How to Build Your Initial Wedding Budget
You’re engaged.
Congratulations!
NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?
I remember feeling excited and overwhelmed during the days following my engagement. I was finally getting to plan my own wedding, but I wasn’t sure exactly how to begin. There were so many factors to consider, but the one that made me feel the most anxious was the budget… so that is exactly where I decided to start.
The most important step at the beginning of wedding planning is building your initial wedding budget. This will serve as the framework for every decision you make going forward. I strongly recommend setting up your budget template (yay spreadsheets!) before you step into a venue or meet with any vendors. Your budget values will likely change throughout your planning process, but it is important to have a general idea of which categories you want to include and roughly what you want spend on each category - in relation to your overall budget - before you sign any contracts. I cover this topic throughout multiple chapters of my book, Low Budget Bride’s Planning Guide: 30 Thrifty Tips for Planning Your Dream Wedding (download the digital copy from Amazon for only $2.99), including the idea of creating multiple budgets for different scenarios and adjusting your budget as you go, so the goal of this post is to give you some tips for setting up your initial budget.
4 Questions to ask before you start your budget:
Who is paying for this wedding?
My recommendation to the couples I have advised on this topic (and the advice I followed for my own wedding) is to plan your budget with the assumption that you and your fiancé/fiancée are paying for everything yourselves. This gives you full control over every decision to be made and eliminates the possibility of expected funding falling through, which could leave you in a difficult financial position if you have already put down deposits and signed contracts.
If you have been/will be gifted guaranteed funding for your wedding from someone else, then you should include that in your initial budget, but be sure to clarify any strings that may be attached to accepting that money. For example, if your parents are giving you a certain amount of money, are they expecting you to get married in their church or to have a say over your final guest list? If there are expectations attached to receiving money for your wedding, then you need to be sure that you and your fiancé/fiancée are comfortable with the terms before counting on those funds.
How long will the engagement be?
If you have a specific date or time of year in mind, this will set your timeline, which also helps determine how much time you have to save from now until the big day.
If your date is flexible, then you can set your budget first and use that to determine how much time you will need to save enough money to cover all of your wedding costs.
What is the estimated amount of total funds available to spend?
To determine this amount, add the answers to the following questions together. Their combined value will give you your base budget amount.
How much money has already been set aside for this wedding by you and your fiancé/fiancée?
How much money is expected to be gifted (if applicable)?
How much money can you and your fiancé/fiancée reasonably plan to save for your wedding throughout the timeline of your engagement?
Are either (or both) of you planning to get a second job/start a side gig to help bring in money for your wedding? If yes, how much additional money will that bring in per month?
Here is an example of this calculation:
How much money has already been set aside for this wedding by you and your fiancé/fiancée? $600
How much money is expected to be gifted (if applicable)? $1,800
How much money can you and your fiancé/fiancée reasonably plan to save for your wedding throughout the timeline of your engagement?
Estimated amount you can collectively save per month = $500
Engagement timeline = 24 months
Total = 24 x $500 = $12,000
Are either (or both) of you planning to get a second job/start a side gig to help bring in money for your wedding? If yes, how much additional money will that bring in per month?
Estimated combined amount you can bring in per month = $300
Timeline = 24 months (engagement timeline) minus 2 months (time to start receiving income from second job/side gig) = 22
Total = 22 x $300 = $6,600
Total estimated funds = $600 + $1,800 + $12,000 + $6,600 = $21,000
Note: If you are not set on a specific date for your wedding, you can adjust your engagement timeline to allow more time to save for your expenses.
How do the following categories rank from most important (bigger budget value) to least important (smaller budget value)?
The 16 categories listed below are ones that you may want to include in your budget. Feel free to add to the list and/or remove any categories that you don’t need before ranking them in order of importance. You can also break these main categories down into smaller budget lines throughout your wedding planning process (such as the subcategories in parentheses below).
Venue (rental, security, optional decor features, chair bows)
Catering (appetizers, entrees, plates, silverware, napkins, food for bridal party while getting ready)
Dessert (cake or other dessert options, plates, silverware, napkins)
Beverages (non-alcoholic drinks, alcohol, mixers, glassware)
Flowers (bouquets and boutonnieres for bridal party, corsages for mothers/grandmothers, decor)
Attire (dress, tux, alterations, shoes, accessories)
Hair/Make-up (services for each or hair/make-up supplies to DIY, hair accessories)
Photography/Videography (photographer, videographer, photo booth, backdrop, photo props)
Marriage Fees (marriage license, church venue rental, required classes through church)
Entertainment (ceremony and/or cocktail hour musicians, reception band, reception MC/DJ)
Professional Staff (day of coordinator, officiant, servers, licensed and insured bartenders)
Ambiance Enhancements (non-floral decor, centerpieces, signage, sparklers/bubbles/etc. for grand exit, additional lighting)
Transportation/Accommodations (hotel for day and/or night of wedding, limo for bridal party between venues, shuttle for out-of-town guests staying at hotels)
Guest Favors (candy for a candy bar display, koozies, goodie bags for out of town guests staying at hotel)
Bridal Party Gifts (accessories for wedding day)
Guest Communication (save-the-dates, invitations, postage, wedding website fees)
Once you’ve answered the questions above, you can begin to build your initial wedding budget.
“If you are not set on a specific date for your wedding, you can adjust your engagement timeline to allow more time to save for your expenses. ”
Start by taking your estimated total budget and divide it by percentages for the following items:
Venue = 25%
Photography/Videography = 25%
Catering (including dessert and beverage) = 25%
Attire = 10%
Other categories = 15%
Next, take the dollar amount allotted to “other categories” and divide it equally for any remaining categories. For example, if your remaining amount is $3,000 and you have 10 more categories, you would assign $300 to each category. If you already know the cost for a category because you’ve found pricing for the vendor or know that you have someone who can provide that service for free, add those amounts in now and adjust the other lines accordingly.
Then shift your budget based on how you ranked those categories, allocating a higher dollar amount for the more important categories and reducing the amount for the less important categories.
The sample below is based on my own wedding expenses, though my actual wedding costs were roughly half of what listed above because I utilized my thrifty tips to reduce expenses.
This sample budget includes paying full price for most of what is listed in parenthesis as well as average costs for each category. There are many ways to reduce a lot of these costs, which are covered in my book and will be covered in future blog posts.
I hope this post gave you direction on how to start planning your wedding. Remember, the numbers are not set in stone until you sign agreements with your vendors and venue(s). You can always take more time to reflect on each budget category, make further adjustments to the numbers, and/or extend your engagement timeline (giving you more time to save) if needed.