Wedding Budget
I get it we all want to feel like a million bucks on wedding day regardless of our budget. How can you achieve this feeling without being stressed out about your budget? You should set realistic expectations from the very beginning. What are you going to do yourself and what are you going to outsource (or hire) to make your wedding happen? Your budget will be divided into categories according to how you are planning your wedding. Most couples plan out allotted funds for each of the following:
Venue
Catering
Bar
Photography
Attire (Dress, Veil, Shoes, Jewelry, Tux etc)
Planner/Coordinator
Florist/Decor
DJ/Band
Hair & Makeup
Officiant
Videography
Cake/Desserts
Photo Booth/Extras
Transportation
Invitations
Rehearsal Dinner
Hotel Rooms (Getting Ready and Wedding Night)
These are a lot of vendors to spread through any budget and vendors charge various prices. Your budget determines your options. For example: Your catering budget could be limited to instead of plated you choose food stations or buffet OR you might have to choose a food truck or a more nontraditional catering option for food. If your venue includes alcohol your budget for venue and alcohol is going to be very high. You normally save money choosing a venue that allows you to bring in your own alcohol and then you hire your caterer for bartending services.
On average most couples spend between $20,000 to $60,000 on weddings. Most venues will cost you between $3000-$8000 for any Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Your catering bill depending on your guest count typically ranges from $5000-$10,000 (normally includes bartending services). Those two categories alone take up the majority of your budget. Photography services typically range from $2000-$4000, Floral/Decor from $3000-$6000, DJ $1000-$2000, Band $3500-$6000 (if you hire a band you might have to rent a stage, you will have between 4 and 8 vendor meals etc) and so on.
Make good decisions on how you budget your money when hiring vendors, every vendor is an investment for your wedding and each plays an important part. If food and alcohol are important to you invest a lot in that vendor, if flowers mean the most to you invest more into your flowers/design and if the location means everything to you then make sure to book them in advance and understand the costs involved on that venue.
There isn't a magical way to greatly expand a budget these days, but you can still have a wonderful wedding working with a smaller budget if you have realistic expectations and can have fun and be creative in the process. Sometimes its better that way, then you don't have to sign off on or take on a lot of the decisions etc that come with those additional things.
Managing a bigger budget is just as hard, making sure that you have everything that you want covered and then organizing everything, which comes with a lot of planning and decisions.
After securing your vendors make sure to set you payment schedules and add payments on your calendar. Make sure to understand and notate when final payments are due for venues, catering (you have to provide final menu choices and guest count normally two weeks prior to wedding date) and all other vendors.
Managing a budget is stressful and I normally hear that couples either stay on budget or go over budget and normally when couples go over budget they expect it from the beginning and sometimes it starts with the dress or the venue. Do you research and compare quotes and options and make the decision that makes the most sense for you and your wedding.
I know it will be wonderful!
Venue
Catering
Bar
Photography
Attire (Dress, Veil, Shoes, Jewelry, Tux etc)
Planner/Coordinator
Florist/Decor
DJ/Band
Hair & Makeup
Officiant
Videography
Cake/Desserts
Photo Booth/Extras
Transportation
Invitations
Rehearsal Dinner
Hotel Rooms (Getting Ready and Wedding Night)
These are a lot of vendors to spread through any budget and vendors charge various prices. Your budget determines your options. For example: Your catering budget could be limited to instead of plated you choose food stations or buffet OR you might have to choose a food truck or a more nontraditional catering option for food. If your venue includes alcohol your budget for venue and alcohol is going to be very high. You normally save money choosing a venue that allows you to bring in your own alcohol and then you hire your caterer for bartending services.
On average most couples spend between $20,000 to $60,000 on weddings. Most venues will cost you between $3000-$8000 for any Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Your catering bill depending on your guest count typically ranges from $5000-$10,000 (normally includes bartending services). Those two categories alone take up the majority of your budget. Photography services typically range from $2000-$4000, Floral/Decor from $3000-$6000, DJ $1000-$2000, Band $3500-$6000 (if you hire a band you might have to rent a stage, you will have between 4 and 8 vendor meals etc) and so on.
Make good decisions on how you budget your money when hiring vendors, every vendor is an investment for your wedding and each plays an important part. If food and alcohol are important to you invest a lot in that vendor, if flowers mean the most to you invest more into your flowers/design and if the location means everything to you then make sure to book them in advance and understand the costs involved on that venue.
There isn't a magical way to greatly expand a budget these days, but you can still have a wonderful wedding working with a smaller budget if you have realistic expectations and can have fun and be creative in the process. Sometimes its better that way, then you don't have to sign off on or take on a lot of the decisions etc that come with those additional things.
Managing a bigger budget is just as hard, making sure that you have everything that you want covered and then organizing everything, which comes with a lot of planning and decisions.
After securing your vendors make sure to set you payment schedules and add payments on your calendar. Make sure to understand and notate when final payments are due for venues, catering (you have to provide final menu choices and guest count normally two weeks prior to wedding date) and all other vendors.
Managing a budget is stressful and I normally hear that couples either stay on budget or go over budget and normally when couples go over budget they expect it from the beginning and sometimes it starts with the dress or the venue. Do you research and compare quotes and options and make the decision that makes the most sense for you and your wedding.
I know it will be wonderful!