Getting married can be expensive and developing a comprehensive wedding budget can be stressful. When the average wedding in NJ runs $30,000 you have to know that short of eloping you are going to spend a significant amount of money. Nothing helps to ease the stress than a really well thought out budget plan. But it’s rare that I sit with a couple to discuss their wedding budgets and find that they have thought of every expense. So, in an effort to help you design a detailed wedding budget, I am giving you a list of the 10 most often forgotten expenses in every wedding budget.

The Ten Most Often Overlooked Wedding Budget Items

1. Postage. You’ll need to include a line in your budget for postage for the RSVP envelope as well as the invitation itself. You may also want to include the postage for the thank you notes you are going to send out for both your wedding, shower, and engagement gifts.
2. Sales Tax and Service Charges. These items can really alter your wedding budget bottom line. In fact, gratuity and sales tax can add a considerable amount to the per person cost for your wedding.
3. Outfits for Pre-wedding Events. Looking your best for your shower, rehearsal, and for the day after your wedding (maybe for your brunch) is something many couples forget to include in their wedding budget.
4. Undergarments. The pretty things you wear under your wedding dress. They don’t come cheap. And you may not have a ton of ability to shop around because undergarments often have to be very specific to your wedding dress.
5. Tips & Gratuities. I’m going to be posting next week on the blog about what you should be setting aside for tips. But it can be a shock to your wallet if you are unprepared for these expenses. And they add up quick.
6. Vendor Meals. You gotta feed your vendors. It’s not the same cost as feeding a guest. After all, we don’t drink on the job. But your vendors will need to eat the day of your wedding. Your venue or caterer will let you know the cost, but you will want to keep a line in your wedding budget for this expense so that you don’t forget about it.
7. Including yourselves in your head count. You wouldn’t believe how many couples leave themselves off their final count!
8. Food for the wedding party to eat while getting ready. Mimosas, bagels, sandwiches. Getting beautiful can make people really hungry.
9. A Marriage License. Seriously, it’s rare people forget to get one. But many are surprised to find out that there is a fee involved. Most cities will charge less than $30. But you will want to check ahead of time and bring cash.
10. Passports. This is one Richie and I completely forgot about when we got married. And after the applications, photos, and fees we ended up spending close to $500 for our passports. It would have been much easier if we had included this as a line in our wedding budget.

If you enjoyed learning about the ten most overlooked wedding budget items, you might also like to read about why you would want to consider getting wedding insurance, read about it here! And if you are looking for a wedding planner to help you figure out all the details of your wedding day including your budget, contact me here at Bogath Weddings & Events.