A wedding budget template is the most effective way to ensure you have economical weddings. Through this tool, you can allocate money for the wedding expenses. It also helps you to stay within your financial capability. Creating a wedding budget is simple but adhering to it is a challenge.
Table of Contents
What to consider when creating a wedding budget?
Consider the following items while creating a wedding budget;
Priorities
One of the key components of a wedding budget is priorities. You may prioritize venue, vendors, food, photography, etc.
The number of guests
The number of guests takes the biggest portion of a wedding’s budget.
Available finances
You and your partner should decide how much you can afford for the wedding.
How to plan your wedding budget?
Consider the following tips to plan your wedding budget;
Attire
The key component of a wedding is attire. When it comes to attire, you should focus on the bride’s and the groom’s attire. However, you can plan the outfits for the following phases;
- Bridal shower
- Bachelor and bachelorette parties
- Rehearsal dinner
- Veil
- Bridal jewelry and shoes
- Reception/after-party
- Post-wedding brunch
- Wedding dress cleaning and preservation
Beauty
Hair and makeup costs must be included in your wedding budget. It may include the following;
- Pre-wedding haircuts
- Waxing
- Facials
- Shaves
- Mani-pedi
- Lash extensions
- Makeup artist costs
Cake
One of the key moments at weddings is cutting the cake. It will represent the significance of the moment as a wedding is all about creating a memorable time. When it comes to the wedding cake, consider the following things;
- Cake Display
- Cake Stand
- Specialty Design Elements
- Delivery Fee
- Sheet Cake for Extra Servings
Ceremony
The ceremony is considered the main event of the wedding. You need a cost for booking the ceremony site, marriage license fee, ceremony accessories, and church donation.
Food and drinks
Consider hiring caterers for food, drinks, and rentals because they reduce the hustle of organizing food and drinks.
Favors and gifts
As a small gesture, you may decide to give your guest parting gifts to make the day a success and memorable. Thus, you need money to get wedding gifts and appreciation baskets.
Flowers and décor
Include the budget for the following wedding décor;
- Bouquets
- Boutonnieres
- Flower arrangements
- Decorations
- Special lighting during the ceremony and the reception
- Corsages for mothers
- Ceremony arch
- Reception centerpieces
Wedding Stationery
An effective way to communicate to the guests and smooth execution of the wedding is wedding stationery. It includes the following;
- Menus
- Invitation cards(wedding and engagement)
- Thank-you cards
- Envelopes
- Postage
- Escort cards
- Wedding ceremony programs
- Custom napkins
Music entertainment
You should keep the guests entertained specifically during the cocktail hour to reception. Music is an effective way to entertain the guest. Consider the costs for the reception DJ or live band, ceremony musicians, sound system, photo booth, and stage lighting.
Photoshoot
An effective way of preserving the memories of a wedding day is taking pictures and videos. You have to pay the photographers and videographers for the time and the final products. You may need pictures for your engagement session, rehearsal dinner, and other wedding day events.
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Reception venue
You need a huge amount to book a reception venue because it includes the deposit, rental fee, ceremony fee, parking fees, tax, and service fees.
Transportation
It might be possible that you need transportation to and from the ceremony venue and then to the reception. Furthermore, you may also need to provide transportation to guests to ensure that they arrive at the right venues at the right time.
Wedding planner
You and your partner can’t plan a wedding, therefore, you should hire wedding planners who can take the frustration of planning the wedding. The wedding planner is responsible for timeline creation, rehearsal coordination, and wedding day setup and management.
Wedding rings
Wedding rings are another essential component of a wedding budget. Along with the purchase price of the wedding rings, you need money for resizing fees, wedding ring insurance, and customization fees.
Emergency funds
You must have funds for unexpected expenses such as;
- Sales tax
- Service charges
- Vendor tips
- Wedding Insurance
- Overtime fees
Honeymoon
It is important to include the honeymoon cost in the checklist. This makes sure that you don’t have to struggle with the frustration of planning it after the wedding.
FAQ’s
The top cost for a wedding is a venue, engagement ring, and live band. However, your budget may differ from the average depending on the number of guests you will invite, your wedding venue, and other factors.
You should use a wedding budget spreadsheet along with a wedding budget calculator so that the costs are calculated automatically once updated. Write each category of costs separately and start with the higher costs.