One of the biggest steps in planning a wedding is coming up with a budget for the event. A budget allows you to decide what is most important for your wedding day and what can be downsized. This is something you and your fiance will need to have a conversation about (or more likely multiple conversations!). What is important for you may not seem as significant to your future spouse and vice versa.
Before you even begin throwing out numbers, sit down with your person and discuss what is most important in your wedding vision. Is it getting married in a vineyard or a modern dining hall? Do you plan on having a multi-course meal served, or would you rather do a buffet style snack bar where people serve themselves? Have you always envisioned a live band? Do you see yourself in a designer gown or are you comfortable wearing something from a local boutique or even something thrifted? All of these decisions will have a significant impact on what your budget will look like. Discuss your dreams and have fun!
Create Your Wedding Budget
I have created a google sheets budget for you to edit yourself and plug in your own budget total and expenses. As you plug in numbers, the sheet will automatically adjust to reflect your cost or percentage based on your preference. For example, say you plan to spend 10% of your budget on decor and your budget is $3500. You can plug in $3500 as your total and adjust the decor to 10% under “calculate by percentage” and the sheet will automatically calculate how much you can spend on decor to stay within budget. If you go over, the total will turn red to let you know you are outside your budget goal.
*Please note you will need to click the link above and then download the file before you are able to edit it. Once you have downloaded the file, open it and follow the steps for using the sheet to calculate your budget. The file is shared through drop box so when you first attempt to download the file, you may get a pop up requesting you to download drop box. If this happens, refresh the page and try again. You do not need to download drop box to be able to access the file.
There are 6 different categories people tend to spend a significant amount of their budget on. You will likely need to choose 2 or 3 of these as your top spending areas and will need to downsize on the rest. I will discuss some higher and lower end options for each and you will likely be able to pick out what your big budget items will be.
Venue
High - If the place you are getting married is quite popular or located in a big city it will likely be more expensive. Some of these venues even come with complete packages. This makes wedding planning simple. The venue takes care of the set up and tear down so you can just enjoy the day. They may even include vendors to cater the wedding which can help make the process smooth and seamless. The drawback is you may be required to use only their vendors which can limit your options and the cost is usually quite high.
Low - Local churches, a field behind a local business or family member’s home, or even parks can be great cost effective options for venues. Don’t be afraid to look around your area and ask whether or not weddings can be held there. Some places even offer simple packages such as a church offering to set up tables and chairs or a park offering use of a covered area for a reception. The important piece here is to plan for your guests' comfort. If you will be outside you may need to rent a wedding tent for sun/rain. If the event takes place in the fall provide blankets or hot drinks for guests to stay warm. We had our wedding at a ministry building that hosts marriage retreats. Because both of us had connections to the ministry we were able to work with people who already knew us and it was a great experience.
Photography
High - Professional wedding photography and videography done by an individual or a team and edited for you will result in some spectacular memories captured. If you go this route it can be thousands of dollars. However, the result is something you can look back on for years to come. Aside from your own memories, pictures and video are one of the only things you can take with you from the big day. For some people, having high quality pictures and/or video is worth the high cost.
Low - There has been a trend where couples will put a note on their invitations that guests are welcome to take photos and videos with their cell phones throughout the event or during the reception. This is a cost effective way to get memories of the big day without the big price tag. The pictures will likely not be as high quality as the results you would get from a professional, but they will be free and taken by people who know and love you, capturing the day from the unique perspective of those attending.
Food/Drinks
High - Catered meals will be the more costly option for food as well as open bars or cocktails for drinks. This can be a wow factor for guests and can be really fun to plan but keep in mind if you go all out you will need people to cook the food, serve the food, clean the food, and if you serve with plates/silverware, you will also be charged for clean up. This can all contribute to a large portion of your budget but can be a memorable part of the day and would work really well for smaller, more intimate weddings with few guests.
Low - Buffet style weddings or snack weddings are an excellent way to save. If you have a morning wedding you can do a simple breakfast buffet with donuts, juice, coffee and fruit. A midday wedding would be perfect for snack foods such as cheese, crackers, dips, and more. If you plan on an evening wedding I have even heard of serving a bunch of pizzas and guests loved it! Your food doesn’t have to be expensive to be a hit.
