Making a wedding budget is as important as other arrangements made for this special occasion. It is one of the important parts of your wedding planning and can be a challenging task for you. But it can be made easy with the help of a wedding budget template that will allow you to write everything including the venue for your wedding, catering details, decorations and all other information about the relevant arrangements in a single document. A pre-made budget is helpful for you in many ways and the biggest advantage of it is that you will not be overspending and all the finances will be managed efficiently.
A wedding ceremony is one of the biggest events for the couple getting married and is equally important for their family members as well. Writing down all the financial details on a wedding budget template helps you to make arrangements accordingly.
That’s why it is considered to be the foremost step of your wedding planning. It will help you to manage a huge amount of expenses with the help of a breakdown of all the associated costs.
This article will help you to understand how an effective wedding budget can be made with the help of a template. For this purpose, the things to be included in the template have been discussed and some additional tips are also provided for making your wedding budget effective.
Influencing Factors
There are multiple factors associated with the budget of your wedding and these are known to be the influencing factors. These factors will include the place where you live, the nature of your wedding i.e; local or destination wedding, the number of people you want to invite to your marriage ceremony, and the traditions which will be followed on that day. All these factors should be crucially considered before making all the decisions related to your wedding budget.
Average cost of a wedding: According to the statistics of 2020, $28,964 is considered to be the average amount required for planning your wedding. But it may vary according to the arrangements you want to make on your special day. This average value of cost can also vary over time due to the factor of inflation. People also prefer micro-weddings and minimony in which 50 or only 10 persons are invited. It is one of the ways by which the average cost of a wedding can be reduced considerably.
Pre Considerations for Making a Wedding Budget
Anticipating all the major things is key to making your wedding budget effective. When all the factors will already be considered in terms of finances then you will be able to manage and plan everything in a better way.
Following are some of the things which should be considered by you in advance while planning your wedding budget:
Find out the cost of a wedding in your area
It is important to have complete know-how about how much cost is associated with a wedding in case you decide to have the wedding ceremony in the area of your residence. It is because the wedding cost varies from area to area. This information will give you a clear idea that how much money will be required for arranging your wedding event. You can also choose to arrange the event at any other location if the costs are too high near your location.
Research wedding vendors
Different vendors have different charges and they also offer special packages for arranging marriage ceremonies. There are several vendors that are required for fulfilling various purposes at a wedding ceremony. You should not go for only the vendor familiar to you, rather you should check with different vendors. In this way, you will have more number of options from which an appropriate one can be chosen according to your convenience and wedding budget.
Decide who will pay and for what
It is important to decide at an earlier stage who will be responsible for paying all the expenses of your wedding ceremony. It can be your parents who will be paying all the costs or you and your partner can also choose to manage all the expenses together. It will help everyone to have an idea about how much part of the wedding budget is to be paid by them and they will be able to manage their expenses accordingly. This factor is important to be considered so that all the things can be managed mutually and no one gets burdened in any way.
Specify your priorities
A wedding ceremony is a special event for anybody getting married and you and your partner, both might have different plans for making it exceptional, but everything cannot be implemented in real life. Therefore you should sit with your partner and make a list of all the priorities regarding the type of arrangements you want to make on the day of your wedding. It will allow you to have an idea that what things are required necessarily on that day and then you can vary your wedding budget according to it.
Consider unexpected things
Uncertainty is a part of life, anything unexpected can happen despite all the careful planning and you should leave some space for such uncertainties in your wedding budget template. It will be good if you keep some money with you on the day of your marriage ceremony. It will assist you to deal with any kind of emergency effectively.
Figure out how you will pay
Whether you and your partner or your parents are paying the expenses of your wedding, you will have to decide how the money will be paid. It can be paid either through a check or credit card or from the savings or checking account as well. It is important to determine the way in which all the costs will be paid so that the vendors can be made clear about the transaction of money.
Which Expenses to Include in a Wedding Budget Template?
The expenses in your wedding budget template will completely depend on the nature and theme of your marriage ceremony. It is because all the things will be arranged according to it. Once you will have a complete idea about all the things then you can breakdown your wedding budget into different components with the help of a template.
Some of the important things along with the expected percentage of the wedding budget required to be included in the template have been discussed below:
Venue
A major part of your wedding budget will be allocated for the venue in the template and it usually accounts for 30% of the total expenses. The venue requires a large amount of budget because a lot of factors are to be considered while deciding for it. The venue of your wedding will depend on the type and nature of your wedding, and the number of people being invited for this day.
