How to figure your wedding budget...
The first thing you need to do is come up with a total figure. What is the most you are willing to spend? According to various wedding guides, the largest portions of the wedding budget are usually spent on the reception, the attire, flowers and decorations, photography and music. With this in mind, a good starting point is the following chart:
| 40% |
Reception / Dinner |
| 10% |
Photography / Video |
| 10% |
Attire |
| 10% |
Flowers and Decore |
| 8% |
Music and Entertainment |
| 5% |
Ceremony |
| 5% |
Invitations and Thank you notes |
| 3% |
Wedding Cake |
| 3% |
Transportation |
| 6% |
Other ( favors, gifts, adjustments to the above, misc. ) |
The next step is to personalize the allocation of funds within this chart . If live music is more important to you than the flowers, adjust the percentages to reflect that. If you must have the best photographer in the city, then maybe your uncle should play DJ for the night. Once you have set your percentages, you can multiply your budget by that amount to get your spending cap for specific purchases. Below we have links to our wedding budget worksheet, and a vendor checklist to help you keep track of quotes and payments.
Budget Worksheet
Vendor List
