Edition 05 | Don't start with a budget

How can you set a realistic budget when you don't yet know what anything costs?

Most of us don't organise significant events very often.

We might arrange a milestone birthday every decade, perhaps a wedding once, an anniversary, a family celebration or the occasional large party. Even at work, unless events are part of your job, you probably aren't regularly pricing venues, catering, florists, photographers, DJs and furniture.

And yet one of the first questions we're expected to answer is: what's your budget?

It's hardly surprising that the answer is often a guess.

There is nothing wrong with having a figure in mind at the beginning. Most people do, and some people have an absolute ceiling they cannot or do not want to exceed. That's useful information.

The problem comes when we treat that first number as though it were based on knowledge we don't yet have.

You may know what you'd like to spend on the event, but that isn't necessarily the same thing as knowing what the event you've imagined will cost.

At the beginning, the picture is still blurry.

Guest numbers, the venue, real food and beverage costs bring a substantial part of the picture into focus. Entertainment, styling, furniture, transport, photography and all the other choices add detail.

Eventually, you aren't trying to put a price on an idea anymore.

You have something you can actually cost.

You can't budget for an idea. You budget for a plan.

This doesn't mean waiting until everything has been booked and then discovering what you've spent. Quite the opposite. A budget is useful throughout planning, but it should be treated as a working figure rather than a number carved into stone on day one.

As real costs emerge, you can make real decisions.

Perhaps the beautiful venue matters enough that you'll simplify the styling. Maybe the DJ is non-negotiable and the elaborate flowers aren't. You might discover you'd rather invite fewer people and spend more on dinner, or have everyone there and change the way the food is served.

This is where budgeting becomes interesting, because it stops being purely about spending.

It becomes about priorities.

Every event has them, whether they're acknowledged or not. Saying yes to one thing often means saying no to something else. Those choices are much easier when you're looking at a clear picture.

So start with a number if you have one. Change it when the information tells you to. Keep an eye on it as the event develops.

Just don't mistake the first guess for the final answer.