Congratulations, you’re engaged! Your wedding Pinterest boards are probably on overload… but have you thought about the budget for a wedding yet?
Figuring out a wedding budget can be super confusing, especially if you’ve never planned a huge event before.
A wedding budget is crucial when planning because you do not want to start your marriage off in a bad financial position!
Finances are VERY significant in a marriage. Head here to read more on how finances better your marriage.
Even though the wedding day is a big deal, it’s also just a day. Your marriage is going to last your lifetime, so make sure to start your marriage off on the right financial path.
CREATE A SPREADSHEET
The best way to build a budget is with a spreadsheet. But don’t worry, we got you covered. Download the free Wedding Budget Template to get a quick start.
This template breaks down wedding expenses into categories and gives you detailed expenses to plan for. Or at least gives you ideas to start brainstorming.
You can also allocate what each side of the family is going to contribute at the top of the spreadsheet.
Speaking of allocating, let’s move on to allocating the funds!
ALLOCATE FUNDS
You can go about this budget in two ways.
Option number one is to decide on a total budget amount right away.
Option number two is to budget your expenses first and then decide the total budget amount after.
These options depend on your situation, but most people go with option number one. So, that’s how we’re going to budget today.
In the U.S., the average cost of a wedding in 2020 was $19,000 and in 2021 it was $22,500. We’re going to go somewhere in between and use $20,000 as our example budget today.
When allocating your wedding funds, it’s easier to break the cost down into categories.
These percentages are averages for each category of a typical wedding. Of course, after going through these averages, you should customize any specifics for your wedding. Because every wedding is different!
Here is an example of what a $20,000 wedding budget would look like.
| BUDGET AMOUNT | $ 20,000 | |
| ATTIRE | 7% | $ 1,400 |
| BEAUTY | 2% | $ 400 |
| ENTERTAINMENT | 10% | $ 2,000 |
| FLOWERS & DÉCOR | 18% | $ 3,600 |
| INVITES/STATIONARY | 3% | $ 600 |
| GIFTS & FAVORS | 2% | $ 400 |
| PHOTO/VIDEO | 15% | $ 3,000 |
| TRANSPORTATION | 3% | $ 600 |
| VENUE & CATERING | 40% | $ 8,000 |
After calculating these averages, you can break it down even more with the detailed expenses.
Also, make sure you are padding the budget for overspending. It is your wedding day, so it’s easy to get caught up in the moment when shopping around!
KEEP TRACK OF ACTUAL EXPENSES
Once you perfect your wedding budget, you may want to set it aside and never look at it again.
I get it, it’s pretty mentally exhausting… but I promise it’s worth it to keep looking at your budget!
The Wedding Budget Template has columns for you to enter the actual expense amounts, so you can keep track of where you are at with your budget. Which is pretty beneficial.
For example, if you are over budget for an item or two and actually fill out the exact amount spent. You might find out that you have some extra money left in your budget. Which can be a huge bonus to either splurge on a wedding expense or put towards the honeymoon!
I hope you also see the flip side of that example. If you are under budget for an item or two, then keeping track of the actual expenses will help you decide on where to cut expenses in your budget.
PRIORITIES
Discussing your priorities from the start will help you decide on what other expenses can be flexible. Plus, communication is pretty essential in a marriage. Discussing what’s non-negotiable for you and your soon-to-be spouse is a great way to see what’s important to them. You may learn something new about your partner that you didn’t know before!
This also helps down the road if you do end up overspending. Then you and your fiancé already know where to cut costs, rather than having a stressful conversation about it!
BE REALISTIC
Approaching your budget realistically is going to help you with the whole wedding planning process. Don’t kid yourself on certain expenses. If you know that you want to splurge on certain items, then budget for it! There is no shame in wanting what you want for your wedding day, but there are issues when you don’t budget for it.
A budget gives you the freedom to spend as long as you plan for it! This is YOUR budget, after all, so make it freeing not constricting.
Remember how I said finances are pretty important in a marriage? Don’t forget to combine your finances after the wedding day. Learn why that’s beneficial here!
I hope you have an amazing wedding day and an awesome marriage! Follow along for more budgeting tips!
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