​Let’s be honest… you may have considered your wedding budget, but with various unanticipated expenses⁠-- it’s hard to consider ALL of what your wedding will cost you. These sneaky costs can put any wedding budget in danger. We’re here to fill you in on exactly what those costs are, so you’ll be prepared to handle your wedding budget like a BOSS. 














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​Venues can be a HUGE area where couples make big mistakes, but you don't have to. Here’s what to consider when budgeting for your wedding venue. 

Service Charges, Sales Tax, and Gratuity
Most venues have a service charge, sales tax, and an automatic gratuity that aren’t included in the advertisted price. What you don't know can easily take you from a comfortable venue budget to an additional $2,000 to over $6,000 at your venue in no time. Make sure to ask what these charges look like at your prospective wedding venue to avoid any hiccups in your budget.

Food & Beverage Minimums
Some venues may have a food and beverage (F&B) minimum. This F&B minimum allows you to utilize their space as long as you guarantee that you will spend at least X amount of dollars on the food and beverage associated with the wedding. This can get tricky if you don’t truly understand what you’re guaranteeing.
 
Let's say the F&B minimum requirement for the venue is $5,000. This amount is not the total that food and beverage will cost you. This means that you have to spend AT LEAST that $5000 on food and beverage alone. So if you have 60 guests and the menu item you want to go with is $45.00/person, you’d be at $2,700. This means you’d have to add food or beverage until you get to the minimum, even if it’s not necessarily needed. On the other hand, say you have 100 guests and the lowest menu item is $58.00/person, the total would be $5,800 and would not be reduced to the F&B minimum.

In other words, the F&B minimum is just the start of the cost. 
The formula looks more like this: 
F&B minimum 
+ Service Charge (F&B minimum * 20-25%)
+ Taxes (F&B minimum * 8.25%)
​= TOTAL VENUE COST

A practical real wedding example:
F&B Minimum = $5,000.00
+ Service charge = 24%
+ Tax = 8.25%
$5,000.00 + ($5,000.00 * 24%) + ($5,000.00*8.25%)= 
$5,000.00 + ($1,200) + ($412.50)  = $6,612.00

PRO TIP:  Always remeber that your food and beverage minimum is the least amount you have to spend, NOT what your actual wedding will cost. 

Identify with your partner who you want to ask and why. 

1. Are they close to you and/or your fiance?
2. Have they taken a vested interest in your relationship?
3. Did they bring it up when they found out about your relationship or engagement?
   

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Come up with a plan to ask. 
As you plan to ask people for help financial help with your wedding, considering sharing the overall costs related to your big day, share your plan with the funds and the importance/value to you and your partner, allow time for input/feedback, and set your mind to be prepared for a no. Consider the following ways to ask for money:  

• In-person ask: Discuss your plans for the wedding and help them see your vision big day which greatly increases their chances of assisting you. 
• Over the phone/Virtually: Sometimes, over the phone is much more realistic than in-person. Write out a short script that includes your wedding vision and your current needs so that you can read along and cover everything that is important. 
• By Mail: Don't underestimate the power of a handwritten note. Not only will it make the person you’re asking feel connected but it also conveys the importance of the request.

Clearly and Concisely Ask.
“We want to properly manage our expectations as we move towards the planning phase of our wedding. We would like to know if you plan on financially contributing to our needs for our special day. We have/haven't spoke about this before, but I want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

Get Creative.
If they can't help financially, perhaps they can offer you their time, which can be just as valuable. 

Follow Up, Thank You and Acknowledge
After you have a commitment or a consideration, be sure to follow up and say thank you. A phone call and handwritten note are a must. Adding them to your website or the back of a wedding program with special shout-out is a good way to show your appreciation.  

As you think about your wedding day journey, there are several factors that a client must consider before booking their wedding florist. There are some basics that you should expect your wedding florist to know or you can kindly consider them as red caution flags. This information will also ensure that you are on the right track. 

You should expect your wedding florist to know: 
1.      Wedding Flower Care and Seasonality 
2.      Estimated Standard Price Range
3.      Personal Design Strengths

Wedding Flower Care and Seasonality
Your florist should know if your flowers will stand up to your wedding in the ever-changing Texas weather and beyond. With temps in the summer months in the 100's, it is very important that your florist knows how to care for the flowers and if the flowers offered/selected fit the season. 
Estimated Standard Price Ranges
Most florists know their hard costs allowing them to set a standard range for your flowers. It is not uncommon for a bride to ask their florist an average price for a brides bouquet, bridesmaid bouquet, and corsages. This gets tricky when you have a flower request that is pretty unique and/or out of season. 

Personal Design Strengths
Most florists have a specialty and it shows! It is totally appropriate to find out their style and ensure that you are a great fit for one another. It would be better for you to find out that they can deliver on the look and feel that you are going for up-front versus having a disaster waiting for you on your wedding day.

Not gonna lie, we have some florists that we absolutely love! Comment below if you would like us to share our favorites with you! 

​The Wedding Weekend
Your wedding weekend is a lot more than a ceremony and a fancy dinner. It's a celebration of true love with all of your closest friends. So you better look damn good for it, right?

How expansive you want to make your weekend wardrobe is entirely up to you. Just remember you’ll have:

• Your rehearsal
• Your rehearsal dinner
• Your pre-ceremony photos
• Ceremony
• Cocktail hour
• Reception
• Possibly a post-wedding brunch

Remember what we said earlier about outfit repeaters?

2018 has given us a lot of great things: Black Panther, the iPhone X, Beychella and the list goes on! There has also been an abundance of songs perfect for all the moments during your wedding. What do you think about our “Hit 15” list of the best wedding songs of 2018 so far?
 
