A wedding in the family can be a stressful event because of the arrangements and expenses that revolve around it. It often leaves family members in a fix, especially while working out wedding budget strategies. If this is your plight, then allow Gharpedia to do the maths for you!
Here, you will get the general wedding budget breakdown based on average wedding costs for every aspect of your wedding, and you will be able to work your wedding budget strategy cleverly.
We assure you that, even if the size of your wedding budget is small, a beautiful celebration is within your reach.
Here, we have restricted our discussion primarily to American and European weddings. Indian/Hindu weddings have more rituals and customs. So, we are dealing with it separately.
There are many obvious and hidden costs, and it is a must to consider them before nailing down where your wedding budget will ultimately land.
Whether you have a vast or small fortune to spend, here is the strategy to set your dream in your wedding budget!
Wedding Budget Strategy:
For the newly engaged, working out a wedding budget is one of the most challenging parts of planning a wedding. But, before that, how do you bring up the discussion? For many couples, talking separately to each family is the best way to have genuinely open talks. When you speak, here are strategies for determining your initial wedding budget!
01. Create a Main Wedding Checklist
Once you have started saving, prepare the main checklist to keep yourself on track. It will give you a brief overview of the approximate wedding budget. With this, you can add or subtract the activities you want to include. In addition, you will now be able to visualise and set your priorities accordingly, without confusion.
02. Consider Your Financial Status and Savings for Wedding
The most crucial aspect here is to know where you stand financially. You do not need to worry about the cost if you are economically sound. However, if finances can be an issue, you must critically examine the budgets and the savings. Understand and analyse everything that is going into the wedding. Cut your coat according to your cloth! Here, the age-old adage still holds good.
03. Figure Out A Basic Wedding Budget
After a discussion with the family about contributions, start figuring out the basic wedding budget on a worksheet. If you know the actual figures, like for rentals, put the real numbers, and for the rest of the activities, keep an approximate number. Ask those family members who have conducted a wedding before yours so that you get an idea about the approximate wedding budget.
04. Contribution of The Couple’s Families for The Wedding
First, you must discuss with your families who will pay for what. Some brides’ families still pick up the entire wedding financing. Ask them to commit to a specific amount, then add all the contributions to create your wedding budget!
Otherwise, it may be easier to ask each parent to finance a particular aspect of the wedding (i.e. honeymoon, ceremony, catering, or wedding photo editing service) instead of just committing to an amount! Also, discuss who pays for what to avoid last-minute confusion.
05. Clear Priorities in Your Wedding Lists
Prioritise which one is important to you in the rank of one to five for the following:
- design and décor,
- venue and location,
- entertainment and music,
- food and drinks,
- your guests
It is natural to get influenced by ideas and concepts you have heard or seen in your favourite fashion magazine or any advertisement or video. Stay authentic and decide what is essential. You and your family need to understand the priorities around the wedding ceremony and plan accordingly. Know where you can cut costs and where you cannot, and then navigate through. It will make the whole wedding arrangement way easier.
Discuss with each other what is most important at the wedding. Make a list of vital elements— what is crucial for your wedding and what you can back off on. It will help you spend your money effectively.
06. Wedding Budget Strategy and Cost Considerations!
Start looking at the budget and cancelling things you don’t need. At every step in planning the wedding budget, prioritise what is important to you. E.g., if you are planning a formal candlelit dinner in the grand ballroom of a fantastic hotel, your wedding budget will automatically rise. Instead, if you have sketched out an afternoon tea and dessert party in your parents’ lovely backyard, you can save a lot of money!
Several significant factors will generally affect what you must set aside for your wedding costs! Set your wedding budget with a certified wedding planner, explaining your needs and choices!
07. Guest list Size!
It is a fact that the higher the number of guests, the more formal and lavish the wedding takes place. There is always an average per-head cost for food and liquor, and these two are typically the most significant expenses of the whole wedding! Therefore, changing the wedding guest list size is the surest way to increase or decrease your wedding costs!
