How to Budget For a Wedding: Breakdowns, Examples, and Steps to Making a Good Wedding Budget

Take a look at everything that you have in savings whether it is in the bank, invested, under your mattress, or in stocks and bonds. This money will almost certainly come into play when paying for your wedding.

It’s important to know everything that goes into a wedding. As someone who has never planned one before it’s easy to overlook some of the details such as furniture rental, the centerpieces on every table, entertainment, desserts, and so much more.

Not only is it important to know every aspect of a wedding, but it is also important to know approximately what each one is going to cost. That is essential for making a wedding budget.

Your priorities are going to be different from other people you may have discussed weddings with in the past, and they may be different between you and your partner. You should sit down and decide what are the must-haves and what are you comfortable leaving off.

Do you definitely need 200 people? Want a designer gown? Have a florist in mind already? When you figure out where you can’t cut costs, then it’s easier to know where you can!

Life comes at you fast and just because you save up for one important event doesn't mean all the other expenses will go away.

You have to be sure to factor in your current daily expenses such as rent or mortgage, car payments, or debt you might be paying off. Then there are the future costs such as vacations, other weddings to attend, home repairs, or a down payment on a home.

Working all of this into your overall budget will help you create a more realistic wedding budget.

Sometimes, family and even close friends offer to pay for part of the wedding. If this is the case, getting exact numbers of what people will be contributing will help make your wedding budget.

A portion of your budget should be allotted for the wedding ceremony; specific costs might include:

• Ceremony venue rental
• Marriage license
• Officiant
• Ceremony music
• Any decor needed

The majority of your budget should go to your reception, meaning the venue, food, and beverage costs. These may include:

• Reception venue rental
• Catering (food, service, rentals such as flatware, stemware, china, linens, etc.)
• Bartending (service, alcohol, rentals such as glassware, etc.)

Great wedding photos are a must, so this isn’t something you’ll want to skimp on. Some couples opt out of videography in order to save money, but be sure to consider whether you’ll regret not having this memento to watch later down the road.

• Photography (this might include engagement photography)
• Videography

Think of this as your party soundtrack. In general, DJs are more affordable than bands, but there’s nothing like a live band to get a crowd excited and on their feet.

• Band
• DJ
• Cocktail hour musicians (if different)

All of your wedding stationery, from engagement announcements and save the dates to your thank you notes.

• Engagement announcements
• Save the dates
• Invitations, including RSVP and additional details cards
• Other stationery pieces, including ceremony programs, menus, escort cards, place cards, table number signs, etc.
• Stationery embellishments, such as wax seals, vellum, belly bands, calligraphy, etc.
• Thank you cards
• Postage

Don't forget to budget for your wedding bands. You might want to consider allocating funds for wedding ring insurance, as well.

• Wedding bands
• Ring insurance (For more on this, read our guide to engagement ring insurance.)

Here, you’ll want to budget for both of your wedding-day looks, and wedding party looks if you are covering any hair, makeup, or attire for them.

• Attire (wedding dress, wedding suit)
• Alterations
• Accessories (shoes, veil, jewelry, tie, pocket square, etc.)
• Hair styling
• Makeup styling

How much do wedding flowers typically cost? What about professional lighting? Most couples have no idea how much to budget for florals, lighting, and other wedding decor. We suggest allocating 10% of your overall wedding budget to this sector.

This would include personal flowers (bouquets and boutonnieres for the wedding party and honored guests), as well as ceremony decorations, cocktail hour florals, centerpieces, and other non-floral decorations.

• Flowers (personal and decor flowers)
• Lighting (professional lighting, candles)
• Miscellaneous decor (guest book, ring pillow, signage, frames for photos, etc.)

Wedding favors are a sweet way to send guests home with a parting gift. Don’t forget gifts for your wedding party members to thank them for helping you prepare for the wedding day. Also consider providing welcome bags for guests who traveled to attend the celebration.

• Favors for guests
• Gifts for the wedding party
• Welcome bags

Don’t forget to budget for your wedding dessert. Not a fan of cake? Any other after-dinner sweets you decide to provide should be accounted for here.

• Wedding cake
• Desserts
• Candy bar

Hiring transportation services ensures that everyone gets to where they need to be safely and on time. This may include:

• Newlyweds’ getaway car
• Wedding-party transportation to and from the ceremony, reception, and lodging
• Guest transportation to and from the ceremony, reception, and lodging
• Parking

Based on your wedding budget, you might want to adjust the numbers to also account for:

• Wedding planner/coordinator: 5–15% (Depending on what type of planner you’re using)
• Just-in-case fund: 5–15% (It’s a good idea to have some extra for unexpected expenses)
• Honeymoon: 5% (If you want to plan this for near the wedding)

• Ceremony: $150
• Reception, venue, catering, and rentals: $2250
• Photography and/or videography: $600
• Reception music/entertainment: $500
• Wedding rings: $100
• Wedding attire: $450
• Flowers & decor: $500
• Stationery: $150
• Favors & gifts: $100
• Cake: $100
• Transportation: $100

