How To Create A Wedding Budget

Sun, 4th April, 2010 - Posted by admin

How To Create A Wedding Budget

wedding budget considerations

What is the wedding cost?

Did you know the average wedding costs $30,000-$40,000? That’s a real chunk of change and can really get out of hand without planning. The budget is something you need to create as soon as you start your planning. It will effect everything from your date to your flowers. It presents an outline for your planning, so you know you’re creating an event you can afford. Tradition dictates that the bride’s parents pay for the wedding. In today’s culture, however, that is often not the case.

Frankly, people are no longer saving as they used to, or the newly engaged couple is further along in life and it doesn’t make sense. Whether your parents have a set amount, or whether you’re paying it all yourself, you need a budgeted plan.

What is the whole total? Have discussions with your fiancé and parents. Decide on the total amount as a starting point. One good way of coming up with that number is to start out with a budget of $100 per guest. If you were thinking of having a 300 person wedding, that introduces some reality to the situation. The $100 per person includes catering. When you’re discussing a per head cost with reception venues and caterers, you’ll know how much you have left for the other things. It is absolutely possible to have a wedding on a shoestring or a million dollar shindig. Using a per person cost breaks down a large number into a manageable amount.

Do The Math

Create a spreadsheet to figure out the basics. You can also find templates and examples online if you need help getting started. List out each section (flowers, catering, church, reception hall, music, etc.) Fill in any numbers you already know. Prioritize what’s most important to you and your fiancé. Those are the areas you want to make sure you have plenty of funding for and then make sure you’re willing to compromise on the other sections.

If your wedding and reception are in the same place, than perhaps you don’t need to budget for transportation. If a friend is making your bouquets as a gift, you don’t need a flower budget. Take out the sections that you don’t need costs for.

Record every cost as you go (don’t forget the deposits!) Keep every receipt. Use your spreadsheet to see where you are, and what you have left, at a glance. Adjust as you go so there are never any surprises. The key to a wedding budget is to use it. Make it work as a tool to your advantage, rather than being a slave to the spreadsheet.

As with most things, if you have financial peace (knowing where the money’s going) the wedding itself? A piece of cake.

About The Author

Wedding Planning Advice is a blog for brides created to help them stress less by providing honest and unbiased wedding advice, ideas, and tips. Topics we focus on include wedding planning, wedding invitations, wedding dresses, wedding flowers, weddings on a budget, and of course the bride and groom.

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