the A-Z of 26 wedding planning mistakes costing you ££££ (1 of 2)
part 1
On average, there are about 275,000 weddings that take place in the UK every year, and if we zoom out just a bit - there’s about 42 million weddings that take place globally. Every single year.
Times that by one mistake costing each couple around £1,000 - that’s about £275,000,000 or even £42,000,000,000 of money that could have been saved. Now, that’s just me being extremely dramatic, but hopefully you get the gist.
I wanted to make this fun, and not super stressful, so let’s do it as an A-Z list (because everything’s more fun in alphabetical order). 😇
I hope that reading this article (for free) will help you save even £10, £100, or £1,000s!
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But, let’s begin…
A - Access times
Ok let’s stop assuming that “exclusive use” means early morning access. It means no one else will have the space that you do for the allocated day(s) ie. no venue guests peeking through a window to see you tie the knot.
Please, please, please double check with your venue (prior to booking, if possible!) what the actual timings are. The likelihood is, you realistically wouldn’t have booked your other suppliers by this time ie. decorators, to know how long they need to setup. However, you will likely be having one or two preliminary meetings with them to scout of their style / pricing - I would highly urge you ask them their usual setup time for a wedding like yours and/or speak to your venue to understand ‘on average’ what time some of their suppliers tend to come in & set up.
Realistically, you will have little control over things changing in this, but it saves you from any unexpected shocks post-booking and manages your own expectation in case you need to pay for early access / access or availability of the the night before.
Always ask:
When can suppliers access the space?
Is early access chargeable?
B - Buffer
We love a budget buffer aka contingency.
Not building in a 10-15% contingency in your wedding budget could mean you actually overspend by 10-15% of your budget - especially & unfortunately closer to the time of your wedding day!
We have a whole other article on this that I highly recommend you check out (I’m biased, of course):
C - Corkage
Lots of people don’t actually know about corkage - rightfully so! But, let’s change that. Venues will charge you corkage. Aka a fee that is charged to you for consuming your own bottles of drinks on a venues premises.
It typically ranges from £10-£35 per bottle, and can be more in some cases, but it essentially covers the venues operational costs of: using their glassware, storing & chilling the bottles, staff service, and disposing of the bottles.
Some venues can offer no corkage, as an incentive, but it’s always worthwhile asking this in advance. Corkage fees can really add up!
80 bottles x £20 = £1,600 unexpected costs.
D - Delivery & collection fees
Raise your hand if you hate paying delivery fees (🙋🏻♀️).
When you’re quoted for florals, furniture, styling items, signage, cake, or décor, the headline price is often just for the items themselves; delivery and collection are usually separate line items.
Sometimes, they’re quite small and you won’t notice them - but most of the time, they can be quite hefty.
This is especially the case if:
your venue is remote
access times are limited
setup windows are tight
Always ask:
What is your delivery fee?
What is your collection fee?
Are these based on distance, time, or both?
E - Energy & power requirements
Most of the time, if you’re having: a live band, additional lighting, a marquee, or an outdoor ceremony setup - power becomes a bit of a big deal.
This is especially the case when venues don’t have enough or conveniently accessible power supply to support heavy production. This can mean needing to pay for generators or additional cabling (which is as expensive as it sounds!).
If you know that extravagant lighting is crucial to you, loop in your production team very early on in conversations with your venue. Catching this late can be a slightly expensive thing to do.
F - Final numbers deadline
Your caterer and venue will give you a final numbers deadline when you book them - this is often 2-4 weeks before your event date, but it can be more / less - so always check!
Once you pass that date, you’re usually paying for that number of guests regardless of dropouts. So if you confirm 100 guests and 5 RSVP too late, you’re still paying for 100. It sounds super obvious, but many couples don’t track this deadline closely enough.
The exception here is if your caterer / venue has a minimum spend, regardless. Even if your number of guests change - you may still be paying the minimum fee. It’s best to have confirmation of this early on.
It’ll determine the amount & pace at which you chase for RSVPs.
G - Guest transport
If your venue is destination, rural, or not easily accessible, guest transport can be a little bit of a faff!
Or even if it is accessible, I’ve seen some couples who simply love the idea of having fun transport (ie. buses / coaches) to get their guests from point A of the ceremony over to point B - perhaps from your registry office over to your reception venue?!
This can easily become a £1k+ line item, and prices will fluctuate heavily based on distance, hours and time of day.
Depending on the order of your day - always build in a buffer for transportation for you, your family, and your guests from different points of the venue.
H - Hire assumptions
I absolutely love that more couples are choosing to hire bits & pieces for their wedding day to make it more sustainable - from outfits, to decor, to phonebooths for entertainment etc.!
Something that’s really important to note is that more hire companies price based on single-day hire (it’s the most attractive price point to reel you in) - but realistically, you will need the items at least one day before and after. It’s always worth having clarity on:
what is being hired for what timeline?
what are the specific delivery / collection slots?
where will this be ‘held’ ie. at the venue or with us?
who is in charge of delivery and collection?
what are the penalty fees if this isn’t returned on time?
I - Insurance
Honestly, I would say wedding insurance is a MUST. It’s often 5% of your wedding budget and protects you from the unexpected - as insurance should.
I always recommend WedInsure (click here to find out more) for our UK couples - they’re extremely well trusted!
That being said, it’s also worth noting that your wedding venue will always ask your suppliers for public liability insurance too - it’s really important that you confirm your dream suppliers have this.
If a supplier doesn’t meet the venue’s requirement, they may not be allowed to work there.
J - Jurisdiction legalities
I’ll admit, this sounds SO boring.
If you’re having:
a religious ceremony
a celebrant-led ceremony
a destination wedding
a cultural ceremony
Make sure you understand whether your ceremony is legally binding in that location.
You will likely need a separate registry appointment, specific paperwork, notice periods and witnesses arranged in advance.
Not the most romantic, but definitely the most important.
K - Kids catering costs
Are you having kids at your wedding? (Love this topic - so many different views!).
Children’s meals are rarely free, but they can be a separate, lower-priced option depending on their age and quantity. If you have a lot of children attending, this can change your costing calculations, so it’s always worth knowing very early on.
L - Lighting
Lighting is one of the biggest visual game-changers - and also the most expensive. Often venues will have “basic lighting” which is extremely functional and it does the job, but it definitely doesn’t set the atmosphere or create a certain vibe / ambience.
Pause and take a look at your Pinterest board - have you saved a ton of images which look like they have uplighters, warm ambience, pin spot lighting - then there’s a likelihood that this could become slightly expensive.
Always assume lighting isn’t included, unless it’s explicitly stated.
M - Minimum spend
Most venues & vendors will always have a minimum spend. This is regardless of the size of your event, the number of guests you have, or the location. It’s so important to understand if your vendors have a minimum spend (it’s usually always stated on their websites!) - as this will give you a base price of what you can expect to spend.
This is especially the case if things change ie. number of guests / the venue space you use etc. It also means you could be spending ‘more’ than what you need - but if it is something you can afford and if you are absolutely in love with that particular venue or vendors work - then that’s all that matters!
I hope the A-M list of unexpected wedding mistakes was helpful! I’ve decided to split this into two parts.
Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing the N-Z of the wedding planning mistakes couples make - so be sure to subscribe below to ensure you don’t miss out.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the one that surprised you the most, below.
Happy wedding planning! 🤍
P.s. if you know another engaged couple who would find this useful, feel free to forward it to them too.