Wedding Budget 101 (Part 2)

Last week I shared the importance of creating and keeping a budget for your celebration. We covered the cost, the guest list, who’s paying for what, even the date and time is a factor in how much you will spend for a Wedding. How much you will actually need is covered in this weeks’ blog. I hope you find helpful information that will ease your stress that we all know comes with planning a wedding!

1. How Much Do You Actually Need?

Just like purchasing food, a house or clothing, when it comes to a wedding, you should figure out how much you need to spend to get what you want. Set your expectations accordingly.

Here’s a basic breakdown of what you can expect to pay:

Reception: 45-50 percent
Ceremony: 3-4 percent
Attire: 10-15 percent
Flowers: 10-15 percent
Entertainment/Music: 7-10 percent
Photography/Videography: 10-15 percent
Stationery: 2-3 percent
Wedding Rings: 5-10 percent
Parking/Transportation: 2-3 percent
Gifts: 5-10 percent
Miscellaneous: 5 percent (always be ready for unexpected expenses)

To avoid stress, allot 5 percent of your budget for a “just-in-case” fund.

If you’re paying for your honeymoon yourselves, remember to budget for that as well.

How Much Can You Save?

As soon as you’re engaged, start putting aside as much of your income as you can for the wedding. Saving 20 percent of your monthly income would be a great start. The longer your engagement, the more you’ll be able to save for the wedding.

Ways to save: Limit your spending on the small stuff (watch a movie at home, skip take out orders, etc.) These changes will hardly affect your quality of life, but after a year, the extra cash will cover some wedding essentials. You could even go into your marriage being more conscious of your spending habits and save even more money in the long run.

Staying on Budget

Now that you’ve established your budget, you’ll spend the next few months keeping track and allocating your funds. Follow these steps to make sure your spending is where it should be.

Step 1: Create An Effective Budgeting System

Put your accounting skills to work by deciding on a budgeting system to track all the money coming in and out.

Create an expense worksheet and keep track of everything you save and spend. Include due dates that you may have for the Catering Hall and vendors you hire.

Step 2: Keep In Mind Any Additional Cost

Knowing all the costs up front will guarantee that your budget can actually cover it all.

Avoid overtime. If the reception goes into overtime, you’ll probably pay in overtime costs for everyone, from the photographer, DJ and the venue. If you suspect the wedding may go over it’s original contracted time, work overtime costs into your budget—if you don’t use it, it’ll be nice to have some of that budgeted money in your pocket.

Don’t forget to tip. From the janitor who cleans the church to the hotel bellhop who delivers your bags, make sure you allocate additional money for this on your budget.

Ask about any additional service fees. The “service charge” venues usually charge are not for tips for the event staff—it’s actually an additional fee that venues charge to cover their own cost of hiring servers, coat, bathroom and parking attendants, which typically amounts to 15 to 20 percent of the event’s total food and drink fees.

Don’t forget the little things. Things like stamps for the RSVP cards, ribbons for the favors, and marriage license fees seem so small that you can shrug them off, but like any costs, they add up and can take you past your budget limits.

Budget for gratuities. You should also set aside at least $1,000 for gratuities (the additional amount given to your vendors for their hard work). As with a waiter or your make up artist, tips are generally expected unless you’re not satisfied with the service.

Finally, put all your wedding money in one account, (separate from your go to checking or savings account) so you can easily track additions and withdrawals without getting it confused with the rest of your day-to-day funds. Here’s to a successful Wedding.