1. Beyoncé “Die With You”
2.  James Arthur “Say You Won’t Let Go”
3. Calum Scott ft. Leona Lewis “You Are the Reason”
4. Harry Styles “Sweet Creature”
5. Ella Mai ft. John Legend “Everything”
6. Bruno Mars “24K Magic”
7. John Legend ft. Bloodpop “A Good Night”
8. The Carters “SUMMER”
9. Jason Aldean “You Make It Easy”
10. Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B “Girls Like You”
11. Ella Mai “Bood’ Up”
12. Drake “Nice For What”
13. Ariana Grande “sweetener”
14. Ed Sheeran & Beyoncé “Perfect Duet”
15. Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin“I Like It”

We hear you loud and clear, but the other boss voice reminds you that your time is just as valuable as your money; when will you actually have more of the time that you already don't have?

How many hours are you scouring the internet to find the perfect whatchmacallit that goes on that thing to only find yourself in a rabbit hole and feeling like you should have just eloped already? 

Breathe ... you've got us to help you make the right wedding money moves!

Let us tell you about the many ways our professional expertise helps you rest easy at night. Call us at 512-270-8796 or e-mail us at [email protected], let's have a heart to heart.

Yes, now. Especially before your family and friends are looking at you sideways saying "bless her/his/their heart(s)."

Mark 10:6-9 emphasizes the beauty of marriage and there are many ways to outwardly express an inward commitment two your spouse. One way that we love to see are the elements that couples choose to symbolize their union. The Unity Cross is a simply gorgeous idea to consider. The outer cross symbolizes the man and his covering of the delicate and intricate cross that represents the woman and there are three pegs that represent the father, son and holy spirit.

Purchasing your wedding dress is not a task that a bride should take lightly, after all, it will probably be one of the most expensive pieces of attire that you own. As you consider purchasing your wedding dress, you want to make sure that you ask yourself the following 3 questions: 

1. What are your likes and dislikes about dresses and how they fit you? 
2. When you consider the way you want to feel on your wedding day, what comes to mind? 
3. What is your wedding theme? 

Most women, when we aren't putting some much emphasis on what they are not can pick out at least a few things that they like about themselves. Close your eyes for just a moment and think of all the good things you love about yourself, then ask someone who you know that loves you about your best attributes. Then, think about what other people compliment you on; yes, even the things that you just blow off. 

Stay right there... 

This is a good place to focus as you consider the areas that you might want to highlight on your big day!

Think about your favorite dress. I know that this can be a hard place with an over-sized t-shirt and yoga pants right now, but just think about it. What do you like about it? Why? How long is it? What color is it? What does it hide or accentuate that you like? Write it down.

3. What’s your wedding theme?
What does your venue feel like? Is it a ballroom at a new chic downtown hotel? Is it in the center of the country? A rustic waters-edge venue? A restaurant? Evaluating the decor and ambiance is one great way to think about what you will wear on your special day.

2. How do you want to feel?
Some brides grow up dreaming about being transformed into a fairy-tale-princess on their wedding day, while others have a hard time imagining their day period. Whichever category you fall in, there is help for you. Make a list of what you want it to feel like when you are walking down the aisle, dance with your spouse, and when you dance with your father. 

1. What are your likes and dislikes about dresses and how they fit you? 
Not everyone can imagine all of the above, but maybe you can think about what you don't love. For example.. Shoulder pads, I mean really.

If you need more help, we are here. Contact Us!

Photo: ​Maryna Marsten

Selecting your bridal party for your wedding can is a really daunting task for most couples for a number of reasons. Often time our clients spend a lot of time trying to be pick the best bridal party and sometimes you should, but sometimes picking the best bridal party for your wedding is simple. Without thinking about it, only noting the people that really come to mind, answer the following questions. 

1. it's 2 a.m. and you're locked out of your house, who would you call? then? Why? 
2. If your car had a flat tire and you needed a ride to work and had to get there on time, who would go out of their way to come pick you up?
3. If you needed helping moving in an emergency because a pipe burst in your home, who would you call?
4. If they weren't there, would you miss them? Why? 
5. When you scroll through your phone log, what names and numbers pop up? 
6. What if you didn't worry about how people felt and there was no pressure, who would you pick? 

Think about it. These people that you mentioned are the ones you probably do real life with and will be there for you when you need them and vice versa. Try to keep in mind the following three tips when considering your bridal party

When you are selecting your bridal party, please keep in mind the bridal party that you don't need are those who:  

1. Don't pick flaky friends. Not every friend needs to be in your bridal party, because honestly you can’t depend on them to be on time or show up when showing up was all they had to do. Be reasonable and smart about deciding who can commit and be there when you need them to be.
2. Don't pick kids just because you have to. Just because it’s the "norm," you don't have to replicate it. Most of the time, kids get stagefright and do the exact opposite of what you had in mind.
3. Don't have a large bridal party, just to have a large bridal party. Cost, organization, dependability, and dress/tux fittings are all things you have to consider when thinking about the size of your bridal party. They may be your 10 closest friends but is it reasonable and will you be able to coordinate all of that? 

It is always a pleasure to serve clients! We flawlessly executed the Rivas-Miller Wedding in Austin, Texas at the JW Marriott! The Miller's opted for a destination wedding in Austin and we are so glad they did! Sometimes they say that a photo is worth more than a thousand words, take a look a few of these beauties from Christina Carroll Photography!

Click on one of the photos above to see more photos on Christina Carroll Photography!