For our wedding, we realized a couple days before the big day that we had completely forgotten about a wedding cake! We had desserts for guests but had cake cutting listed in the events and I really wanted to have that signature cake cutting picture. I had a moment of panic trying to think of how we were going to get a wedding cake in 2 days before I realized that I didn't need a "wedding cake." I needed a cake for my wedding. My husband loves cheesecake so I called a local bakery and asked if they could make a simple plain cheesecake. We topped the cake with a couple of faux flowers and it was perfect. It was around $30 and tasted incredible.
Music
High - Bands, DJ’s, and any form of live music will be a less affordable option but if music is important to you look up local musicians and see what is in your area. I almost went with dual violinists for my wedding and still feel it would be a beautiful option for a ceremony. Remember if you have a live musician you may also need a DJ to help with sound set up. Some musicians have a person they work with specifically and some may ask that you provide a person to set up sound equipment. A DJ can also help with mics for speeches and can help mic you and your spouse if you have video done of your ceremony.
Low - A couple of speakers and a playlist might be all you need for your wedding. Mics can be purchased online or the place you are at may already have some available. If it is an event center, ask and see if they have some you can borrow or rent for the day.
Clothing
High - For many women the dress they plan to wear has been a part of their wedding day dreams since they were little. If your dress is worth spending a significant portion of your budget there are endless options out there. You may also want to provide matching dresses for your bridesmaids. The fabric, style, designer, number of bridesmaids you have and many other factors can influence how much you will need to set aside. Keep in mind the groom may have big dreams too! Suits are not cheap and if you plan to buy one or multiple it can add up.
Low - Most boutiques have sales racks at heavily discounted prices. This can be a great option if you want the experience of trying on dresses without the fear of blowing half your budget on one dress. You can also find used dresses online or even potentially rent one and return. If you love thrifting there are hundreds of wedding dresses that are donated. Perhaps you can buy one and have it tailored to fit you and altered to update the style. Since the dress will likely be very inexpensive you may be able to spend some of the money you will be saving to give that old dress new life. For bridesmaids you can see if your girls are willing to purchase their own or give them a color palette and let them pick from something they already own. There are also sites that allow you to rent suites and bridesmaid dresses.
Decor
High - Fresh florals, greenery/garlands, lights and renting decorations can all get costly fast. This is one of the most fun parts of wedding planning and it is easy to go outside of your planned budget. If decor is important to you there are florists that offer full service packages to create bouquets, arches, and table settings with the flowers of your choice. You can rent beautiful wooden chairs, tablecloths, chandeliers and more from local suppliers who will set everything up for you and take care of the cleanup when the event is over.
Low - You can purchase faux garlands and greenery from sites like amazon that can help add color and style without the expense. If your wedding is in summer and you really want tons of fresh, real flowers but can’t afford them, look around your area and see if there is an arboretum or greenhouse that would allow you to rent the space for your wedding day. For my bouquets, I found a local flower farm and requested 3 large buckets of flowers in my wedding colors. I then arranged them myself with my bridesmaids the night before the wedding. We had so much fun sitting on the floor and designing our own bouquets. It cost me around $350 and looked incredible.
I substituted the rest of my decor with these faux flowers that look so realistic it’s hard to tell they are fake from an initial glance. Our theme was “woodsy” so we also purchased wood slices and serving trays. They were nearly the same price as renting and I was able to keep them after the event.
Below is a loose approximation of what my budget looked like as an example. Notice how the last expense is "Unplanned Expenses." It is always a good idea to leave yourself a little wiggle room in your budget in the event that there are costs you did not plan for. Tips for vendors, cleanup charges, and package add on's can come as a surprise for couples. This can put you over budget. If it is important that you stick to your budget make sure to leave yourself a little extra to cover these costs.
I hope this will be a valuable resource as you plan for your big day. Finances are one of the first things couples have to work through and having a budget for your wedding day is a great way to practice this important life skill with your partner.
WEDDING BUDGET: $10,000
Venue: $2000 - 20%
Wedding Tent: $700 - 7%
Chair Rental: $150 - 1.5%
Décor/Floral/Lights: $500 - 5%
Invites & Stamps: $100 - 1%
Gifts/Favors: $250 - 2.5
Food & Drinks: $1500 - 15%
Cake/Dessert: $200 - 2%
Clothes: $1000 - 10%
Photography: $2000 - 20%
DJ/Vendors: $1000 - 10%
License/Certificates: $25 - .25%
Officiant: $350 - 3.5%
Unplanned Expenses: $225 - 2.25%
TOTAL: $10,000
*Wedding Budget values were based off of my personal wedding options and may not reflect the same prices you find in your area
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