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.400
I mean, I'm not answering this the right way.
00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.519
Well, no, no, no.
00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:58.480
No, you're talking about you're talking about two different things.
00:22:58.720 --> 00:22:59.440
Sorry.
00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:03.519
One is the heart and soul of the wedding.
00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:08.160
The other is the physical things that you're saying with the bigger budget.
00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:08.640
Yes.
00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:10.799
I can have more flowers, prettier flowers.
00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:12.960
I can do better design work if I have a bigger budget.
00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:14.960
I can do better lighting work if I have to do it.
00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:17.119
All of that might fail, by the way.
00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:17.440
Yes.
00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:19.359
Because you can have it all and still have it done.
00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:21.200
No, I'm kidding.
00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:28.319
No, but you can't infuse the, you know, like I always people always want huge dance floors.
00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:29.039
Yeah.
00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:29.759
Why?
00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:30.319
Oh my god.
00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:32.400
You need to be bumping shoulders.
00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:33.920
You need to be sweating.
00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:38.720
So there's something that I feel I know about a good wedding.
00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:39.039
Right.
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:46.720
I'm thinking very specifically of a client at AFH who was very specific with us about a dollar amount.
00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:47.200
Yeah.
00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:51.839
And we spent to the penny, if not minus 10 cents.
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.240
That's sweating ever.
00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:54.400
Yeah.
00:23:54.720 --> 00:24:00.880
And it was the most beautiful, the most meaningful, and the most memorable wedding.
00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:06.559
I wouldn't have done anything differently for that client.
00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:08.880
It was reflective of them.
00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:15.920
They were at their most comfortable and most joyful that night.
00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:17.119
It was amazing.
00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:20.799
But we also had a a large budget to do that.
00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:23.200
But it was a defined budget.
00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:23.920
Absolutely.
00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:25.839
More would not have been more, is what you're saying.
00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:27.359
Or would not have been more.
00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:36.880
And I actually, like it's funny because the way I'm answering this, again, it's very different than how I feel, which is, you know, I actually don't want to spend money at a wedding in general.
00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:40.240
Like I would, if it were my kids, I'd be like, Do you really want to have a wedding?
00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.000
Like, do you want just take the money or, you know, do something.
00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:45.599
It's a lot of money to spend.
00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:51.759
And I see how that money can be saved, invested, or spent in other more meaning not more meaningful ways, in meaningful ways.
00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:52.799
Mes thoughtful ways.
00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:57.680
That said, again, what I was answering was professionally, can I do more with more?
00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:57.920
Yes.
00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:03.119
But it's not that more equals more in terms of your experience and how special your wife is.
00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:12.559
And then I think part of our responsibility is to say to case in point that client, there's no more we can do.
00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:14.160
Take that money.
00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:15.920
We don't need that money.
00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:17.920
This is perfect.
00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:25.519
Because I have never said, I have never, have we ever had a client who's like, spend please, like when we say this is such a great wedding that they're like, go spend more?
00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:26.400
We've never had that.
00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:28.559
Everyone has to be.
00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:30.880
Is there anything else that we need to do?
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:32.880
I've heard that so many times.
00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:33.359
Yeah.
00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:35.920
What else would you suggest that we could do?
00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:37.039
Nothing.
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:38.640
Nothing to think of more questions.
00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:39.599
I like that question, though.
00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:40.640
That was a great question.
00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:41.279
Thank you.
00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:42.480
Great question.
00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:44.480
Did you want to play Dollars and Cents?
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:45.119
Yes.
00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:46.960
Do we know how to play Dollars and Cents?
00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:48.720
Because we're making this game up on the fly.
00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:49.279
We are.
00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:56.640
So are we just going to like throw out things that are part of wedding planning and decide whether we think it's cool to spend money on it?
00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:58.079
Spending your dollars on it?
00:25:58.400 --> 00:25:59.440
Or are you using good sense?
00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:01.279
Oh, that's great.
00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:02.720
Or use your good sense.
00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:03.279
Okay.
00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.319
Okay.
00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:05.440
All right.
00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:06.160
Ready?
00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:06.640
Yeah.
00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:07.759
Fireworks.
00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:08.720
Sense.
