Budgeting for the Big Day
Photo by Dark Roux
Planning your wedding is a journey full of excitement, lavish purchases, and surprise costs that can hurt any couples carefully strategized budget. With our knowledge of catering and coordination, we've put together a few insights on costs that couples frequently ask us about:
1. We need to rent forks?
Yes! If you're bringing catering to your party, you'll most likely need to order rentals. That's everything from tents, lighting, and tables down to forks and napkins. Every detail will most likely need to be rented, and that can add up pretty quickly. Not to mention, if the linens or dishes get stained by drinks or food, those stains will typically incur a cleaning fee that can get pretty steep pretty fast.
2. What's an overtime fee?
Nearly everything you'll be renting or paying for is only available to you for a specific amount of time. That means that if you decide to keep the party going, everything from the venue to the music will start charging you an overtime fee. These are some of the highest fees in the wedding world that you'll want to avoid at all costs (pun mildly intended).
Additional fees involved with the venue besides an overtime fee is cleanup and breakdown fees, cake cutting and corkage fees, and even a welcome fee (to prepare a nice gift bag of champagne, flowers, and a snack for when you arrive at the venue to get ready). If you book a full service venue, the total cost typically includes these fees, so make sure to check on these in your venue agreement.
3. I have to pay for the band and their equipment?
Yes! Whether you're booking a band or a DJ, you're going to have to shell out for their music equipment too. Microphones, amps, and a stage (if needed) will all be an additional cost to the the actual live music performer you're booking.
And don't forget to tip!
Photo by Dark Roux
4. Tipping
You're actually probably expecting this one as it's customary to tip on nearly all services given at your wedding, but it often goes underestimated. It's good to remember that you're tipping on bigger services than your standard night out at a restaurant, so the gratuity will also cost more than a couple may realize when budgeting.
All in all, it pays off to know your costs, read the fine print for those hidden fees, or even just asking the service representative you're working with exactly what extra fees come with the contract.