One of the most exciting things about getting engaged is being able to jump right into wedding planning! Whether you choose to plan the wedding by yourself or hire a coordinator, it can be an exciting and fun experience. Planning a wedding can take a lot of time and decision-making, so having a general idea of what you expect for your wedding may help you plan. If you have a vision of a destination wedding, you may want to start planning sooner rather than later. Hosting your wedding out of state can often become stressful when performed under too tight of a time or budget crunch. So to ensure you feel prepared for the exciting planning stage of an out-of-state wedding, continue reading for some helpful tips.
Balancing Your Wedding and Lifestyle Budget
During the wedding planning process, it’s crucial that you are sticking to your budget. The reason being is that you still have to maintain a healthy financial state for your daily expenses outside of the wedding. You will still have bills, standard housing costs, and a post-nuptial life you’ll likely need to plan to save for. For example, if you and your spouse are planning to buy a house after your wedding, make sure you’re considering how much you need to budget for a mortgage and how that goal impacts your wedding budget. This broadly focused thinking will allow you to make responsible decisions on what you can afford for your wedding without negatively impacting your post-wedding plans.
Keeping all this in mind, you can’t forget about your honeymoon! This may seem like a lot of money you’re saving and dedicating to big purchases, but they may all be necessary to you and your significant other. To stay on track, consider working with a wedding planner or coordinator to keep everything organized. In addition, try creating a spreadsheet with all of your expenses. A spreadsheet could be your saving grace by giving you a visual of how much you need to save and spend.
Choosing Your Venue
In addition to considering life’s expected expenses, you’ll want to do your research on where you want your wedding to be held. Is it your dream to have an outdoor wedding on the beach? A wedding in a vineyard? Or at a mansion that sits on 18 acres near a lake? The choices are endless! Where you choose to have your wedding and how much they are willing to spend on the venue is up to you and your partner. Luckily, at The House Estate, special rates apply to Friday and Sunday weddings, along with special pricing for military, police officers, and firefighters. So regardless of location, if you are looking to stick to your allotted budget for your venue, having a Friday or Sunday wedding may be in your best interest.
Where you choose to host your wedding may also be dependent on how far you have to travel. Will you and your guests need to drive or fly? Keep all these factors in mind when planning your wedding destination. Here are a few prices to give you an idea of what your budget will consist of:
- The average cost of a roundtrip plane ticket is currently $330.
- Whether you choose to stay one night or multiple nights in a hotel, you are looking to spend anywhere from $50-$250 per night.
- If you are within driving distance to your venue, around 4 hours or less, you and your guests may consider driving instead of flying. Gas prices are higher than normal these days, so the total cost of filling up your vehicle could be around $60 if not more.
Calculating Travel Expenses
Having your wedding out of state will require some additional planning due to booking transportation like planes, trains, Ubers, hotels, and the commute to and from the wedding. You’ll want to have rooms blocked off at a local hotel so you can accommodate your guests and ensure they have a safe place to stay. When making these arrangements, be sure to keep your budget and your guest’s budget in mind. Your guests may also consider making a trip out of your wedding so if your budget allows, choose an area that can also be a place where people can enjoy a vacation as well.
A best practice for keeping your guests in the know and equally prepared for wedding day travels is creating a wedding website. Your site can include lodging information, recommendations of things to do in the area, welcome party information, and day-of location details. Having this information easily available to your guests will make things much easier for you and your spouse so you won’t have to be in charge of answering millions of questions.
Planning and budgeting for out-of-state weddings can be extremely stressful, but the end result is beyond worth it! Not only will you get to celebrate your big day in an area that you don’t often visit, but it’ll allow you to create new and special memories there making that place so much more special to you and your spouse. You may even consider going there every once in a while to visit and relive your wedding day, celebrate anniversaries, or take your future kids.