00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:10.000
Sense.
00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:10.880
Sense.
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.880
But if you have budget for it, go for it.
00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:22.480
Fireworks are on my wish list all the time because don't forget you pay up front for fireworks, and we have had situations where it's been cloudy and you can't see them.
00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:23.599
You can't see them.
00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:24.240
Yep.
00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:25.039
Yeah.
00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.079
Are fireworks as expensive as people think they are?
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:28.480
Yes.
00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:29.279
They are.
00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:30.319
Yes.
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:33.680
There's a difference between sparklers and fireworks.
00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:35.920
You could have a sparkler send-off.
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:36.960
Which is so gorgeous.
00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:42.960
Quite beautiful in photographs, but fireworks are Especially now.
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:43.519
Yeah.
00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:45.039
Grave expenditure.
00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:46.400
I love sparklers.
00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:47.200
Me too.
00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:49.039
They're beautiful in photographs.
00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:54.240
They make for such a gorgeous And a beautiful moment because right?
00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:56.799
Like you're in that moment and everyone anyway.
00:26:57.359 --> 00:26:57.759
Sense.
00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:00.640
Okay, I have another one.
00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:01.359
I do too.
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:02.559
We're going around in a circle.
00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:03.599
Sorry, go ahead.
00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:04.799
What's your next one?
00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:08.880
A paper invitation versus an online invitation.
00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:11.680
Dollars on the paper invitation.
00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:12.880
Sense.
00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:16.240
This day and age, it's a great way to save money.
00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:17.039
I'm sorry.
00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:20.400
Paper costs a lot more now than it ever did, stamps everything.
00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:21.839
It's a it's an investment.
00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:29.920
And for some people, if you're budget conscious, it's an easy people can still get to your wedding if you send them a digital invitation.
00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:30.480
Sorry.
00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:31.599
I love a printed invitation.
00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:42.000
I have to say, with the caveat that I have to say, there's nothing that is more welcoming or beautiful than a printed invitation.
00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:42.640
No doubt.
00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:47.680
But again, if we're talking dollars and cents, I gotta say cents.
00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:48.079
Yeah.
00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.279
Sorry, ladies.
00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:49.680
No.
00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.799
It's not uncommon that we have opposite opinions.
00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:54.160
Wedding favor.
00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:55.279
Sense.
00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:56.160
Sense.
00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:57.440
I mean sense.
00:27:57.839 --> 00:27:58.079
Yeah.
00:27:58.480 --> 00:27:58.960
No thank you.
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:02.400
Not no thank you, it's great, but unnecessary.
00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:04.319
Valet parking.
00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:05.519
Dollars.
00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:06.720
Sense.
00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:07.440
Sense.
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.200
Ah Yep.
00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:10.480
After party.
00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:11.359
Sense.
00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:12.000
Sense.
00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:12.640
Sense.
00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:13.599
Right?
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:15.440
You don't have to host an after party.
00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:16.400
Go to a bar.
00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:20.240
And or leave your guests wanting more.
00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:20.880
Totally.
00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:25.440
What's better than leaving a packed dance floor to tips?
00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:31.440
And family all dying for one more song.
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:31.920
Yeah.
00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:34.000
That's the best feeling ever.
00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:38.319
You through a wildly successful evening.
00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:39.599
It can end there.
00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.519
It doesn't need to fizzle out.
00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:42.640
It can end with a bang.
00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:43.119
Yep.
00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:46.079
Vintage cars per ceremony.
00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:47.440
Sense.
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.640
Sense.
00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:49.200
Sense.
00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:50.079
Yeah.
00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:52.079
That shit breaks down.
00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:54.240
It's always late.
00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:58.079
I'm always freaking out and calling the driver.
00:28:58.400 --> 00:28:59.200
No one fits.
00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:00.799
It's they're really not.
00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:06.000
It's like the bride fits, and sometimes her dad is in the front seat.
00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:07.839
You're not even comfortable.
00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:10.880
There's no air conditioning or heat.
00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:14.240
It's really and it's old, it's gas smelling.
00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:17.039
Like it's sometimes if it's a true antique car.
00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:19.200
Just um a photograph.
