Your wedding should be one of the most special days of your life. But first, you have some planning to do. So, where to start? With the wedding budget, of course! While creating a wedding budget, it helps to understand the total amount you can afford to spend or want to spend.
If you don’t have the savings for it, you can also take out a personal loan for wedding. But first, let’s figure out how to budget for a wedding. Let’s walk through how to create a wedding budget that fulfils your dreams without breaking your bank account.
Six Easy Steps to Create Your Wedding Budget
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Write Down Your Savings
Have you already saved up anything as a couple for the wedding? If yes, note down the numbers. To add context, the average wedding costs about $30,000, an extra $5,100 if you add honeymoon to the equation. However, that’s just an average estimation and you don’t have to spend exactly that amount to have a good wedding. If you are content with what you have saved and think it’s enough, then great! Don’t feel pressured by others.
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Write Down Your Parents’ Contribution to the Expenses
Once upon a time, parents used to foot most of the bills but this is 2024! People take care of most of their wedding expenses themselves with significant contributions from parents. But you can’t simply assume that they will be contributing. If you haven’t talked with your parents, you should open up the conversation after engagement so you are all in the clear about who will be taking care of what.
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Can You Make Any Extra Money Before the Big Day?
After writing down your savings and your parents’ contribution, if you think you want a little more in the savings then try looking for a quick gig. But before we talk about that, a wedding is about the love two people share and you don’t need fancy declarations. But if you want to spend more without financing anything, then side hustles would be best for you. Even a couple hundred more could make a huge difference.
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Pick Three Non-negotiables
Think about the vision you and your partner have for the wedding. Discuss every idea and concept you have thought about in passing before. Then narrow it down to three non-negotiables. Décor? Venue? Photography? These three aren’t necessarily the most important ones, rather they should be things that you and your partner have always envisioned. List the non-negotiables in terms of their priority. This would help you assign the amount to each category.
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Wedding Expenses Template
Now that you have an estimated number you can spend, it’s time to plan out where to spend how much. Do your research, and ask around in your circle to figure out to understand how much to assign to which aspect. List out your non-negotiables first and then list out everything else in the order of their priority. Keep in mind that the numbers aren’t fixed, you may end up spending a little more or even a little less than what you have written down now. The idea is to keep a fair estimation so you don’t end up overspending and derailing the whole budget.
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Make the Necessary Adjustments
When you are preparing the budget, you may realize you don’t have enough money to cover all the expenses. Here are some things you can do to adjust things around:
- Cut out the unnecessary expenses
- Find new budget-friendly vendors
- Negotiate for better prices
Conclusion
All this wedding planning talk is the furthest from romantic but starting your marital life by draining your savings would be so much worse. Communicate openly with your partner how you imagine the big day to be like and prioritize them. We hope this helps you create a realistic budget that accounts for everything to make your wedding a happy one.
