How to Make a Realistic Budget for Your Wedding

In order for you to stick to your budget, it has to be realistic. Otherwise, it will be very easy to go over your budget, and the worst way to start your marriage off is going into debt for a single day, no matter how amazing that day is! Today, we’ll talk about the steps you can take to make sure your budget is realistic and money is allocated properly to give you an amazing wedding at any budget. There are a few things you will need to do before you actually set a number for your budget that will help you know how to allocate your funds to get the most out of your budget and set realistic expectations for your big day.

Research

If you are planning your own wedding, and not hiring a planner, this step is really important. Although, even if you plan on hiring a planner, I recommend you do a bit of research, so you know how much to spend on a planner and set realistic expectations. Before you do anything else, do some research on what vendors will cost. The main vendors you will hire, or DIY, will be a venue, photographer/videographer, caterer, baker, florist, and DJ or band. Don’t forget to do some research on wedding rings, dress, invites, and basic decor you know you want. By knowing ahead of time what vendors cost, you will set some realistic expectations for your budget and know what certain amount of money will get you in the long run. You will also get an idea of what is important to you and what is a lower priority which will help in the next step.

Priorities

Together with your fiancé, come up with 3-4 priorities for your wedding. These will be the splurge areas in your budget and where you want to make sure you allocate enough money to meet your expectations. You can have an amazing venue, or maybe the food is most important to you. Maybe it’s having a lit dance floor so a really good DJ or band is most important. Maybe you want a killer dress. Whatever is most important, write them down as your top priorities. For my own wedding, my top priority was my dress, I’d sacrifice everything else in order to have my dream dress. As a couple, our priorities were the venue, photographer, and food. These areas were where we put most of our money towards.

Do the same with the items that are least important. These are items that you can save, skimp, or skip altogether. Maybe the invitation suite isn’t a priority. Or you’d rather save money on flowers by having artificial flowers instead of real ones. Maybe you can DIY a few things. For my own wedding, we skipped wedding favors (through my research, I found that a lot of favors are leftover at the end of the night as guests forget to take them), DJ (we had a small wedding and we rented speakers and made a playlist), officiant (we had a friend officiate for us), and decor (I limited it to a handful of items I really wanted, as our venue didn’t need a lot of decor). We saved money in these areas and allocated those funds towards our priorities.

Guest Count

Figure out how many guests you plan on inviting by making a preliminary guest list. A lot of your overall budget depends on your guest count. Several expenses are based on headcount such as invites, food and beverage, rentals (like tables, chairs, linens, dinnerware), wedding favors, and centerpieces. The average wedding costs around $30,000. However, a wedding that costs $30,000 for 150 guests will look very different from a wedding that costs $30,000 for 50 guests. Having a large guest count is great if you have a large family or friend circle, but keep in mind that if you have a modest budget, you will need to keep realistic expectations for how far the money will go. To keep expenses down, or to have a more upscale and elegant wedding on a modest budget, invite fewer people - just close family and friends, and limit plus ones.

Figure Out How Much You are Willing to Spend on Your Big Day

Now, you can figure out how much money you have in your total budget. How much money do you and your fiancé currently have in savings that you can put towards your budget? How much money can you put aside each month until your wedding? Most couples wait a year or two to get married, this allows you time to save each month. Are your families contributing money? Traditionally, the bride’s family paid for the wedding, and the groom’s family paid for the rehearsal dinner. Today, families on both sides contribute different amounts or cover different expenses for the wedding. Ask to see what they are willing and able to contribute. Also, this would be a good time to see if there are any stipulations attached to the contribution. Once you have a total amount of what you can spend on the wedding, honeymoon, and other related expenses, we can divvy it up into different categories.

Allocate Funds for Different Categories

A wedding budget is more than just the total amount you can spend. You need to know how much money to allocate to different categories. Allocating funds to different categories will help you maximize your budget. This also helps you find vendors that match your budget and helps limit overspending. Don’t forget to add your honeymoon, rehearsal dinner, wedding night accommodations, engagement photo shoots, or any other wedding related expenses you may have. So, how do you know how much to spend in each category? Wedding planners use percentages of your total budget for different categories. The percentages used can vary by planner and will also depend on your priorities. I've included below an example breakdown of a budget from a weddingwire.com article and what they projected as averages couples spent in each category in 2020:

Sample Budget Breakdown:

Venue, Catering, Cake, and Rentals: 50%

Photography and Videography: 12%

Wedding Attire, Hair, Makeup: 9%

Flowers, Lighting, Decore: 8%

Reception Music: 7%

Wedding Planner: 3%

Invitations and Stationery: 3%

Officiant and Ceremony Music: 2%

Transportation: 2%

Wedding Rings: 2%

Favors and Gifts: 2%

Averages:

Venue - $3,000-6,000

Buffet Meal - $27 per person + tip, total $1,800-7,000 (60 people x 27 = 1,620)

Hair and Makeup - $150-600

Ceremony Music - $300-600

DJ - $600-1,100

Dress - $800-$1,600

Tux Rental - $100-200

Rentals - $425-$1,000

Flowers - $875-2,300

Officiant - $150-350

Photographer - $1,200-2,800

Wedding Transportation - $495-826

Videographer - $800-$1,500

Cake - $363-700

Wedding Planner - $800-2,500

Stationery - $510

Keep Track of Every Expense

To limit overspending, make sure you are referencing your budget often and update it after every purchase or booking, no matter how little. Those little purchases add up over time! Also, keep in mind that the budget will change over time. You may take a little from one category that is less of a priority to add to another category. The most important thing is to track every purchase (I suggest making a spreadsheet) and make sure to look over it often! 

If you would like extra help in creating your budget, I have budget creation as an a la carte service, or we can set up an individual consultation. Send me a message today, I’d love to help you!