#TOP TIP TUESDAY – PLANNING A BUDGET from InspiredByScript.co.uk #5

#5 PLAN A BUDGET AND STICK TO IT! 

I can't believe it's over a year since I wrote this! So I'm reposting for those of you who are struggling while trying to work out a budget.

If you find it useful... please SHARE on social media. There's a link just after the end of the post.... (on the little bluebar). 

And please LEAVE US A COMMENT! We love hearing from you!

I deal with a regular flow of Brides and Grooms to the studio, asking me to make and create their wedding stationery. I try to offer a service to fit ALL budgets. One thing that always amazes me is the answer to my question 

"OK.... so what's your budget?"  

At this point I usually get one of 2 answers.

1) "We haven't got one"

or 2) "We don't really know"

When probing further I realise that most couples 

have no idea where to start. 

I've promised to write this article for some time and today I feel I really MUST get round to it.... I hope it helps in some small way.

Couples would do best to see what they can afford and work from there, instead of working on what they want, costing it all out and then having to postpone their wedding when the harsh reality of EVERYTHING COSTS kicks in.

Remember: £35 a meal can sound like a bargain, but it can be a real eye opener when you times it by the number of guests you have coming!  And that's just the 'food side' of things. 

Far better to work out a final budget and work it like this, then at least you will know where to cut back if you need to and f you save money on one thing you have more to spend on another.... SIMPLES :-) 

So.... to make it easy for me to work it out for you.... lets say you have £10,000 to spend.

Reception 45% (£4,500)

Your food and beverages will eat up the largest percentage of your budget. This category includes:

• Site fee, if applicable
• Catering costs 
• Bar and non-alcoholic drinks, punch, shots, etc.
• Drinks for toasts
• Wedding cake and sweets

*Don't forget to haggle on price here. If you don't ask, you don't get! You have nothing to loose. If you find that the cost is far more than your budget and you are determined the venue is the absolute place you want to get married and there's no way you are going to shop around for somewhere cheaper.... consider 1 of 2 things.

1) Cut down on your daytime Guest list
2) Have a late Wedding and 1 buffet evening receptio

Transportation 5% (£500)

If you are on a strict budget, this is one place you can save. Transportation should be one of the smallest percentages of your budget. This category includes the following:

• Limousines
• Speciality cars, etc.

If your Wedding is at a venue and you are staying there over night, there's no reason why you shouldn't get ready at the venue itself. If the venue is 50 yards down the road, it's quite a saving if you get a friend with a posh car, to add ribbons and get you to the Church on time. Do you really NEED this?

Entertainment 10% (£1000)

This category includes the following:

• Ceremony music 
• Evening reception buffet
• Reception Music (DJ or band)

Flowers 10% (£1000)

Be very careful. It is easy to get "carried away" ordering the most "visual" aspect of your wedding. This category includes:

• Ceremony - site flowers
• Bridal bouquet
• Wedding party flowers
• Parent's flowers
• Reception centrepieces and floral displays

Attire 10%  (£1000)

This is another category that is really easy to go wild on. While selecting your "gown" keep your "bottom line" in mind. This category includes:

• Dress
• Headpiece/veil
• Lingerie
• Jewellery
• Shoes/wrap
• Hair and make-up
• Grooms tux or suit

Photography 10% (£1000)

Your memories will eat up another 10% of your budget. This category includes:

• Photography
• Videography
• Engagement portrait
• Wedding - album package

Stationery 4% (£400)

This is another category in which you can save by choosing a simple invitation. This category includes:

• Daytime and Evening Invitations
• R.S.V.P and other enclosures)
• Announcements
• Menus
• Order of Service
• Guest Book or Wishing Tree Tags
• Seating Plan
• Wedding Post Box
• Place Cards 
• Thank You Cards

You can cut down a little on this budget, like having only 1 Order of Service per couple for instance. Talk to the person who is designing and making all your Invitations and On the Day stuff and negotiate a discount.

