Realistic Wedding Budget

Last week, our Special Moments Event Planning blog tackled the ugly side of wedding planning.

We explored why creating a wedding guest list and budget are so important at the beginning of wedding planning.

Basically, suppose you haven’t set a budget and don’t know how many guests you can realistically invite based on that budget. In that case, you’ll have difficulty picking the appropriate wedding venue.

This week, we tackle the rest of the budgeting and help “you do you”!

 

The Other 50%

Last week, we discussed the fact that approximately 48-50% of the average wedding budget goes toward food and beverages.

This week, we dive into the other 50% of the budget and decide how much to spend where. And it’s not nearly as cut and dry as you might think.

 

 

What Makes Up The Other Half?

We know this will sound weird, but you are free to decide what makes up the other half of your budget.

Only you know what to include in your budget. For most people, it includes photography and maybe videography. It will also consist of flowers, invitations, and probably a wedding cake. 

Each couple will want to include different things based on their likes and dislikes. If you want a fun photo booth, that would be awesome! But it has to go into the budget. For some, it might mean investing in cool linens and tabletop decor. For others, it might be some specialty musicians.

It’s different for every wedding we have ever designed. Not two weddings are alike.

 

And Then There’s Family!

And we mean that is only the very best way!

Because of family and some very close friends your wedding budget coupole change drastically.

We’ve seen cases where grandmom offered to pay for a bride’s wedding gown, which was not included in the budget. In another case, the bride’s aunt was a professional baker, so the wedding cake was not included in the budget.

In Latin cultures, sponsors, known as Padrinos or Madrinas, sponsor parts of the wedding. While some may sponsor coins, lariats, or veils, others may sponsor other parts of the wedding. 

 

 

And Then There’s You

That’s you, collectively, as a couple.

You’ve got a dollar amount for your budget, and you know what things will be part of your wedding budget and any that might be gifted.

Now, it’s time to assign a dollar value to each part of your budget. Basically, how much can you spend on a band, your flowers, and everything else?

While there are some interesting wedding budgeting tools, apps, and formulas available online, they all have one flaw. They don’t consider what is important to you and your fiance! 

The best way to budget is to look at what’s important to each of you and invest in those things, filling in the other things that might be less important as the budget allows.

 

 

But How Do You Do That

People always say that marriage is about compromise, starting with wedding planning.

Individually, each of you should write down the ten most important parts of your wedding – aside from actually marrying each other, of course. 

Spoiler Alert: most couples find that their lists are very different. One of you might be into music and want steel drums for cocktail hour, and the other might want to invest in fantastic photography to document your day and create beautiful portraits.

There is no wrong answer!

Next, you want to look at both lists and compromise to put everything onto one list ranked most important to those of less importance.

It’ll take a while, but it’s so worth it! You can use some budgeting apps and tweak the percentages to reflect better what items are most important to each of you.

 

Continuing in the New Year!

Now that we’ve given you some food for thought, let us know what you think. Please send us a short email at [email protected] with your planning questions!

We’ll dive farther into wedding planning advice early in 2025!