Catering and band
Catering is very important, it should not only be managed properly but it should also be served appropriately. For ensuring that the catering is good, you will have to allocate almost 23% of your wedding budget for this purpose. You can also choose to arrange a band for live performance on the day of your marriage ceremony and approximately 13% of your budget could be required to spend for this purpose.
Wedding rings
Wedding rings are an important part of your wedding day and both of you would like to have a beautifully designed ring for each other. That’s why 7% of your wedding budget should be specified in the template so that special wedding rings can be made for you and your partner.
Photography
You will surely like to capture all the special moments on your life’s biggest day. So you will have to specify almost 7% of your wedding budget to make sure that all the moments are captured properly. It will also help you to ensure that the quality of your photographs is according to your requirements.
Flowers and drinks
Flowers are a significant component of decorations that will be made on the day of your wedding. Adding flowers to the decorations will enhance the visual scene and for this purpose, 7% of your wedding budget could be specified in the template. On the other hand, the guests will also be served drinks and 7% of the budget can be specified to fulfill this purpose as well.
Videography
Videography involves the recording of all rituals and traditions of your wedding. Having a combined video of all the events of your marriage ceremony will allow you to refresh your memories later on. It will be interesting to see the video of your wedding day with your partner and family members after the wedding. To ensure the good quality of the video, a specific amount of almost 6% budget can be specified for this purpose.
Couple’s attire
Your wedding day will be the most memorable day for you and your spouse and both of you should look beautiful on this special day. Your and your partner’s attire will include the dresses, shoes, jewelry, etc. So the whole attire will have its own significance for having a stunning look on the day of your wedding. 6% out of the total wedding budget can be allocated in the template while planning everything.
Wedding planner
When it comes to perfectly planning your wedding, then you can hire a wedding planner for this purpose.
You can provide him or her with all the details related to your priorities and the kind of arrangements you want on the day of your marriage ceremony, then the wedding planner will do the rest. In this way, you will not have to worry about the little details. And 5% of the wedding budget can be specified for hiring a wedding planner.
Lighting, decor, and Dj
The decorations, lighting, and DJ are also important for your wedding ceremony. You should spare 5% of your wedding budget for making decorations and lighting. You can ask the wedding planner to make all the decorations in relevance to the theme of the wedding. A DJ will also be there so that any type of music can be played in the background and approximately 4% expenses will be required for it.
Guests’ entertainment
It is important to welcome and entertain your guests appropriately so that they can get a good experience of attending your marriage ceremony. You can arrange any dance or music performance, organize any special stall for painting, card readers, etc. It will all depend on your budget and if you want to arrange any of such things, then 3% of your total budget can be allocated for this purpose.
Stationary and transportation
If you are going to arrange a destination wedding and you want to make sure that none of the guests face any issue regarding the cost of transportation, then you will have to arrange transport for them and 3% of your wedding budget can be allocated as a transportation cost in the template.
In addition, 2% cost will be associated with different stationery items such as invitation cards, menu cards, and thank you cards for the guests as well.
Makeup, cake, and dessert
Your makeup and hairstyle must be properly done if you want to complete your stunning look on your special day. It will require a separate breakdown in your template that may account up to 2% of the wedding budget. Moreover, you may choose to cut a cake with your partner the day of your wedding or you can also have dessert presented to the guests after the meal. It may require 1% of your wedding budget.
Officiant
If you want that an officiant should proceed with all the legal matters associated with the wedding ceremony, then you will have to pay his / her fees as well. It will almost need 1% of the wedding budget.
Wedding Budget Templates
Preparing your wedding budget can be a challenging task as there are many things to be considered in this regard. Wedding budget templates can make this thing easy for you. A wedding ceremony requires planning and managing various things, so you can make a list of everything you want to arrange for the day of your wedding.
You can allocate a specific amount of budget for each component as mentioned in the template. It will not only save your time, but it will also give you a sense of relaxation when all the expenses will already be planned. Moreover, it will allow you to avoid any kind of unanticipated problem on the day of your wedding because all the things will have to be managed according to the wedding budget template.
Several wedding budget templates are available online and are free to download. You can search over the internet and can download any template of your choice. Once the template will be downloaded, you can make amendments according to your wedding budget and then get it printed for your use.
