Planning any wedding, there are a couple of clear starting points for any couple no matter where you are or the type of wedding you want to have. We recommend couples always begin with deciding on a date and, the sometimes uncomfortable one, a budget.
Your budget drives every decision you make for your wedding. We recommend starting on a budget early because of this, but also because it helps provide clarity in expectations for a wedding. Knowing what the agreed-upon budget is by all parties involved, whether that means you and your fiancé are paying for the wedding yourselves or if families are helping, can help eliminate additional uncomfortable conversations later on and provide everyone a clear understanding of the financial direction of the wedding.
In the beginning stages of budget planning, we would recommend beginning with deciding on the total amount of money you are willing to spend on your wedding. From there, you can begin to break down expected amounts for each category you anticipate throughout your wedding. Weddings can very quickly get very very very expensive without some boundaries on different categories. Now, there are a few items that are typically higher-cost items you should prepare for within your overall budget. Some of these include your venue, photographer, videographer, catering, and wedding gown. We recommend that couples sit down together and choose three of those big-ticket items that are the most important for them. Allow those three items to take up the bulk of your budget and try your best to plan everything else around that.
While it is impossible to perfectly plan a budget, we recommend you do your best to stick to it once you have it finalized. It can be tempting to find a vendor who is just slightly out of budget and be willing to go over. And sometimes, that can be what is best! But when you go over a few hundred dollars for multiple different vendors, soon enough you may find yourself way more over budget than you anticipated. It can quickly add up. Having at least a rough estimate of what you are willing to spend for different categories can really help! And, the great news is that there are wedding vendors for pretty much any type of budget! With enough research and networking, you can find vendors who can work within most budgets.
We know talking about money is awkward and not typically a conversation anyone likes to bring up. It is so beneficial to begin wedding planning with open and clear plans for how much you are willing to spend. It will eliminate multiple more uncomfortable situations throughout engagement if everyone has a clear understanding at the beginning. To help begin these conversations, we’re providing you with a free downloadable copy of our wedding budget template! Just click the link at the bottom of this page to download your copy. As always, we hope you find this to be a beneficial resource in your wedding planning time!
