Planning a wedding is one of the biggest days in your client’s life and can most definitely be stressful for them and even more so during the current climate, we are faced with.
With such uncertainty, we often find ourselves having many more conversations with brides and grooms around how they can have their dream wedding but within their ideal budget. As a planner, one of our main objectives from the offset is understanding our clients’ key priorities for their special day. We then discuss the budget and look at what can be achieved within their budget for their requirements before any planning work commences. Whilst sometimes it can be challenging for some couples in understanding that budget may need to be increased if they would like certain things for their wedding day, or that their requirements may need to be adapted to ensure they don’t go over their ideal budget – it’s really important for us to be transparent as a planner with our clients when discussing budget and before we start the planning journey.
Picture Courtesy: @rajpassyphotography / Venue: @hylands_estate
Here are some of our top tips on how you can help clients with getting the best for their budget whilst maintaining a positive working relationship with wedding industry colleagues.
Be Honest With Your Client
Picture Courtesy:@karmakai_photography / Venue: @icparklane
As a wedding professional, it is down to yourself as a planner to advise your client on what is realistic and feasible within a certain budget and what isn’t. How many times have you had a client fall in love with a look or style that they found on Instagram or Pinterest without understanding the costs involved to achieve this? So, by being transparent and honest, your client will respect your expertise and experience which will make the planning process that little bit easier.
Clear Budget
Picture Courtesy: @amandakarenphotography
Define a clear budget from the offset with your client and factor in a buffer budget percentage, should requirements increase for your client. This will help you to get the very best results for your client and within their budget. We define a budget for our planning clients from the start of their journey and we allocate an estimated budget for the various elements of the wedding. On top of this, have a buffer budget as there will often be things that a couple would like in addition to their agreed plans and this buffer budget will cover these things.
Prioritization Is The Key
Picture Courtesy: @studiowisephoto
If your client’s budget is fixed, work with them on what is essential for their wedding day and what is ‘nice to have. Prioritize their budget in the essential areas of the wedding – this will typically include venue hire, catering, photography, videography, décor, stationery, entertainment, bar, outfits and makeup artists. If there is a budget remaining once essentials are secured, the client can then consider the ‘nice to have’ items. This is the best way to work when our clients have a fixed budget and wish to avoid going into a buffer budget.
Work Backwards
Picture Courtesy: @amandakarenphotography
If your client has a set budget for a specific area of the wedding, be transparent with suppliers so they can propose suitable solutions back for your client. This allows the supplier to be competitive with their proposal and within budget, rather than being thousands plus off-budget. This will enable the supplier to have a better chance of the client going ahead with their services.
This also makes the process a lot more seamless as the pricing is often closer to the budget and reduces the back and forth on pricing conversations. So, for example, if your client has a décor budget of £20,000, at least the supplier can present proposals back within the budget and not over. This may mean that the supplier opts for different materials, flowers or a completely different design, to work within the desired budget.
Don’t Make It Difficult
Pictures Courtesy: @kapetanakis_studios
Don’t put your suppliers in an awkward position of having to push their prices down. It can often become a difficult situation and you don’t want it to leave a sour taste between yourself as a planner and the supplier. That’s why it is important to be transparent about the budget with suppliers from the offset, as suppliers will be more than accommodating. This will also enhance your relationship further with suppliers as you are making the working relationship easier from the offset.
Understand The Logic In Pricing
Picture Courtesy: @thevipstudio
Sometimes it is difficult for clients to understand the costs of specific services for weddings because they have never planned a wedding before. So as a planner take some time to explain to clients that services are priced in a certain way for a reason. Suppliers will factor in expenses, labor, experience and so much more.
At Radhika & You, we always spend time with our clients to explain the difference in the pricing for different elements of the wedding. For example, this includes the difference in property types and how this may vary in different locations, fresh vs silk flowers, opting for a buffet vs plated service and the various other parts of the wedding day. This allows the client to understand how various elements are priced and enables them to make a better decision for their special day.
Feature Image Credit: @studiowisephoto / Venue: @tortworth_court_weddings
All Images supplied & planned by @radhikaandyou
