Introducing our Weekly Tip series!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

It has been a long time We have been keeping busy working on holiday parties and preparing for a very exciting 2010 calendar year!

Today is the start of a new weekly series on tips & advice from yours truly, where you can also get answers to your questions. But please do not hesitate to contact us anytime at (800) 757-0549 or send us a note on our contact page at www.avsevent.com .

Today's topic is on Budget Planning/ Analysis: How to estimate a "realistic" wedding budget

In order to determine a "realistic" wedding budget, one of the first areas a couple may want to focus on is revising their guest list/ guest count. In the state of New Jersey or New York, one can expect to spend roughly an average of $100.00 per person, and in most cases, this number does not include tax and gratuity, which depending on the state, and charges can be an additional estimated 25% of the final bill.

With this in mind, for example, with a guest list of 100 at $100 per person, with New Jersey state tax of 7%, plus 18% gratuity, the final bill minus other fees (valet, Maitre D', etc) will be $12,500.00.

Although it is not be advised to spend more than 40% of the wedding budget on reception venue, food, and beverage, from my experience couples spend on average 45%-50% of their wedding budget in this area depending on their guest list, the time of year, and day of the week they choose.

Should you decide to work the other way around, one can use the example above of $100 and up per person to determine how much money they may want to set aside, keeping in mind that the wedding budget is not only the venue, food, and beverage, but photography, videography, entertainment, decor, wedding apparel, accommodation, transportation, favors, etc.

Lastly, to recap, reviewing one's guest's list is an important factor to help determine the overall wedding budget. Should you have a number in mind you would like to work with, determining the price per person you must not exceed can help you stay within your desired wedding budget.

For personal assistance more specific to your unique needs, please contact us at (800) 757-0549.

Happy Planning! :-)