We at Inspired by Script give our customers up to 20%  discount on our couples ' On the Day' items IF they have come to us for their Invitations. 

It's our way of saying a big THANK YOU for choosing us in the first place :-) 

Talk to whoever is making your Wedding Stationery

and see how they can help!

Extras 6% (£600)

This is where you put all the miscellaneous items that can really add up to BIG MONEY!! If you choose all of the little extra touches, you will go way over your allotted 6%. You need to make a choice on how important each category is to you and "borrow" percentage points from other categories which may be less important to you. Items usually needed:

• Attendants gifts
• Wedding gifts for each other
• Favours
• Wedding rings
• Rehearsal Dinner (not usually included in budget)
• Marriage license
• Church/ceremony site fees
• Officiant fees
• Speciality linens
• Chair covers
• Other reception or ceremony decorations

I hope you have found this budget planner useful.

If you have, please share with your friends...

if you haven't or need to know more,

contact us... we can only improve with your help :-)

Don't forget.....

You can FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK!

CLICK HERE!

If you need any help or advice 

regarding your Wedding Stationery

Email Us

or phone the studio on 01609 776 866

We're always happy to give advice :-)

(c) Sue Simpson x 

Have you any useful hints and tips on saving money? 

We'd love you to share them with us.

Leave a comment by clicking the comment box

It's in the blue box below :-)

Now available from Inspired by Script, personalised Pocket Fold Wedding Invitations

Busy day today, working on the new pocket fold invitations. With the need to add accommodation, travel & RSVP Cards, these pocket fold invitations offer a perfect solution 

#TOP TIP TUESDAY from InspiredByScript.co.uk #4

#4 WHEN ORDERING STATIONERY –

 PLEASE DON’T ASK YOUR WEDDING STATIONER TO COPY SOMEONE ELSE’S IDEA/DESIGN

Yes, believe it or not….this does happen.

I suppose with all the inspirational boards and Pinterest out there it’s understandable that Brides set their hearts on something and then that’s all they focus on.

By all means, show ideas or flavours of things you have found, but if you ask for a direct, blatant copy, from a reputable designer or maker their answer will be NO!

There are some good reasons for this, the main one being, it’s HIGHLY ILLEGAL! 

The second good reason for me is: I have hundreds of my own designs… why would I want to copy someone else’s.

When people come to me for invitations and stationery, I am assuming they are coming because they like my ‘style’ of designs or at least know that we can work together to come up with something suitable.

Of course, you can’t copyright something generic, like a pocket fold with a piece of ribbon across the top for instance or a folded card with some ribbon or pearls glued onto it. There are always exceptions to the rule. However, from a design point of view whether you WANT to make something like this and put your name to it… well that’s another matter.

By all means…. Bring to me your inspiration boards. Tell me what you like/don’t like about what you have pinned on it. That way, we’ll get to understand your essence and style and come up with something unique to you.

HELP OTHERS & SHARE...
SHARING IS CARING

WHAT'S YOUR TOP TIP?

Leave a comment by clicking the comments tab, we'd love to hear about them.

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Wedding invitation or thank you. Card?,

Wondering whether to turn this graphic into a wedding invitation or thank you card. What do you think? #wedding invitation  #thankyou  #card

Bridesmaid gifts at Inspired by Script, by Steve Smith Jewellery

First job of the day, making insert cards for @stevesmithjewellery  #personalised #bridesmaid #gift #handmade #jewellery 

#DEAL OF THE MONTH! - FREE WEDDING RSVP CARDS!

DON'T MISS OUT!

*THIS MONTHS DEAL!

 *FREE 1 x c6 PRINTED RSVP CARD PER INVITE *FOIL CAN BE ADDED FOR A SMALL CHARGE
*THIS OFFER APPLIES TO DAYTIME FOLDED INVITATION ORDERS ONLY
CLICK HERE

FOR MORE DETAILS!

At Inspired by Script we are committed to offering  the best possible 1 to 1 service.   WE REWARD our LOYAL customers!