• Ceremony: $300
• Reception, venue, catering, and rentals: $4500
• Photography and/or videography: $1200
• Reception music/entertainment: $1000
• Wedding rings: $200
• Wedding attire: $900
• Flowers & decor: $1000
• Stationery: $300
• Favors & gifts: $200
• Cake: $200
• Transportation: $200

• Ceremony: $450
• Reception, venue, catering, and rentals: $6750
• Photography and/or videography: $1800
• Reception music/entertainment: $1500
• Wedding rings: $300
• Wedding attire: $1350
• Flowers & decor: $1500
• Stationery: $450
• Favors & gifts: $300
• Cake: $300
• Transportation: $300

• Ceremony: $600
• Reception, venue, catering, and rentals: $9000
• Photography and/or videography: $2400
• Reception music/entertainment: $2000
• Wedding rings: $400
• Wedding attire: $1800
• Flowers & decor: $2000
• Stationery: $600
• Favors & gifts: $400
• Cake: $400
• Transportation: $400

• Ceremony: $900
• Reception, venue, catering, and rentals: $13500
• Photography and/or videography: $3600
• Reception music/entertainment: $3000
• Wedding rings: $600
• Wedding attire: $2700
• Flowers & decor: $3000
• Stationery: $900
• Favors & gifts: $600
• Cake: $600
• Transportation: $600

• Ceremony: $1500
• Reception, venue, catering, and rentals: $22500
• Photography and/or videography: $6000
• Reception music/entertainment: $5000
• Wedding rings: $1000
• Wedding attire: $4500
• Flowers & decor: $5000
• Stationery: $1500
• Favors & gifts: $1000
• Cake: $1000
• Transportation: $1000

As a general rule of thumb, nothing should be charged to credit that can’t be paid off in 30 days. It can be very appealing to put some big expenses on a credit card so you don’t take that financial hit right away. This will end up costing you more in the long run.

Using credit cards to pay for wedding expenses when you have the money to pay them off is a good move. This way you can take advantage of rewards such as cash-back or airline miles. Just remember to pay them off!

It’s crucial to track every penny spent on the wedding, including standard expenses, but also taxes and tips. For example, you’ll want to budget in stamps for your save the dates and wedding invitations.

A few tips to help make tracking your spending easier are:

• Make a spreadsheet
• Open a joint savings or checking account specifically for wedding expenses
• There are also budget apps that can be a convenient way to track your expenses
• Ask for all taxes and fees from vendors up front
• Budget for vendor tips in the beginning

Making a detailed budget will allow you to see where your funds need to be spent. There is always the possibility however that things will change for one reason or another along the way and what you initially budgeted for ends up costing significantly more.

Setting aside money for unforeseen expenses is the best way to be prepared for anything that changes from the original budget. A good number to shoot for is around 5-15% of your total budget amount.

Sometimes sacrifices have to be made in order to cut costs and stay within budget. This is where that priorities list that you made will come in handy. Stick to the must-haves and be prepared to compromise if needed.

A few ways that you can cut costs are:

• Cutting down the guest list
• Choosing a less expensive venue
• Renting clothing/jewelry as opposed to buying
• Going for minimalist decor
• Choosing affordable wedding stationery

There are many ways that you can reduce costs for your wedding. Be sure to track every penny spent and stay within the budget. Little savings here and there will add up. No one wants to go broke because of their wedding.

First, you need to make a list of priorities. This is best done by the partners making separate lists and then compromising to come up with your shared must-haves. Then, go through a budget and set a realistic limit.

This must be an absolute limit that you can and will not go over for any reason. There are always ways to cut costs, so setting this limit will let you know when it’s time to start cutting.

Making a comprehensive breakdown of expenses is a must. This will allow you to come up with a budget for all wedding expenses.

We have provided sample breakdowns and average percentages in this article. It is important to remember that these are just estimates and that your breakdown may be slightly different.

Every family is different when it comes to paying for weddings. Some go the traditional route of the bride's family paying for the majority of the wedding. While others pay for themselves or even get help from the groom's family instead.

Regardless of who decides to help with expenses, if anyone, it helps to know this before creating a budget. You should not rely on receiving monetary gifts while making a budget however if a relative offers to pay for something in particular it helps to factor that into the budget.

Every family is different when it comes to paying for weddings. Some go the traditional route of the bride's family paying for the majority of the wedding. While others pay for themselves or even get help from the groom's family instead.

Regardless of who decides to help with expenses, if anyone, it helps to know this before creating a budget. You should not rely on receiving monetary gifts while making a budget however if a relative offers to pay for something in particular it helps to factor that into the budget.

There are countless ways to save money on your wedding. From the invitations to the vendors at the reception, you don’t have to spend top-dollar on everything in order to have the perfect wedding.

Make sure to shop around for the most cost-effective option every step of the way. And being “thrifty” is not a bad thing at all, reusing/repurposing can be a big money saver for you.

Remember little savings here and there will add up in the end. So save where you can and don’t be ashamed of it, knowing that you aren’t putting yourself into debt with your wedding will make it that much more perfect.