It’s no secret that weddings are expensive (although I was surprised to find out how expensive). And while figuring out your wedding budget is often the scariest part of planning, it’s also one of the most important!
There’s a big difference between a $10,000 wedding and a $100,000 wedding, so it’s important to figure your budget out first, before you start meeting with vendors and planning your big day. (For the record, I truly believe a $10,000 wedding can be just as amazing as a $100,000 wedding if you’re clever.)
Let’s start with deciding who is going to throw in money. Long gone are the days when only the bride’s family can shell out for the big day, so it’s important to talk to anyone who might throw in — your family and his family — and then see what you’re working with. Then, figure out what you might be able to add to the pot to come up with the ceiling of what you’ll spend total. For me, that number is $15,000, but because a third of that will come out of my own pocket, we’re trying to keep it closer to $10,000.
Once you have a number in mind, it’s important to decide what you can spend with each vendor. To put this into perspective, check out these percentages:
- Transportation: 2%
- Paper Products: 3% (invitations, response cards, thank you cards, postage, the guest book, etc.)
- Bridal Party Gifts: 3% (Don’t forget your parents too!)
- The Ceremony: 3% (the marriage license, officiant fee, musician fees, the ring pillow, etc.)
- Wedding Bands: 3%
- Flowers: 8%
- Music: 8%
- Attire: 10% (includes your gown, the veil, tux rentals, shoes & accessories, jewelry, hair and makeup, etc, etc, etc.)
- Photography & Videography: 12%
- The Reception: 48% (food & drink, cake, location fees and any rentals)
Of course, that’s more of a guideline than anything else. For instance, we’re having our ceremony and reception at the same place, so we skipped out on transportation and spent a little more on a photographer. Really, the percentage list is just to put things into perspective. You can easily take money from one area to spend it on another, based on what’s more important to you and your groom.
Now what should you do with all these numbers? My suggestion would be to create a spreadsheet that lists out all the expenses and the goal of how much you’d like to spend on each. As you book vendors, fill in actual numbers so we can keep track of what’s been spent where and how much you have left.
To help, I took my own personal spreadsheet (removed all my information) and adapted it for you to download & use. After downloading, all you have to do is fill in your budget and the amounts will automatically change based on your budget.
As time went on in my planning, my spreadsheet actually got pretty in-depth. It now includes information on who’s paying for what and if a deposit has been sent to a vendor, the remaining balance and when it’s due — some of that has been included in the downloadable version I created for you. But really, my version is just a start, as you begin booking vendors, you’ll be able to adapt it as you see fit.
In the meantime, now you’re ready to tackle the budget issue! Any questions?
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