Greetings, everyone!
This week I want to talk about a few ways I've been staying organized during these early stages of planning my wedding. Right now, I'm still in the research stage, so I'm finding ways to store and compare information from a wide range of sources. Today I'll focus on 3 tools: the budget/wedding fund, spreadsheets, and Google Drive.
The Budget and the Wedding Fund
The first (and arguably most important) step in planning a wedding is agreeing on a budget. I came up with a number based on my research and what I felt my fiance and I could comfortably afford. Once we agreed on the budget, we discussed how much money each of us would be willing to contribute towards this budget. For us, it was imperative that we determine an amount that we could comfortably afford without taking out any loans or borrowing money from anyone. As of right now, we will be financing the wedding ourselves.
We then figured out how much we could contribute "up front." We took that amount and subtracted it from our total budget to see how much we would need to contribute each month to reach that goal by our desired wedding date. Now that I know how much I need to set aside per month, I can include this as part of my regular monthly expenses.
My fiance and I have a separate bank account that we will use to track all of our wedding-related purchases. This account was our "Travel Fund,"but we've now converted it into the "Wedding Fund." We both have credit cards for the account and can easily access the accounts online. This isn't the same bank I use for my regular checking/savings accounts, so I've set up Quick Pay to easily transfer money between accounts. We will track every purchase through this account--no matter how small--and will make sure we update our records timely. Being accountable for every purchase will be key to staying within our budget.
Stay tuned to see if our initial budget was realistic and whether or not we were able to stay within our price range...!
The Spreadsheets
With a quick internet search, you'll find customizable spreadsheets you can use to create and track your wedding budget. Those may come in handy once I get a little further in the planning process but for now, I prefer to create my own spreadsheets from scratch. Right now, I have one spreadsheet I use to compare the ceremony and reception prices for various venues.
On my spreadsheet, I've included space to track everything I can think of in terms of reserving the ceremony space and venue (for example, are there set-up fees? Are linens included in the price?). I'm also tracking costs associated with all of the food/drinks. Some wedding packages include hors d'oeuvres or cake, and some do not. Some include subpar alcohol packages that may require additional money for "premium" liquor. I can use this as a base when comparing various packages and determining if I want to go with a venue that requires me to go with their caterer or if I want to use my own caterer.
Google Drive
So where do I keep all of this information? In a Google Drive folder, of course! I created a "Wedding Planning" folder and I store all wedding planning-related items in it. In the folder, I have various versions of the aforementioned spreadsheet, venue brochures and pamphlets, and various notes. This folder has been clutch! Every time I receive new information, I dump it in there for me to study later. I can easily refer to the packages to confirm prices, vendor information, and see pictures of the venues.
What's really cool is I've shared this folder with my bestie who lives in another state, so she is able to go in and study the information with me. She can add documents or modify my spreadsheet, as well. When my mom wants me to send her information on a possible venue, I can easily attach the brochure from that folder. It's awesome.
These 3 tools,along with my wedding planner app, are helping keep me sane and on track. I'll discuss wedding planner apps in a future post.
For those of you who have planned a wedding, what are some ways you stayed organized?
This week I want to talk about a few ways I've been staying organized during these early stages of planning my wedding. Right now, I'm still in the research stage, so I'm finding ways to store and compare information from a wide range of sources. Today I'll focus on 3 tools: the budget/wedding fund, spreadsheets, and Google Drive.
The Budget and the Wedding Fund
The first (and arguably most important) step in planning a wedding is agreeing on a budget. I came up with a number based on my research and what I felt my fiance and I could comfortably afford. Once we agreed on the budget, we discussed how much money each of us would be willing to contribute towards this budget. For us, it was imperative that we determine an amount that we could comfortably afford without taking out any loans or borrowing money from anyone. As of right now, we will be financing the wedding ourselves.
We then figured out how much we could contribute "up front." We took that amount and subtracted it from our total budget to see how much we would need to contribute each month to reach that goal by our desired wedding date. Now that I know how much I need to set aside per month, I can include this as part of my regular monthly expenses.
My fiance and I have a separate bank account that we will use to track all of our wedding-related purchases. This account was our "Travel Fund,"but we've now converted it into the "Wedding Fund." We both have credit cards for the account and can easily access the accounts online. This isn't the same bank I use for my regular checking/savings accounts, so I've set up Quick Pay to easily transfer money between accounts. We will track every purchase through this account--no matter how small--and will make sure we update our records timely. Being accountable for every purchase will be key to staying within our budget.
Stay tuned to see if our initial budget was realistic and whether or not we were able to stay within our price range...!
The Spreadsheets
With a quick internet search, you'll find customizable spreadsheets you can use to create and track your wedding budget. Those may come in handy once I get a little further in the planning process but for now, I prefer to create my own spreadsheets from scratch. Right now, I have one spreadsheet I use to compare the ceremony and reception prices for various venues.
On my spreadsheet, I've included space to track everything I can think of in terms of reserving the ceremony space and venue (for example, are there set-up fees? Are linens included in the price?). I'm also tracking costs associated with all of the food/drinks. Some wedding packages include hors d'oeuvres or cake, and some do not. Some include subpar alcohol packages that may require additional money for "premium" liquor. I can use this as a base when comparing various packages and determining if I want to go with a venue that requires me to go with their caterer or if I want to use my own caterer.
Google Drive
So where do I keep all of this information? In a Google Drive folder, of course! I created a "Wedding Planning" folder and I store all wedding planning-related items in it. In the folder, I have various versions of the aforementioned spreadsheet, venue brochures and pamphlets, and various notes. This folder has been clutch! Every time I receive new information, I dump it in there for me to study later. I can easily refer to the packages to confirm prices, vendor information, and see pictures of the venues.
What's really cool is I've shared this folder with my bestie who lives in another state, so she is able to go in and study the information with me. She can add documents or modify my spreadsheet, as well. When my mom wants me to send her information on a possible venue, I can easily attach the brochure from that folder. It's awesome.
These 3 tools,along with my wedding planner app, are helping keep me sane and on track. I'll discuss wedding planner apps in a future post.
For those of you who have planned a wedding, what are some ways you stayed organized?
She forget to add the 4th tool - her bestie... Me!
ReplyDeleteOf course. What would I do without you?!
Delete