Good evening from caffeinated HQ of Esquire Photography in Orange County everyone!  I’m one Newport Beach Wedding Photographer who is totally beside himself with all the blessings of exciting Engagement Shoots, Portraits, Quinceañeras, and Weddings I’ve been photographing from Newport Beach down to San Diego and all the way up to Oakland. 

As if that wasn’t enough going on – I’m sure you saw on Twitter & Facebook the two MEGA announcements I shared this past weekend.

One of which is the Military Promotion that launched on Saturday.  I had the honour of giving it to Ali & Justin when I was up at Edward’s Air Force Base with both of their parents location scouting and going over details for their Lancaster Wedding Day I’m photographing next August.

The other HUGE announcement I shared is the Workshop I’m teaching with my good friend & fellow photographer Danny in Paris France.  Can I just say; “Wholly Nachos & Newcastles!”  So if you’re in Paris over Christmas break, totally let me know because the workshop is very affordable & only 100 Euros per person.

With all this talk about helping brides & grooms who are active in the military save money on their wedding photography and helping photographers with a totally MEGA gorgeous location called; Paris, France save some money with a workshop – it only felt appropriate to share this awesome story from my friends at Elegala on establishing a wedding budget.

With the average wedding cost at over $25,000, it’s no wonder tackling the budget is one of the most overwhelming tasks on your to-do list.  We’ve come up with a few steps to help you put it all in perspective and build a plan of attack.

3 Simple Steps To Establishing A Wedding Budget

Step 1: Talk to all contributing parties
As the cost of weddings increase, so does the number of people paying for them (good news for the bride’s parents, who no longer need to take out a second mortgage to fund their daughter’s nuptials). You’ll need to sit down with everyone who is going to contribute to the wedding-day piggy bank and discuss how to logically divide the tab and arrive at a total number.

The old-school rules dictating who pays for what are meant to be broken, but you can definitely use these wedding etiquette guidelines on who pays for what as a starting point for your budget discussion.

Step 2: Allocate totals for each service accordingly
Now that you’ve arrived at a reasonable total budget, you’ll need to determine where that money is going to go. Come up with a list of items/vendors/details you’ll need, and how much you’ll allocate to each.  Then you can customize each amount based on your style and priorities. For instance, if a fabulous wedding gown is particularly important to you, you may splurge in that area, and make up for it by cutting back on your floral arrangements.

Step 3: Get a system and start saving
You’ll need to establish a reliable method to keep track of all savings and expenditures. There are endless ways to save and track your finances, from sophisticated software to old-fashioned spreadsheets. You can download easy-to-use budgeting software at My Wedding Organizer, Five Star Software or Elm Software for $29.95.

Bank It
If you’ve already got a hefty seed to put down for your affair, talk with your financial institution about the best way to accrue interest leading up to your big day. A seemingly nominal interest rate can mean the difference between Vera Wang and hand-me-downs. Just be sure to open an account separate from your personal savings so that you won’t be tempted to dip into the funds and ultimately find yourself in the hole.

Save Smart
If you are starting from zero with your wedding-day savings, consider paying for as many of your expenses as possible on a credit card that amasses benefits like frequent flier miles, rewards, or cash back that can go toward your honeymoon travel.

Awesome – yes!?!  Three quick and easy steps to help save money and stick to your wedding budget.  I love it!

So you’re thinking… Hey – I’d really like to get to know this Newport Beach Wedding Photographer (Previously a Huntington Beach Wedding Photographer) who helps brides, grooms and photographers save money and loves music & fashion, photography and art, feel free to contact me anytime.  Perhaps you’re a fan of Nachos & Newcastles (My favourite snack!) like Duran Rex and I & if so – we could always meet at Fred’s Mexican Cafe on Main & PCH in Huntington Beach.  They’re out of this world at Fred’s!

I’m available just about 24/7 via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, the form on my contact page, or the old fashioned phone as well at 888.ESQ.PHTO (888.377.7486) or 562.225.5915.

I hope you’re having a great start to your holiday season & stay in touch for some more absolutely incredible events that I’m sharing this week.  From San Diego to Newport Beach and all the way up to Oakland – I’ll have some fantastic Weddings and events that I’ve had the honour of photographing.  And of course, Kristine, Jay, Brian & Lindsay from Darvoset with their MEGA performance where Kate Mesta provided some “One of a Kind” jewelry (which I’m sure you saw from Darvoset’s Riverside Photo Shoot) and be sure to check out the Huntington Beach Photo Shoot of Sarah for her portfolio for The Ford Modeling Agency – Cheers!

PS, I just had to use one of my favourite photos I captured at Monique & Collin’s Ventura Wedding at the Wedgewood Buenaventura.  They were both a BLAST for their Engagement Shoot & Wedding!