TAKE ADVANTAGE of

THIS MONTHS DEAL! CALL Sue on 01609 776 866  or call into the studio at 288a High Street,  Northallerton, DL7 8DW
or FILL OUT  our no obligation  quotation form CLICK HERE! REMEMBER TO  Use the words: "I want the deal!"

#TOP TIP TUESDAY from InspiredByScript.co.uk #3

#3 WHEN ORDERING STATIONERY – 

PROOF READ, PROOF READ, PROOF READ

 & PROOF READ, AGAIN!

Can you tell… I can’t stress this enough!

Regardless of how many times you read something, there’s always a slim chance that something will slip through. I always insist on the couple emailing me whatever they want written inside their invites, menus, order of service and seating plans. I usually do a quick check over, but sometimes even I miss something. The responsibility of getting it right is yours and yours alone.

I never change anything without checking with the Bride and Groom first and many of the on-line stationery suppliers simply use a merge feature and don’t even cast an eye over it.

Once printed, that is it. Unless you want to pay for them to be reprinted, PLEASE check over and over again and hand them your proof over to someone else to check too…. (A fresh eye and all that).

It will save you money in the long run!

HELP OTHERS & SHARE...SHARING IS CARING

WHAT'S YOUR TOP TIP?

Leave a comment by clicking the comments tab, we'd love to hear about them.

FIND THIS USEFUL?

Hit the share buttons in the box below.

#TOP TIP TUESDAY from InspiredByScript.co.uk #2

#2 WHEN ORDERING STATIONERY 

GIVE YOUR WEDDING STATIONER 

PLENTY OF NOTICE

Can you tell…. This has happened to me? Countless times!

The hardest thing for a stationer who loves to make invitations and stationery that is extra special and totally made to order is that now and again and usually during your busiest periods, you’ll get that all important distress call from someone who has been ‘let down’, by another company.

Now, this is all very well, but I wasn’t your first choice…..so this really isn’t MY problem. I do try and help as best I can, but my clients (and I’m sure I speak for all the other wedding stationers here too) COME FIRST!

Fortunately, my clients know from the outset the lead time I need, so this never happens.

I’m often asked “How long will it/they take”.

The factors here are

1)   How long will it take the client to proof and approve the proofs?

2)    How busy I am at that particular point.

We do try and keep on top of things and generally work comes in steadily, so I am well paced…. But every now and then, it can become manic and everything falls at your feet in one fell swoop BOOSH! Yeah… then I panic (a little).

So you can see, if this is one of those times and we have a 3 week waiting list, those “I’ve been let down and need this for next Friday… and it has to be posted…and I’m not paying for extra 24hour carrier” phone calls are not very welcome.

We don’t work well under pressure.

Many of my US friends who also make Wedding Invitations and Stationery charge DOUBLE on the labour costs. The reason for this is, their diary’s are usually full and they have to hire in extra help. The cost has to be covered somewhere.

RMEMBER: Look after your service provider and they will look after you!

HELP OTHERS & SHARE...

SHARING IS CARING

WHAT'S YOUR TOP TIP?

Leave a comment by clicking the comments tab, we'd love to hear about them.

FIND THIS USEFUL?

Hit the share buttons in the box below.

#TOP TIP TUESDAY from InspiredByScript.co.uk #1

NEW STARTING TODAY!

#TOP TIP TUESDAY!

#1 WHEN ORDERING STATIONERY 

ALLOW 10% EXTRA!

Why? Everyone makes mistakes right? Whether it’s a slip of the pen or forgetting someone important when adding up how many invites you need.

Even in my Calligraphy days we insisted on an extra 10% of anything we had to write in ‘just in case’. Waiting for extra stationery to arrive from a supplier added extra days to getting the job finished.

For some, it was a costly mistake because many of the stationery suppliers had a minimum order of 20 when ordering…. Even when it was add ons and the client had already ordered from them in the past.

So PLEASE make sure you order AT LEAST another 10% of anything wedding related. Better to have too many than no enough.

