Weddings are fun celebrations but they cost money. So creating a detailed wedding budget is the first and most important step in wedding planning. Your budget wedding checklist comprises lots of things like the venue, food, drinks, entertainment, and more.
Hence, a realistic wedding budget breakdown is essential. You’ll also discover that guests take a bulk of the money, hence, the need for flexible wedding budget percentages. You must also prepare for other factors like the weather, which could influence the bridal budget. We know the wedding expenses breakdown looks like a task already. But it gets easier when you follow our wedding budget guide.
First things first: prioritize
A crucial lesson on how to budget for a wedding is setting priorities and creating a scale of preference. Ask yourself if you’d love to splurge such an amount on a specific thing, do without, or get something lesser. Curate everything on your wedding checklist into three groups: the must-haves, important but not necessary, and the unimportant. The must-have list would comprise what you can’t do without in the typical wedding budgets. They may also include your dream choices like wedding venues, dress design, destination, and more.
Things that fall into the important but necessary list are items you need but can do without. They could also include things you can substitute. For instance, you could switch a very expensive ball gown from Vera Wang for an affordable Kelly Faetanini ball gown of the same style. Having this list will guide your allocation while creating a wedding budget. You’ll get things you love while saving some cash.
The unimportant list contains the things you can do without. However, if you can afford them, why not? These are the last things to buy after eliminating your wedding budget list.
Then create a spreadsheet
The next step in budgeting for weddings is to create a wedding cost breakdown. A comprehensive spreadsheet will help you accomplish this process. Open your Google doc or Microsoft excel and fill in the columns with relevant details. The wedding breakdown information includes the items, survey cost, actual cost, potential vendors, logistics, tips, and taxes. Add up your expenses and find a subtotal using the auto-sum functions. Tick all your achievements on completed tasks as you progress.
A wedding budget breakdown spreadsheet makes your work easier while helping you track your expenditures. You will work at an even pace even without a wedding planner.
Estimate your percentages
The wedding budget breakdown works best on estimates. It is common knowledge that the catering and wedding venue budget takes a chunk of the money. So here is an average wedding cost breakdown that you can work with. It is realistic, flexible, and leaves room for emergencies. For instance, It is common knowledge that the budget of catering and wedding venue in Dubai takes a chunk of the money.
Venue and Catering
The wedding venue and Catering would take up to 40 percent of your budget. This is largely influenced by the location, size, attractions, services, season, and more. Hence, even smaller halls could cost an arm and a leg if it offers more comfort than some large halls. Also, there are off and peak seasons and days of the week where the prices go up.
Catering can be influenced by the number of guests, complexity of the meal, number of courses, food availability, and more. So you might want to consider these factors before creating the guest list or planning the menu.
Photography and Videography
Photography and videography could take about 15 percent or less. This largely depends on the couple’s preference. If you don’t feel like splurging, opt for student photo and videographers with an impressive body of work. Pay them by the hour and give them a list of pictures you want. If you have friends of the family who are good photographers and videographers, they could do the coverage for a token.
Wedding Attire and Beauty
Your dream dresses, hair, make-up, facials, and accessories could take up to 8 percent of your budget. You can save money in this category by opting for a discount package on your hair, face, and nails. You can also find your dress on sales or rent one. Ask the bridesmaids to wear dresses in cute colors and DIY their hair and makeup.
Music/Entertainment
Music and entertainment is one important item on the wedding costs breakdown that can take 7 percent of your budget. Save money by hiring a wedding DJ who also doubles as an emcee. Let the entertainers use their equipment to avoid mishaps. Let the entertainers use their equipment to avoid mishaps. Hire them by the hour instead of having them around all day. You may also opt for a live band if you so love it.
Other essential items on your budget include:
Flowers that take up 5 percent of your budget
Wedding favors that take up to 2 percent of your budget
Logistics that take up to 3 percent of your budget
Wedding stationery that takes up to 3 percent of your budget
Wedding Cake that takes up to 2 percent of your budget
Wedding décor 8 percent of your budget
Miscellaneous takes between 5 to 7 percent of your budget.
A wedding budget breakdown is quite easy when you know what to do. We’ve curated a comprehensive wedding budget guide that helps you sail through the planning process. From prioritizing to estimating and allocation, we’ve got you covered. Check out our ideas and apply them.
Author: Anastasia Beluschenko, with a specialty in wedding dresses, joined Wedding Forward over five years ago. She knows everything about wedding dresses from styles to trends, fit, and designers. Her great sense of style makes it easy for her to expertly predict the newest and hottest wedding dress trends. For leisure, she loves court tennis and stretching.