HOW TO CREATE A WEDDING BUDGET IN 3 INCREDIBLY SIMPLE STEPS

With a new ring on your finger (congratulations!), it’s time to start the wedding planning process. 

But before you start planning, you need to know how much you’re willing and able to spend. That involves creating a wedding budget to track all of your expenses throughout your wedding planning journey. 

But planning a wedding budget can seem like a daunting task! After all, the majority of people haven’t had to create a wedding budget before. 

Don’t worry! We’ll chat all about how to create a wedding budget in 3 easy steps in this post. Plus I’ll give you wedding budget tips to know as you plan for your own. 

How to Create a Wedding Budget in 3 Incredibly Easy Steps

Believe it or not, creating a wedding budget can help take a lot of stress off the planning process! Following the numbers and staying within the confines of what you’re willing to spend helps reduce the number of decisions you’ll need to make. 

So, when you’re ready to plan your wedding budget, follow these 3 simple steps to do it! 

Step 1: Determine your overall amount you’re willing and able to spend

The first thing you’ll need to do is figure out how much to spend on your big day. The best way to do it is to sit down with your partner and look at your financial situation. 

Look at your savings and your partner’s savings

If you’ve set aside savings, and you’re comfortable pulling from them, look at how much is in your account. I don’t recommend taking away from your emergency funds, such as living expenses you’ve saved up for. But if you have anything leftover, and if you’re willing to use it on your wedding day, then write that number down. 

Look at your combined income

In order to do this, jot down all of your monthly expenses such as rent and utilities, gas for your car, grocery money, and any other payments you make each month. Subtract that from your monthly income. Then, set aside up to 10% of your remaining monthly income to go towards your wedding budget. If 10% is a bit steep, consider pushing your wedding day out a bit farther and setting aside a percentage that is sustainable for the two of you. 

Have an open and honest conversation with each other

Once you’ve determined how much you’re able to spend, you need to discuss how much you’re willing to spend on your wedding day. Sit down with your partner and agree to be open and honest with each other as you decide how much you want to spend on your wedding day. 

You both need to be on the same page when it comes to what you want your wedding day to look like. And that will also help you decide on how much you’re willing to spend. 

Having an honest conversation will also help you both start your marriage on the right foot. Knowing you can talk to each other about difficult conversations, such as finances, is so important in a strong relationship! 

Talk to your parents and loved ones

Don’t assume your parents or loved ones will automatically chip in on your wedding day. But, don’t assume they won’t either! Have a conversation with them about whether or not they can chip in on the day’s expenses. Then take that into consideration when planning a wedding budget.

Step 2: Create a spreadsheet for a wedding budget

Now that you’ve narrowed down the overall number you’re capable of spending for your big day, it’s time to create the actual spreadsheet to track all of your expenses. 

Set up a spreadsheet with 3 columns

Make a spreadsheet for a wedding budget using Excel or Google Sheets. Write down all of the potential vendor categories you may end up hiring for your big day. Then create 3 columns - an estimate column, an actual cost column, and a difference column. 

For the estimate column, write down an estimate of the service price for each vendor type. You can base this number off of research you’ve done of the particular service. Don’t forget to include tax in your estimations! 

In the actual cost column, you’ll write down the cost of what you actually paid for that vendor type. 

And in the difference column, you’ll subtract the difference between the estimate and the actual cost you paid. 

This will keep you on track for how much you budgeted for, how much you spent, and how much you have leftover to contribute towards another vendor type. 

These 3 columns are exactly how I lay out my wedding budget spreadsheets for my clients. If you want to get your hands on it, click here to learn more about my wedding planning services! 

Step 3: Set your wedding day priorities and lay out vendor percentages

Ultimately, you will need to set aside certain percentages based on vendor type. However, your wedding day budget can be customised based on what’s most important to you and your big day. 

Decide your top 3 wedding day priorities

Talk with your partner about what the two of you find most important on your wedding day. You can then customise your budget based on those three things! 

For example, if you want a top-notch wedding photographer, but you’re not as interested in wedding videography, then you can tailor a wedding budget to match. 

Set your vendor percentages for your wedding budget

With your 3 wedding budget priorities set, you can now start to determine the percentages you’re able to spend for each part of your wedding day. 

No matter what your priorities are, I always recommend you set aside the largest part of a wedding budget for your venue, catering, and alcohol. That means around 50% of your entire budget should go towards those three things. 

Florals should be set around 8-10% of your entire budget. 

Your wedding photography should be around 8-10% of your wedding budget. 

All of your stationery and wedding decor (linens, centerpieces, chair rentals) should make up 4-5% of your budget. 

And a DJ and entertainment should be around 3% of your budget. 

But, all of these numbers can be customised and tailored to your priorities! 

Planning a wedding budget is the first necessary step in the wedding planning process. You’ll be amazed at how much stress it will take away from creating the wedding of your dreams! 

But working with a wedding budget isn’t everyone’s forte. If that’s the case, I can help you! For my full wedding planning clients, we sit down together to go over your wedding budget. And then I’ll handle the wedding budget to make sure everything fits within the confines of the number you’re willing to spend. 

If you want more information about my full wedding planning service, click here!