HELP OTHERS & SHARE...SHARING IS CARING

WHAT'S YOUR TOP TIP?
Leave a comment by clicking the comments tab, we'd love to hear about them.

FIND THIS USEFUL?
Hit the share buttons in the box below.

Stunning, Personalised Laser cut wedding invitations

We've been looking at these for quite a while.....till we could resist it no longer, especially as vintage and Rustic wedding with their luxurious lace seem to be the 'thing' at the moment.

Here's one we made earlier...complete with personalised Belly Band

remove the belly band

And up pops the middle

Here's a close up of the intricate detail of this beautiful laser cut invite

The invitation details can be printed on a complimentary or contrasting card... so for dual colour weddings you can mix and match.

And the really great thing is.....They come in 50... YES 60! colours,

so there is something for everyone.

THE DETAILS

Card size: 15cm x 15cm

Card stock 300 - 350gsm card stock

Inner card: 300 gsm card stock

Envelope: 155cm x 155cm in white or ivory. 120 gsm

Colour choice: Choose from 50 colours

OPTIONAL EXTRAS: 

Belly Band

Personalised Topper

Ribbon

Crystals

Pearls 

Aren't they just beautiful?  

Want to know more? Call the studio on 01609 776 866 during opening hours

or if you live in or near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, pop in to see a real life sample.

We just KNOW you'll love them as much as we do! 

Looking for more inspiration?

See our VINTAGE Pinterest Board HERE

See our RUSTIC Pinterest board HERE

Personalised teal, wedding wishing tree tags

100 personalised wedding wishing tree tags.

Ivory card with teal print and ribbons 

Hannah and Matt's pink and silver themed personalised wedding seatingplan

Hannah & Matt came to me and chose a pink and silver themed wedding seating plan.

I really do apologise for the poor quality of these photos.
when work is finished, it's quickly collected or posted and out of the door as storage space is limited.

It seemed far better to quickly take a few photos so I could share them all with you.

At least you'll get a flavour of the items I'm sharing. 

As always, let us know if we can help you with your wedding day paper and card ephemera.

call us on 01609 776 866 during opening hours 

Fingerprint wedding invitations made with the couples own fingerprints

Another order complete and awaiting collection. This fingerprint heart design is made from the couples own fingerprints #wedding #Invitation #Fingerprint#Inspira

Fun with paper

The project called for large buttons. So large buttons it is #papercut  #craft ##creativity

Personalised Christening invitations, a triple celebration!

It's a triple Christening....yes triple, not triplets.
Twins Eli-Clark, Ebony-Mae & their older sister Dawn
are having a joint celebration.

Between us we managed to come up with this idea.... a 3-in-1 invitation.

There were many paper buttons to die cut and my tuimb was numb for a week....

We added an RSVP card to the back of the triple fold card.

the invites were blue and pink to represent the twins and lavender for Dawn.

We're going to carry the colours through to the Post box and guest book.....

It's lvely when it all co-ordinates. 

Personalised have this first drink on us cards

although it's nowhere near as full as I want it to be (I'm aiming to have 100 items in there by Christmas at the latest), My Etsy Store has been busy!

Not with invitation sales as you might think ....but with these little beauties....

Already I have orders sent to New Zealand,

London,

And 2 to Australia! 

You can find these 'Have your first drink on us!' tokens here

As always we give discounts for bulk, so if you want a pack of 60 or more, you can find them here

Make sure you keep your eye on the shop as we slowly add things to it

the link is https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/InspiredByScript 

We also make personalised tags, stickers and labels..... everything you need to fancy up your wedding bits and pieces. 

Call us on 01609 776 866

or if you are close to Northallerton, pop in during opening hours 

Alice and Michael bunting themed, pink and lavender seating plan

Alice & Michael wanted a bunting themed, pink & lavender seating plan.
No problem....

Even though they had a VW camper van to drive the Bride to the venue, I couldn't persuade them to have them on the seating plan....so we went for plain and simple instead.... 

Have you a special idea that you'd like us to make?