On top of that, the smaller the wedding list, the more you will save on all your other details, including décor, stationery, favours, and rentals because you won’t need as much of everything!
08. Locations: Wedding Venue Settings!
The location of your wedding plays a significant role when working out your budgeting strategies. Some cities and towns are just more expensive than others! Still, small towns and remote destinations can demand higher costs if things like flowers and talent have to come from far away!
Tourist towns can also add to your wedding costs during the peak season! Similarly, specific venues are more expensive than others! Also, be conscious that many popular locations have headcount minimums, which means they will only host a wedding that is small enough. Some may even have a per-head minimum that requires your event to be of a particular size!
09. Time and Date does Matter in Wedding Budget
Highly hunted seasons and days of the week are costlier for obvious reasons! For example, an evening reception is usually more expensive than an afternoon reception. It is not because of higher catering costs for dinner, but because people tend to drink less during the daytime, and many couples choose to go more low-key on elements like music, lighting, and decor!
Pick an off-season date, not those dates that lead to a decrease in your wedding costs. You could score a discount by choosing a less popular month, such as April, May, October, or January.
10. Trending Wedding Styles within Budget!
The more ceremonial the affair, the more luxurious it is because you must match the site, food, and musical entertainment to the overall set tone! Weddings have their language based on the theme they carry. Based on the budget and people’s choices, the wedding styles vary from vintage weddings, Bohemian weddings, beach weddings, modern weddings, rustic weddings, or traditional weddings. The cost for a full six-course meal is typically higher than for a cocktail party with mainly a tiny savoury dish, usually one served as an appetizer. Similarly, the fee for a twelve-piece band is higher than that for a DJ or a quartet; all décor, like lighting, speciality linens, and striking floral displays, will also run up your bill!
11. Get the Best Deal for Wedding Outfits
Many people tend to maintain what they want for their most important day. Justified, but adamantly sticking to that designer wedding outfit from a particular brand and splurging large amounts on it when you can get an equally beautiful outfit at a much lesser price can be pretty foolish. Look around and have talks with multiple people in the business to get the best deal possible. Remain flexible.
12. Go Digital While Inviting
In this modern world, opt for digital invitations, as this will save you 2-3% of your budget. It will also take less time and effort than sending physical invitations. Besides, certain things remain mandatory based on their rituals, different cultures, and religions. Leave them aside and work around things that can be done faster using modern technologies.
13. Categorise your Wedding Budget
Below is a tentative percentage of how much you need to pay for the wedding. This percentage breakdown is according to “the knot” but may vary according to your preferences, financial status, and priority accordingly.
- Venue and Catering – 60%
- Band – 13%
- Wedding Jewellery – 9%
- Photography – 9%
- Flowers – 8%
- Videography – 7%
- Alcohol/Drinks/Mocktails – 8%
- Couples Attire (Dress and Suit) – 7%
- Wedding Planner – 6%
- Event Rentals – 6%
- Lighting and Decor -10%
- DJ – 5%
- Guest Entertainment – 4%
- Transportation – 3%
- Ceremony Musicians – 3%
- Stationery/ Invitation Card -4%
- Cake/Desserts – 2%
- Hair and Makeup -1%
- Wedding Favours and Gifts – 1% Officiant -1%
- Officiant -1%
To avoid the hassle, allocate 5% of your budget for an instant expense increase
14. Honeymoon:
If you are paying for your honeymoon, remember to add this cost to the wedding budget! According to wedding planners, if this is the case, the wedding budget strategy is for couples to set aside around 10-15% of their wedding budget for the honeymoon. However, it is up to the couple’s preference for how they allot their budget for their honeymoon. Speak to holiday planners and figure out places that are exquisite yet affordable. Do not plan one that can drain your pockets.
Since weddings are on the cards and this article has helped you understand wedding budgeting better, we suggest you also read our article on destination weddings. There are a few ways to avoid difficulty and be extra prepared! While destination weddings may seem complex, many can cost the same as those in a big city!
Also, click here to read about weddings in the Indian context:
Indian Weddings: 16 Tips for Your Home Decoration!
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