Tuesday Tip: 5 Steps to determine your party budget

Hey Glam’friends! I decided that starting today, I would share a party tip(s) with you every Tuesday! So let’s get started with this week’s, Tuesday Tip: 5 Steps to determine your party budget. Now we all know that without a budget you aren’t going to get very far planning a party or else you will overspend.  There are several steps you should take when setting your party budget.

Why do I even need a budget?

First let’s discuss why you need a budget. Having a budget can help guide you in the right direction. What I mean is this….imagine if you are looking to hire a party planner and you take to the internet for your search. You find a few that you fall in love with only to reach out to them and find out that they cost more than you wanted to spend. When you know your budget, you can avoid wasting time; yours and vendors. So before you start contacting vendors, you should know your budget because you can rest assured this is going to be a question that they ask you.

How do I determine my budget?

When you sit down to determine your budget there are several things to keep in mind to create a budget that will realistically work for you and one that you can stick to. This isn’t to say that going over budget won’t occur but if you do these steps, you are less likely to go over. I have come up with 5 steps to determine your party budget.

  1. When is the event taking place? A month, 6 months or a year from now? Typically, the more time you have to plan a party, the more you can devote to it financially. One thing to point out is that planning any type of event over a long period of time requires discipline. After putting down your initial deposits, final payments typically aren’t due until 2-4 weeks before the date of the party. With this being said, many people don’t make regular payments and wait until the last minute. I have seen clients scrambling close to the due dates to make final payments. Don’t let this happen to you!
  2. Is someone helping you cover the cost or are you doing this alone? Theoretically, having someone help with the financial aspect of throwing a party is a great thing! However, here are some things to consider.  Is the other person dependable? Will they have their money when they say they will? What is their financial situation…meaning, will their budget impede your vision? Lastly, if you are like me, you don’t want any input from anyone on how you want your party/event to go. So be clear on their expectations from the beginning. I prefer a silent partner or none at all.
  3. Have you done your research? Most of the time when my clients contact me, they have gone to Pinterest and created a Pinterest board that includes images that gives me an idea of what their vision is. Often times, their budget doesn’t match their vision and I have to break it to them. When I style a party,  I typically have my own set of vendors that I use so I understand that my clients don’t know what things will cost up front.To help give potential clients an idea of costs, I provide the starting investment for my services here. We recommend trying to get the starting rate for your vendors because with this information, you can get a good idea of what you’re looking at cost wise.
  4. Are you being realistic? This is an area that I felt needed to be addressed because so many people have champagne tastes on a beer budget. Yes, I said it!  If you have a beer budget, then you will be doing a lot of DIY’ing. However, if you want someone to create and do the work for you, you have to be willing to pay. So many clients want grand balloon installations, fabulous backdrops, a dessert table overflowing with the most adorable themed desserts, etc but their budget doesn’t match their vision. This being said, I do understand that if you aren’t in this industry, you simply may not have an idea of what things cost, which is why I encourage planners and stylists to include starting prices on their websites.
  5. Lastly, remember when you host a party or event of any type ESPECIALLY a themed one, many items are created specifically for your party/event. So not only does the vendor have to purchase the supplies/materials to create your balloon installation or your backdrop or your custom desserts, they also have to design/make them. Remember, you don’t want to make pennies at your job, so don’t expect someone else to take pennies for theirs.

Voila, you are now ready to create your party budget! Leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts or tips that you use when creating your budget! Until next time, glam’friends!

 

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A Glam Good Time consistently designs parties for our clients that provide the ultimate wow factor and leave them utterly wow’ed and happy they chose us!

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