In the second series of this blog I thought it would be good to give you some examples of what kind of wedding entertainment is available depending on your budget, and the areas of the day to consider when you allocate your budget.

Lets look at a budget: Up to £10,000

Bored guests are never happy ones so the parts of the day that you should cater for are the drinks reception whilst you are having your photographs taken, the wedding breakfast if you have a lot of time before the evening event and of course the main evening party. In my opinion the evening entertainment is where you should concentrate your effort for this type of budget. If I had to suggest three choices of entertainment that couples might be able to afford on this budget  the following come to mind.

A DJ

There are some brilliant DJ’s out there who can really make your party swing. Look around, don’t just go for the one that your venue suggests, ask your friends, look on the internet. Check out what they bring with them in terms of lights and decor. Often the DJ can put on a really good show and really create a great party atmosphere. Lots of the DJ websites now show you what their style is and give you a choice of music to play. Don’t forget that if you want to involve your guests and ask them their favourite songs, be careful they are not all love songs. You could suggest they give you their favourite love song and their favourite dance track.

Ceilidh Band

If you want to dance but don’t like the idea of a DJ then why not try a Ceilidh band. The music is lively and the caller, who is the chap that talks the guests through the dance, creates a great atmosphere, which makes everyone take to the dance floor. It’s a fun thing to do and really involves your guests. The bride and groom can then take to the floor and be totally involved in the evening’s celebrations. A great idea for a county wedding.

Live Singer/Jazz

The Rat Pack sound is great for vintage weddings. In between sets you can always fill up your IPOD so that your guests can dance and still stay in the party swing. That way you may be able to get live music for part of the evening. I have seen many weddings where this has been the case. Its a great way of getting your party started and this type of music brings a little sophistication to your evening and the older relatives in your party will love it. Your first dance can be sung live whilst you glide round the dance floor.

How about a budget: £10,000 – £20,000

Mix and Mingle Artists/Live Bands/Photo Booths

The evening reception is still the biggest area of entertainment but when you have more in your budget it would be great to entertain your guests during the wedding reception as well as during the photo’s and drinks reception. Using entertainers that mix and mingle such as caricaturists or a silhouettist is a great idea because your guests each get something to take home with them.Close up magicians can be extremely funny and entertaining too if you get a good one. I would highly recommend www.magicatyourfingertips.co.uk

String quartets and harpists are fantastic for a classy drinks reception and then can play at your ceremony if you are getting married at your venue. They create a lovely atmosphere if the weather is gorgeous and your setting dictates it. A lovely country mansion with beautiful gardens and guests spilling into the gardens being wafted by lovely classical music in the sunshine starts your wedding reception off with style.

For the evening if you budget stretches then you can’t beat a live band for atmosphere and the wow factor. Often the bands will play music to dance to in between their sets. You can work out the times they appear to suit the flow of your reception. Good bands give out a great vibe and if they are really good the dance floor should be full all night.

One other idea that is very popular at the moment, is a photo booth where your guests can take pictures and dress up in props, then write comments into your guest book. The photos are generated there and then just like a passport photo booth. They can even be projected into a slide show for the evening.

Photo booth by www.sayfromage.co.uk

The choice for entertainment is quite vast but I would urge you to choose what suits your style and personality. Choose what makes you happy and what you are comfortable with. I have decided to run one more blog next week to finish on entertainment as once I got started it was hard to stop. Next week I will cover budgets of over 20k and also how to create free entertainment for your guests. If you want me to help source you some great entertainment give me a call I will be happy to help.

Until next time, happy planning.

At the Wedding Genie we are committed to helping couples start married life with a strong foundation. We really hate it when we hear how the wedding budget escalated, and the day after the wedding couples are hit by the reality of a huge debt that is going to take months, or even years to pay off. We ran this blog last year so we thought for anyone who has recently become engaged, Congratulations! it would be very useful. We have added a few more tips to help.

To start you off here are our top tips for planning and managing the finance, how to keep track of it and ideas on how to save.

• Where is the money coming from? – Who is paying for the wedding? - You may have savings that can be used for the wedding budget, but often most couples don’t have enough for the whole wedding. Your parents may want to contribute so now is the time to tactfully ask them. Once you announce your engagement I am sure they will have started to think about how you will finance the wedding, so this conversation won’t be a surprise to them. If they are worried about how much they want to give, you can suggest they pay for certain items perhaps the photography, the dress or the cake. It is sometimes better to get them to contribute to these areas rather than the reception, that way you will have more control over the guest list and food etc.
• Open a separate Bank Account - This way you can identify exactly how much cash you have at anytime. Keeping it separate from your normal household account will encourage you not to spend it. At the moment the interest rates are very low and there is not a great return on your savings, but there are some deals around to entice you with short-term bonuses that offer a good rate of interest. Always check how long these special deals run so you can move your account when they are over.  Perhaps if you are getting married in the next twelve to eighteen months it may well be worth taking out an ISA. This is a savings account where the interest on your savings is tax free. The allowance is £3,600 cash per year each. It can go up to £7,200 if you have stocks and shares. Take a look at The Money Saving Expert for the best deals and tips on saving. There is also a great budget calculator that Saffron Building Society have set up to help work out what you spend. It then calculates automatically what you left, therefore how much you can save each month. Their Wedding Saver Account is guaranteed to be in the best 10 available in the online market.
• Save Regularly Each Month - Set up a standing order so you know for sure the money is going into your savings each month. It will really help when you see your money start to grow. Work out what you can save comfortably, that way you will be more inclined to leave it in the bank, and not spend it because you have left yourselves too short.
• Cutting down on some everyday spending can boost your savings – For instance buying coffee everyday really adds up. A latte can cost around £1.80 and if you buy three a week thats £5.40, over a month its £21.60 and over a year its a whopping £259.20. You can take your own lunch to work to cut down costs, and if you go out for dinner a couple of times a month, cut this down to once.
• Wedding Magazines – These are quite addictive and very expensive, if you want to splurge, choose your favourite and not two or three different types. Your friends may have just got married and they may have some to loan you.
• Set up a Spreadsheet to keep track – If you are computer savvy set up a simple spreadsheet split up into all the areas of cost such as, photography, cake, dress, reception, stationery etc. Apply the amount you want to spend against each item, total everything so you can see what the budget is. If you do not use a computer do the same in a notebook. Keep all of your receipts so you know exactly what you have spent, and keep an eye on when payments are due. Don’t forget you won’t have to pay for everything all at once so you will have time to save. A deposit is generally needed in the early days to secure a supplier, then payments are split according to time frames set out by the terms and conditions of your suppliers.
• List and Stick to your priorities - If you read our blog regularly you know we talk about setting your priorities and writing them down. Keep them with you. When you want to start spending get them out and look at what they are then compare them to what you are about to buy. Do you really need the item and is it a priority?

These are just a few ways of tackling your budget. We cannot stress highly enough the importance of working out your budget and most of all writing it down. In the cold light of day the figures you have been thinking of may add up to much more than you thought.

For more information on budgeting read our tips and advice or call us to see if we can help with our budgeting service. A new pair of eyes is often all it needs to look at your budget from a different perspective. I guarantee we can find ways of helping you save money and perhaps moving funds around so that photographer you really wanted is affordable.

If you have any ideas for saving or tips let us know and we will post them on our blog.

Until next time, happy planning.