After your engagement and saying “I will marry you,” the next step is preparing for your wedding. To bring your dream wedding to life you should start with a budget.
A budget is the most important step in your wedding preparation. The wedding preparation is exhausting, overwhelming, and a lot of second-guessing, a wedding budget will assist your journey not to be hard.
Preparing a wedding budget does not have to be complicated; with this article, we will go through all the wedding budget breakdowns.
Simple Wedding Budget Breakdown
A simple wedding breakdown starts with the couple deciding on their finances. Finances are crucial to your wedding preparation, finding finances is hard if you are low on budget. You can get finances from your family and friends, and savings account.
The engagement period is a perfect opportunity to start having an account that is solely dedicated to your wedding budget.
Having an engagement party could raise the wedding funds by having people purchase merch at the entrance of your wedding ceremony.
Once you have gotten your total, you can have a breakdown based on the budget. It is important to work on a checklist and prioritize items on the list.
Budget allocation for your wedding should be in percentages. That way, you can work by starting with what has the highest percentage.
Below is an example of a wedding percentage breakdown that can guide you in developing your wedding budget;
- Venue and Catering:35 percent of the total budget
- Wedding Planning:12 percent of the total budget
- Photography, Videography, and Content Creation:10 percent of the total budget
- Stationery: 5 percent of the total budget
- Wedding Attire and Beauty: 5 percent of the total budget
- Music and Entertainment: 5 percent of the total budget
- Flowers:6 percent of the total budget
- Décor:10 percent of the total budget
- Transportation: 5 percent of the total budget
- Cake: 3 percent of the total budget
- Favors and Gifts: 2 percent of the total budget
- Miscellaneous: 2 percent of the total budget
Considerations For The Wedding Budget
There are various factors to consider that can influence the wedding budget. The factors that will be considered according to your budget are as follows;
- Venue and Catering
The wedding venue is the most important part of the wedding and yet costly. It is important to consider the venue where it will be located; it could be a destination wedding, which obviously will be expensive.
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Some venues need booking; some will charge according to the headcount of people at the wedding.
The time of the year and day of the week, the costs can vary for a particular venue. These factors will influence the cost of the venue.
Budget for the wedding according to what you and your partner have set in the budget. In suburban areas, the cost of a venue will be higher than in a mid-town, downtown, or backyard area.
- Wedding Planning Costs
Wedding planning can be stress relieving as this involves engaging people who have more experience. The wedding planners come in handy, especially for people who have no experience in planning a wedding.
Having a wedding planner can save you costs since they will be negotiating with your vendors, and also, they know which vendor will work with your budget.
Most wedding planners have experience in wedding planning, they can look into to the fine print of a contract, terms and conditions, this will help you to save on cost; and also not mess with the big day.
Consider having a wedding planner who lives in the city you are going to have the wedding since they will have more connections, and it will be less hassle for you.
- Photography, Videography, and Content Creation
The photos and videos for your wedding are memories of that one day. Videography and photos take up a huge percentage of the wedding budget.
Photography and videos are expensive you can opt to ask a close friend if they can take your photos. The content creation is easy to do on your own, as long as you have your tripod and phone.
Most photographers have packages that will suit your needs, you can consider the editing, albums, extra shoots, content creation, and videos of different lengths and styles.
- Stationery
The stationery for your wedding includes card invitations, thank you cards, postage, and save the dates.
Stationeries are out of style with the new generation of apps for different things it is best to go digital. Some people don’t check their postal letters so some of your guests can miss out on the RSVP.
You could consider using apps such as Canva to do your own invitations and sign them yourself to reduce the cost of calligraphy.
- Wedding Attire and Beauty
The wedding dress and make-up are things that are important for your wedding.
Wedding gowns are expensive, but this should not stop you from having your Cinderella moment at your wedding. Having a gown that is affordable you can opt to hire one or ask a family or friend to use their gown. The groom can hire a tuxedo or just get a nice black suit that is not tailor-made.
The brand also influences the wedding gown costs. For a low-budget wedding, you can use one gown for both walking down the aisle and reception.
Wedding make-up with the trending clean girl aesthetic is simple to do your makeup. The makeup trend is not complicated, all rather you can ask your bridesmaids to pay for a makeup artist.
