by Samantha Hendricks

Created on: June 30, 2009

Be nice to your budget, and it will be nice to you. Spending time crafting a budget is a very important step in the event planning process. If you take the time to carefully lay out a thoughtful budget ahead of time, it will save you time and some headaches. Laying out the budget allows you to know what is and is not possible for your event sooner rather than later. Follow these simple steps on how to create your own event budget to save yourself the hassle of scrambling for money later.

1) Before you write down any numbers, figure out your priorities. Decide what are must-haves and what are like-to-haves. Setting these priorities will help figure out what should be cut out and what should be worked around once you start putting numbers on the page. If you know you definitely want your wedding reception in a specific location but don't care how many flowers are used to decorate, then now is the time to decide that. This means that you will have the venue as a definite in your line budget, but you will have a much more flexible number for your flower budget which you can adjust as you add other things to your list.

2) Collect quotes. This step is especially important if this is your first budget writing experience. While you don't necessarily need to have every price nailed down when you're writing a budget it's good to know some approximate costs. This will allow you to thoughtfully construct your budget instead of assigning the wrong values for every category because you have no idea what a venue, caterer, etc. will cost. Do a little bit of homework before you start, and it will pay off later when you are holding yourself to a budget that you know is realistic.

3) Lay out the budget in as much detail as possible. Now that you've educated yourself, you need to make sure that you're accounting for every part of your event. It's possible later that when you choose the venue you'll discover that items like linens, food, and drinks may be included in one lump sum payable to the venue, but for now keep them separate. Keeping them separate when you first write your budget will ensure that you are not leaving any important details out and hopefully you'll find if you get a package deal with the venue later that you may even save money.

4) Build a cushion into your budget for emergencies. They almost always happen, and if you set a small part of your money aside now, you will be grateful to yourself later. Something could cost more than you anticipated for any number of reasons: extra guests show up at the last minute, fees you weren't aware of, or you could decide to extend the bar and keep the venue open an additional hour the day of the event. For these reasons, but even more for the reasons you can't think of, build in a cushion.This previously set aside money will take the stress out of these potential emergencies since you already have the money for them. No scrambling for you!

Follow these suggestions, and not only will you write a terrific budget, but your event will go smoothly. Plan now, party later. Enjoy your event!

Learn more about this author, Samantha Hendricks.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.