What’s A Good Wedding Budget

How Many Guests You Wish To Invite

Your guest list size will determine how much you’ll need to save for your venue, food, beverages, invitations, favors and anything else you plan to give guests. As a general rule, plan to budget at least $100 per guest.

If you’re planning a wedding on a budget, one of the easiest ways to reduce costs is to invite fewer people and have a more intimate celebration.

Research Wedding Vendors Before Budgeting

While we always recommend couples set their wedding budget early in the planning process, many couples are taking this step too early. Yes, coming up with that total dollar amount you have to spend is essential, but you’ll also need to be able to divide it up to pay for each wedding product or service. That means knowing the average price for each wedding vendor you’re planning on hiring. According to the Grow x WeddingWire study, 75% of couples set a budget before conducting any research on the cost of vendorsa trap that’s easy to fall into. From wedding venues to officiants, wedding planners to caterers, photographers, florists, and more, each vendor has an important role to play, and you’ll want to know what each pro costs so you can more accurately set your budget.

Wedding Reception & Banquet

At this point, it is easier to indicate the average wedding budget numbers. The banquet cost will depend on the number of guests, the category of the restaurant or catering service, the number of meals and drinks, and whether your venue provides furniture, tablecloths and chair covers, dishes, equipment for the dance floor and artist performances, etc. The maximum amounts usually include drinks , festive decoration of the hall, all the necessary equipment, and waiters’ work.

We should also talk about alcohol. Some restaurants allow you to bring your alcohol, but they charge a cork fee on each bottle. If the prices for drinks in the restaurant are too high, it can be beneficial.

How to calculate the number of beverage bottles for your guests? In our sample of the wedding budget, you will need as many drinks:

â Strong alcoholic drinks – 0.5 bottle / person

â Wine – 0.6 bottles / person

â Champagne – 0.3 bottles / person

â Soft drinks – 1.5 l / person

If there are many women among your guests, bringing more wine and champagne and fewer spirits is worth getting. If the guests are predominantly male, on the contrary: more strong alcohol and less wine.

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What Is The Result

The main wedding budget percentages are as follows:

â 41% for a banquet

â 12% for entertainment at the wedding

â 12% clothing and accessories for young people

â 11% goes to video and photography

â 7% wedding cortege

â 8% other expenses, including for the wedding ceremony

Congratulations! Now you know how to make a wedding budget!

There was an excellent example of wedding budgeting of the essential condition for your wedding’s success. To get started, we recommend identifying the main cost items and calculating your wedding approximate cost using our wedding budget tool. Wedding Budget Planner is a wedding budget tracker that will help you collect all the information about your wedding in one place, saving you from chaotic diary entries and lots of flyers. Plan pre-wedding affairs and tasks, control the budget, make lists of contractors and guests, etc.

Wedding Attire Hair And Beauty: 9% Of Total Wedding Budget

You want to look your best on your wedding dayand between your attire, hair, and makeup, it can really add up. Fortunately, there are lots of wedding dresses and tuxedos to choose from at a variety of price points just be sure youre upfront about your budget when you start shopping. And dont forget to factor alterations into your wedding budget breakdown. Tailoring your attire can be costly, but necessary to ensure your gown or tux fits like a glove.

As for hair and makeup, its a good idea to hire professionals for the task. Theyll know how to highlight your best features and guarantee youll look amazing for your entire wedding dayand in photos, too!

Also Check: Wedding Venue Excel Template

Make It Simple Yet Fun

Virginia Elder and her husband were both in their early 20s when they got married in 2005. Having just bought their first house together earlier that year, they didnt have a ton of cash for a huge wedding with a big guest list and lots of expenses.

The couple had a very non-traditional wedding at the Justice of the Peace on a weekday. The only guests in attendance were their friends and immediate families. To stick to a wedding dresses budget, Elder wore a white sundress which she bought for $14 on clearance at Sears and her husband wore one of his fathers suits. Her shoes were borrowed, and they held the reception at their recently purchased home.

Their top tip: Ask guests to provide food and furniture for the big day. Guests brought their own chairs, drinks, and food items to throw on the grill for their BBQ. And their wedding cake was a single-layer sheet cake from Sams Club with a wedding topper from The Dollar Store.

We got married so young, and looking back, we really had no idea what we were doing, says Elder.

We were just in love and nothing else mattered. So we focused on what was important to us, and that was simply that our friends and close family were there to celebrate.

Dont Let The Numbers Fool You

The $19,000 average is steep and thats lower than in recent years, due to smaller-than-normal celebrations during the COVID-19 pandemic. But remember that averages dont tell the whole story. Experts point out that they can easily be skewed.

One $1 million wedding can bring up the average of thousands of $10,000 weddings, says Jessica Bishop, wedding expert and founder of the Budget Savvy Bride.

So treat this data as a benchmark, not an expectation. And you don’t have to spring for all the items on the list. For example, you might decide to skip favors and hook your smartphone up to a speaker system instead of hiring a band or DJ.

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Once You Determine Your Budget Whats Next

Now that you understand how to assess the average wedding cost breakdown and how to use it to inform what you can expect for your own wedding costs, youre ready to take your next steps. Our directory can help you get in touch with venues and vendors in your area to find out how they compare to the local market, and whether they fit into your budget. You can also peruse our library of wedding galleries to see how each wedding vendor youre considering has contributed to other couples’ big days. When youre ready to chat with them to learn more, reach out directly from our site, knowing that you have a confident grasp on what to expect from your vendors and your wedding costs.

Wedding Planning : Wedding Budget By Brideside

The best thing about Wedding Planning 101 from BridSide is how thorough the categories are. With many wedding budget trackers, you wind up with surprise expenses simply because they didnt fit into a category. With BrideSide, youre able to distribute your budget according to your priorities and account for every single expense that youre bound to encounter.