- Music and Entertainment
Having a DJ, live music, and a Hype man for your wedding is something to consider. Consider choosing the type of music you would want to be played at your wedding, and have a particular band or DJ that is not expensive. Most DJ companies supply you with lighting and A/V equipment.
- Flowers and Decor
Buying flowers for your decor and for the bride can be expensive. The couple can consider buying flower backdrops and flower archs for the wedding. They could opt to DIY their flower and decor.
- The Wedding Cake
A wedding cake can be sourced from an independent bakery according to the style of your wedding, or it can be offered by the caterer you choose. The more the tiers, the more the expense; the more the decor, the more the expenses.
Creative Ideas For Budget Wedding
For a wedding there are many DIY ideas one can incorporate into one's wedding. The basics for a wedding can be within a budget.
- Wedding Venue
An outdoor wedding on a sunny day is beautiful; you can have a backyard wedding. In your circle of friends or relatives, you can find someone who has a backyard venue that is suitable for your wedding. The backyard can be decorated to give you the aesthetics that you need.
- Bake Your Own Wedding Cake
A homemade cake cannot be so bad, it could be time-consuming but the best way to save on the wedding costs. Ask a friend or family member to assist you in baking your wedding cake. This way also you have more control over how your cake to be.
- Photography and Videography
Friends can also be your photographers for the day. The photos can be taken by your guests and uploaded to Google Pics so that you can view them later. You can make a vlog for your wedding, “Get ready with me for my wedding.”
- Design it yourself
The wedding decor can be designed by yourself, you can definitely DIY your flower arch, flower centers, and flower bouquets by using wildflowers in glass jars or vases and using fairy lights for lighting the venue.
Wedding Budget Mistakes: What to Avoid
- Not tracking your expenses.
Having you and your partner tracking your expenses is seeing the budget in comparison to actual expenses. You can use Google Sheets, Google Docs, and a budget app to track all the expenses to see where you are spending more money and how to cut down on costs.
- Not negotiating with vendors
Do not be afraid to negotiate even for the little expense. Most vendors will work with your budget, and you will be surprised at how many vendors can customize a package for you.
You should negotiate with at least three vendors and find one with the least cost, and that is able to work with your budget.
Offering to pay in full and upfront won’t hurt, either.
- Inaccurate Wedding Estimates
Not having accurate proposals can lead to you budgeting to high and missing out on other things taht would be crucial to your wedding. Do not rely on word of mouth from friends and family; you should call vendors and get different proposals from at least three vendors to have an estimate for the budget.
- Not Prioritising
Budgeting realistic is crucial, having essentials and non-essentials is the way to go.
You should have a non-negotiable list and a negotiable list. The non-negotiable are must-haves that you can not cut out of your wedding plan.
FAQs
1. Where should I start in creating a wedding budget?
The first step is knowing your financial position with your partner. Discuss how and where you can get finances from.
2. What percentage of the wedding budget should be allocated to each category?
Percentages for the wedding are dependent on your priorities as a couple. Some couples would opt to have a higher percentage of food rather than food since it is a backyard wedding.
3. How can I save money on the wedding venue?
Having a low-budget wedding is achievable by making your own decor and cake. Having family and friends contributing their skills to the wedding. Have a wedding during the off-season or on weekdays.
4. What are some tips for cutting costs on wedding attire?
A wedding attire, you can rent a gown rather than buy one. Reduce the number of bridesmaids, or you can choose not to have bridesmaids in the line-up.
5. How can I find affordable photographers and videographers without compromising on quality?
Make social media your friend, search for photographers, and request proposals so that you can compare the costs. Inform them of your budget then work with different customised packages.
6. What are some creative ideas for budget-friendly wedding decorations?
You can DIY your wedding decor, use fairy lights, and use candles in mason jars and flowers with greenery. This could be something borrowed from your family.
Always do a cost analysis before your DIY project versus buying a decor.
7. How can I save money on wedding invitations and stationery?
Always go digital for invitation cards and thank you cards. Use a group chat to invite your family and friends.
8. Are there any less expensive options for wedding transportation?
Your guests can carpool and use local buses if the wedding is near a bus stop. You can choose to have the wedding ceremony in the same place as the reception.