Call us during opening hours on 01609 776 866

If you live close to or are within  travelling distance of Northallerton, North Yorkshire, Call in at the studio.

Our opening times are beetween 10.30 am - 4,30 pm

Tuesday - Saturday,

however we are there later during our busy times. 

Kate & Nick - Mr & Mrs Signs and personalised confetti cones.

Now for Kate & Nick - Mr & Mrs Signs and personalised confetti cones.

These large A4, MDF wooden signs are decorated with gold lettering and green ribbon.
I always think Gold on Ivory adds that bit of elegance to any wedding



The signs will be hung on the back of chairs, supplied by the couples wedding planner and venue stylist Jane from Elegant Seating.

I've worked with Jane for a number of weddings now and she comes highly recommended,.



And here we have.... MORE personalised confetti cones. .....this time in a lovely green.
A nice personal touch to any wedding.



Need something special and want us to consider making it for you?
We love unique and creative ideas....so call us and run it by us,
Tel Sue on 01609 776 866 during opening hours, or leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!

Zach & Kirsty Personalised fingerprint guest book and Confetti Cones in Navy Blue & Pink

It's been mega busy here at Inspired by Script. The only downside to being busy is not having the time to keep up with the blog and Social media.... all necessary parts of running a small business and driving customers our way.

So... I'll do my best over the next few posts to get up to speed and show you some wonderful things we've been making....with ideas from Brides...

First off....
Zach & Kirsty Personalised fingerprint guest book and Confetti Cones in Navy Blue & Pink

Our large A3 wedding fingerprint guest book makes a great keepsake of your special day.
Guests sign the print and then you can frame it after the wedding as a lasting reminder of the special people who ere there.

As I'm pushed for time at the moment I'm using the iPad for photos. Probably not the smartest move I've ever made as the colours are so much brighter on the real thing... but it gives you a flavour of what they look like

Colours can be changed to match your wedding theme and we can use either a stock photo of joined fingerprints OR if you have a black ink pad and some really white paper to hand, why not send them to us and we'll make it even more personal by using yours?

If you are local to Northallerton, North Yorkshire and can pop into the studio, we'll gladly take the prints for you (Baby wipes for clean fingers afterwards are free)

Email us for details inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

Next off....some wedding confetti cones.
Personalised with the Bride and Grooms names and date of wedding.
Colours used here are again Navy Blue and Pink... gorgeous.

Have you a special something you'd like us to consider making for you?
Contact the studio during opening hours on 01609 776 866
or leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Personalised fingerprint table name cards

Fingerprint table name cards to match the client's wedding stationery.   

Sunflower inspired wedding invitations and on the day stationery

I just LOVE sunflowers don't you?

They are one of those flowers that brighten up even the dullest days and catch the smallest glimmer of light. They never cease to make me smile.

A few ideas for a sunflower themed wedding.....

First off....a flat sunflower  invitation,

 more commonly used for Evening invitations

Sunflower pocket fold invitation.

Perfect if you have lots of bits of information such as travel,

 accommodation, RSVP's to include. 

Sunflowers can be incorporated in all your decor....

 like these sunflower table napkin wraps.

These sunflowers were from Teesside Hospice.

These small badges not only support a local charity, but make great place cards

and can double up as a wedding favour too. 

Yellow sunflowers look great when teamed up

with Royal Blue.... as in this sunflower post box

And the sunflower seating plan doesn't escape 

the sunshine smile treatment. 

What are your favourite flowers and why?

Is your wedding arranged round a favourite flower? 

Share your thoughts.

Happy planning,

Sue x

Crazy busy...

Apologies for not keeping you all up to date with the goings on at Inspired by Script....it's crazy busy right now and time is precious when you are the maker and shaker. If you want to keep up-to-date while all the craziness is going on....pop over to my facebook pa ge at https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByScript

We are finding Instagram invaluable for taking a quick picture and uploading it.... more or less as it happens. If you're on Instagram find us here! https://instagram.com/inspiredbyscript

We'll be back on the blog as soon as we get a minute to breathe :-)