Find it here.

As you can see theres a wedding planning tool out there for everyone. Its not a one-size-fits-all situation so make sure to read through the descriptions and take the ones that sound appealing for a test drive until you find the one that works perfectly with your style.

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Average Cost Of A Wedding Cake

For couples looking to end the night with something sweet, wedding cakes typically cost anywhere from $1.50 to $12.00 per slice, with the overall average landing at $540, according to Wedding Forward. Factors that affect the price include

• ingredients,
• delivery fees, and
• equipment rentals.

Unfortunately, couples hoping that alternatives such as wedding cupcakes may cost them less will likely be disappointed as Wedding Forward reports that common options such as wedding cupcakes or cake pops carry an average price tag of $2.50 to $4.00 per serving — on par with a low- to mid-priced cake.

Remember Time Is Money

Although you may want to dance from dusk until dawn on your wedding night, its better for your budget if you keep the celebration short and sweet. The longer your wedding, the more youll generally need to pay your vendors for their time.

For instance, most venues will have a curfew that youll need to abide by or else youll get charged a fee. Other vendors like caterers, bartenders, or your photographer may also be charging by the hour, so its best to stick to your agreed upon time so you dont pay extra. Keep in mind that the party doesnt have to stop, and you can always make plans to keep the fun going at an alternate location.

Planning a meaningful wedding on a budget doesnt have to be an impossible task. Consider using the Mint app to start saving early and make sure you have the funds to splurge on some special touches for your wedding day, and use our wedding budget calculator to keep your wedding budget realistic all the way up to and after your big day. If youre finding that wedding expenses are coming in over budget, try out our tips to save money on your wedding so that you can focus on celebrating your love.

Also Check: Venue Comparison Spreadsheet

How Much Do Weddings Cost In The Covid

For many betrothed couples, weddings will look very different in 2020 — and perhaps beyond — due to COVID-19.

With most states imposing limits on the number of people attending gatherings and with coronavirus continuing to spread, lavish affairs are being replaced with alternatives, including these three options:

• Shift weddings still involve a large guest list, but guests attend at appointed times
• Microweddings are typically small gatherings with under 50 guests. Most couples plan a larger reception at a later point.
• Minimonies normally involve 10 or fewer guests, mostly including close family members.

While shift weddings will likely retain the high average cost of more traditional affairs, microweddings and minimonies come with much smaller price tags.

In fact, one venue that normally charges approximately $30,000 for a standard wedding with 300 guests has indicated microweddings cost an estimated $2,750 for up to 30 guests or $4,500 for up to 50 guests.

Shoot For A Small Guest List

One of the most impactful ways to save money on your wedding is to have a small guest list. The number of guests influences the cost of things like your venue, catering, rentals, and transportation. And when you have a big guest list, your wedding bills can skyrocket. For example, the average catering expense for a 50-person wedding is about $2,000, but that cost doubles when you expand the guest list to 100 people.

Talk with your fiancé about who youre inviting and try to set a reasonable limit on your guest list. If youre having trouble coming up with a good number, list out all your desired guests and create a few hard rules to trim the head count.

Here are examples of some rules to use:

• No plus-ones allowed
• Only close relatives receive an invite
• Both can only invite 10 of your closest friends

Although it may be difficult to set rules for the guest list, its a fair way to efficiently cut down on your party without having to choose between individuals. If your guest list is untouchable, think about forgoing a bridal party to cut down on the costs of wedding favors, florals, and other services that come along with having bridesmaids and groomsmen.

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Average Wedding Costs In Nc

Youve dreamt about all the fun aspects of your wedding, but now you need to figure out how much theyll cost. The first step of wedding planning before you can even select a venue or a planner is to create a budget. The average wedding costs in NC, specifically the Triangle area, are just over $30,000. It doesnt matter whether or not you are on a tight budget or have the ability to spend more freely, a bit of organization and know-how can help you plan a beautiful wedding without encountering unexpected expenses. Start by creating a list with your priorities and must haves and then take a look at the general wedding budget breakdown below with tips on what to expect based on the average wedding costs in NC.

What Is The Wedding Budgeting Process

One of the first steps in determining your wedding budget breakdown is determining the average cost of a wedding in your area. Your wedding planner can provide you with detailed wedding cost information and can assist you in comparing your dream wedding plans with the average wedding budget in your area. Your planner could also help you to set up a wedding budget checklist that will provide at-a-glance information on individual wedding cost items, as well as how your wedding compares to the average cost of a wedding in your area. You may even want to try using a wedding budget calculator to track costs that include:

• Wedding hair and makeup costs
• Wedding suit rental fees
• Overall wedding catering cost per person
• The average wedding cost breakdown

Using a wedding budget template can help you to create and to work through your wedding budget checklist more efficiently. You may also be able to use your wedding budget planner or spreadsheet to compare the average cost of a wedding venue or wedding catering cost with the price you are considering paying for these services. By comparing your wedding cost with the average cost of a wedding in your area, you may be able to identify areas in which you and your partner can save money when planning your wedding.

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How Wedding Costs Have Changed Over Time

Aside from 2020, there have been more than 2 million marriages every year since 2000. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of marriages fell to 1.3 million in 2020 a year-over-year drop of 37%. Despite this drop, a per-wedding cost that continued to exceed $20,000 coupled with high numbers of people who still went forward with their planned weddings meant people still spent more than $25 billion on weddings.

ValuePenguin estimates that Americans spent a yearly average of $50 billion on weddings from 2015 to 2020.

Given the unprecedented effects that 2020 had on the wedding industry even though earnings were high it’s likely that the cost of weddings in the rest of 2021 will resemble the more conventional cost of weddings in 2019. The average cost of a wedding that year was 18% higher than it was in 2020.