In the past, we’ve written a number of posts about the many costs involved in planning a wedding, and how to budget effectively. As we’ve said before, getting married is an expensive endeavour, and paying careful attention to your finances is a key aspect of planning a successful wedding. What soon-to-be-wed couple doesn’t spend hours deliberating over how to allocate their budget?

If you’re planning a wedding, no doubt that you too are investing a great deal of time and effort in carefully managing your finances. If this is the case, perhaps you sometimes find yourself concerned about the possibility of hidden costs that may throw your budget into disarray. Such concern is really quite sensible, as such hidden charges are quite common, especially in when it comes to large events like weddings. In this week’s blog post, we’d like to help you by pointing out some common hidden costs that you should be on the look-out for. We hope that our advice will help you to continue planning your wedding with greater peace of mind.

Overtime Charges

When planning your wedding, you will book the services of your vendors for an agreed period of time. However, over the course of the day, it will be very easy for certain activities to run for longer than planned. This will often result in vendors to charge for overtime. For example, if your reception runs later than planned, and you ask your entertainment to perform for longer, be prepared for a larger bill. Try to stick to agreed times where possible, and be mindful of overtime charges where you ask vendors to work for longer than previously arranged.

Corkage and Cake Cutting Fees

If supplying your own cake or wine, many venues will charge cake cutting and wine corkage fees, as their staff will provide these services. These fees are typically charged on a per-slice and per-bottle basis. In order to avoid a nasty surprise, you should make sure you have a very clear idea of these fees in advance. For example, while supplying your own wine may seem like an economical option, corkage fees can easily result in the opposite being true. Make sure you’re taking the most sensible route by being upfront with your venue and enquiring about any fees for wine corkage or cake slicing.

Dress Alterations

Even the most beautiful wedding dress may need some alterations in order to be a perfect fit. Making alterations to a wedding dress is skilled work and is very time-consuming, so naturally this service comes with a substantial price tag. The cost of having alterations won’t be included in the basic price of a dress, so make sure you discuss any neccessary alterations and associated costs before purchasing your dress.

Delivery and Set-up Charges

In the course of planning your wedding, you’ll find that many items will need to be delivered to your venue, and set up once they arrive. Cake, flowers, and other decorations are just a few of these. Delivery and set-up will be charged separately from the items themselves, so be sure to discuss this with your vendors in advance.

Ultimately, the key to avoiding shocking hidden costs is to be direct with your vendors, ask questions, and make sure that all charges are being disclosed. Take this approach, and you’ll find it much easier to keep things within budget.