00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:19.839
Yeah.
00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:20.400
No.
00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:21.119
It's funny.
00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:22.000
Sense.
00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:24.400
How about rehearsal dinners?
00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:25.519
It's a good question.
00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:33.440
In the traditional sense or in the more modern adapted welcome reception.
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:35.519
That's sort of why I asked it.
00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:37.119
With that in mind.
00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:39.839
I like something that marks the occasion.
00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:47.519
Whether you do a small rehearsal dinner because that's what you can afford or want, or you're doing a big welcome party for everybody because that's what you can afford or want.
00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:58.400
I like the idea that there is a kickoff to the celebration and it sets the kind of like joyful tone and tenor for this is the weekend is beginning or the weekend.
00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:00.559
Maybe you're in the back having hot dogs.
00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:02.799
I guess it doesn't have to be, yeah.
00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:04.960
It doesn't have to be exactly yep.
00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:05.519
Dollars.
00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:06.480
Dollars.
00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:08.319
Champagne toast.
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:09.359
Dollars.
00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:10.240
Cents.
00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:11.359
Sense.
00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:11.759
Oh.
00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:12.799
Sorry.
00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:14.480
I need to stop judging my own.
00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:19.279
Like I would be like, don't be so don't have such a toast with anything.
00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:20.880
Especially nowadays.
00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:24.799
I don't think champagne is like a I just think the cost, I agree with you.
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:29.359
You could toast with anything, but the cost, the waste cost for that to me is is typically high.
00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:34.400
I feel that way about wines, though, at the dinner table, if I'm being honest.
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:38.400
They servers have been trained to pour.
00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:39.039
Yes.
00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:42.640
Because it's a moneymaker for a catering outfit.
00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:47.039
So they pour and they re top it off and they re-pour and re-report.
00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:47.359
Right.
00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:51.680
But you also have the agency in that moment to say no thank you.
00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:56.960
Whereas a champagne pour is all 200 people coming into the room, no matter what.
00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:58.400
I don't drink champagne.
00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:00.480
It's a wasted love champagne.
00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:01.279
I drink yours.
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:02.880
You you both can have mine.
00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:17.839
But I actually love champagne, but I I think it's again It's a way if you're looking I guess it's what we're saying is like if you're looking for small ways to save or big ways to save, but like any way to save this You don't have to convince me.
00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:20.000
I know, but I need your approval constantly.
00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:22.559
So when we disagree, you know I do need to convince you.
00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:24.480
I I it's okay.
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.000
Just making that clear.
00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:26.640
I like it.
00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:29.599
So here's the big takeaway from today's episode.
00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:35.200
Approximately 50% of your budget will be food, beverage, and venue costs.
00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:49.680
The other 50% is everything else that you have budgeted for from the smallest detail like a postage stamp to the larger elements like music and flowers.
00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:57.440
Your homework before our next episode is to go to let'splanpodcast.com and download our workbook, including the budget breakdown template.
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When you input your ideal total budget at the top, it'll automatically fill in the individual line items.
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From there, it's yours to edit, but it has all of those percentages that we talked about today laid out in a simple but powerful spreadsheet.
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It's the same template we use with our own clients, and now it's yours.
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Feel free to go get it.
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On our next episode, we're talking about timeline, how to choose your wedding date, how to build your planning timeline, and why not understanding timeline and what needs to get done when creates the most expensive mistakes we often see.
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Also, we'll play a round of Love or Hate the Wedding Date, 4th of July, Love It or Hate It.
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We have a lot to say about that and many other dates.
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And as always, please subscribe to our Substack at Let's Planpodcast.com, leave a review if you're enjoying this, and follow us at Let's Plan Podcast on Instagram.
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If after today you have any specific questions about your budget, submit them online and we will get right back to you.
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And remember, more would not have been more.
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Okay, talk to you next time.
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This podcast is for entertainment only.
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The Let's Plan Your Wedding podcast assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
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It is produced by AGTF LLC in a separate capacity and is provided as is with no guarantees of accuracy, completeness, or usefulness.
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The podcast is for informational, private, and non commercial use only.
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Reproduction, modification, or redistribution without AGTF LLC's consent is prohibited.