Do’s and Don’ts of Making a Budget
Some things should be a part of your wedding budget template and some components should not be included in it. You might not realize these little things so these have been described below as:
Do’s
There are some of the essential components which should be strictly considered while making the template for your wedding budget. Following are some of those elements which will effectively help in making your wedding budget:
- Keep your goals in mind: You and your partner will surely have some goals which both of you want to achieve together in your life. The goals may include a trip to any dream destination or being financially independent. Whatever your mutual goal is, you should make your wedding budget according to that goal, because it will not be a good idea to spend all your savings on your wedding if nothing remains left in your savings for achieving your goals afterward.
- Consider what you can afford: Flamboyant arrangements are attractive for everyone but are not budget-friendly. You will have to be realistic while mentioning all the things in your wedding budget template. You and your partner should have a clear idea about your budget and then you should spend according to your priority list. The essential things such as venue and catering, etc should not be skipped in this regard.
- Set your spending limit: First of all, you need to know about the exact amount which you have available for spending on your wedding day. Your monthly income, savings, and the time left in your wedding will help you in deciding this amount with the consent of your partner. Then you can start allocating funds for specific arrangements and if you are left with some amount at the end, then you can add additional requirements to your list. But if your arrangements are exceeding your spending limit, then you can reconsider the list and eliminate the unnecessary things from it or you can also choose to save some more money by delaying the wedding date.
- Be tough while making guests list: The wedding budget will also depend on the number of guests you will be inviting to your wedding. The size of your guest list will have a major impact on the cost. So you should carefully observe that which persons should be included in your guests’ list.
- Choose venue wisely: Different factors should be considered in advance while deciding to book a particular venue. These factors may include the amount being charged at different venues, the minimum headcount of different halls, etc. If the booking a bigger hall is being too much costly for your wedding budget, then you can go for choosing a relatively smaller hall by reducing the number of guests for your marriage ceremony.
Don’ts
There are some of the things which should be avoided while making the template for your wedding budget. Such things may lead to overspending and can also put you in trouble at any time. So some of the elements have been described below by which you can get saved from making any mistake in this regard:
- Don’t fall into the DIY trap: You may choose to DIY your wedding invitation cards because it seems to be easy for you to get them prepared from anyone else. But there are possibilities that you might not get them according to your theme and expectations, and then you will have to replace them with any other designs which will double your cost. Therefore you should avoid choosing any DIY invitation cards for your wedding.
- Not allocating funds wisely: If you are thinking that you can do everything alone then it is not possible because it is not easy to make all the arrangements for a wedding all alone. You will need to take advice from an elder or from such a person who has previous experience of arranging such events. Otherwise, you will end up with mismanagement due to the wrong allocation of funds which will cause trouble for you as a consequence.
- Not taking the benefit of rewards programs: There are some rewarding programs offered at financial institutions that have been specially designed for planning weddings, so you should sign up for such a program. Cash back and such rewards are offered if you pay the expenses from that account and it will be beneficial for you. In this way, you will also be able to make some savings which will be helpful in making your wedding budget.
- Forgetting to invest in insurance: You can invest in insurance so that you can get benefit for your wedding ceremony. Some vendors also demand wedding insurance coverage so it will be good if you would have done the insurance in advance. In this way, you will also get a sense of security and all the things will then be done with greater ease.
How to Save Money?
Once you have made the wedding budget template, you should proofread it for having a detailed overview. After reviewing it, you can make appropriate changes if the expenses are exceeding your wedding budget. You can make changes at different points which may include:
- You can change the venue if the current venue is expensive.
- The number of guests can be reduced and can be narrowed down to some of the close relatives and friends only.
- You can change the menu by limiting the number of dishes which will be served on the day of your wedding.
- The transportation cost can be reduced if the wedding ceremony and reception will be held at the same place.
- You can choose a DJ over a live band for providing entertainment to guests.
- You can download wedding invitations from the internet and get them customized for your wedding.
- You can use your calligraphy skills for writing the invitation cards rather than getting them prepared on order.
- You can choose to have the packages offered by different vendors which will include more than one number of services for your wedding ceremony.
- Any additional decorations can be skipped if they are disturbing your wedding budget.
Final Thoughts
Managing all the things for your wedding might cause stress and you might feel overwhelmed by all the arrangements especially if you have no previous experience of arranging any such other event. But making a wedding budget in advance can help you in making things easy for you and making a template for this purpose will also be advantageous.
You will be able to observe all the spending and it will help in tracking your expenses so that you can avoid overspending. Moreover, it also allows you to make appropriate decisions for making all the arrangements according to your wedding budget.
