Make no mistake, a wedding can cost a lot of money. And even more, if you don’t put a proper plan in place to manage your wedding budget. According to a recent survey by The Knot, the average wedding in the U.S. costs over $30,000.
Many couples do, indeed, start with a spending limit in mind. The problem is that many don’t adhere to it. As many as one in three couples go over budget!
It can be easy to let fancy venues and decor get the best of you. But don’t be among the many that will be left paying off their wedding for years to come.
Start your marriage off on the right foot and effectively manage your wedding budget. Here’s how …
Tip #1: Set Up a Realistic Budget
Your wedding budget should be one that you can stick to. That may be $5,000 or $35,000. It’s crucial to set one up that is practical. That means you should base spending on both your current and projected financial situation.
To do this, have a conversation with your soon-to-be-spouse. See how much money you currently have in your combined savings, then think about how much you will have saved up by the time of your wedding.
Tip #2: Save Money
Managing your wedding budget usually begins long before the actual planning. It’s normal to save about 10 to 20 percent of your paycheck every month before your wedding, depending on how far out it is.
As the name implies, automatic savings allocate a designated percentage of your paycheck every time you get paid, without you always having to go in and tamper with your bank account. A mobile banking app like Chime is perfect for this.
If appropriate, ask you and your spouse’s family if they’d be willing to contribute to the wedding, and factor that into your budgeting plan. Even a few expenses covered goes a long way!
Tip #3: Download a Wedding Checklist
Once you have a set dollar amount, this is your maximum budget. From here, manage your wedding budget by deciding where to spend it.
Downloading a printable wedding planning checklist (this is our customizable one) is the starting point.
Tip #4: Create A ‘Manage Your Wedding Budget’ Worksheet
Our wedding budget worksheet is a printable Google sheet spreadsheet. You’ll see it is broken down into four columns titled, Estimated, Quoted, Actual, and Extras.
Here’s what it looks like:
You can make a copy of wedding budget worksheet for your own, personal use here.
Find the ‘estimated’ cost of a particular item by researching its price within your area or online.
When a shop or vendor has caught your eye, contact them to get a quote. Or make a note of the product cost. To get you started, we’ve given you a few links in the Shop column.
You may need to adjust your Estimated cost if the quotes you are receiving differ from what you initially projected. Once you’ve booked a vendor or made a purchase, note the price under the Actual column.
Tracking every expense from the beginning will give you an idea of how much you are saving or spending on each item. And you can make adjustments to your sheet later on.
Tip #5: Expect the Unexpected
In an ideal world, we would be able to know about every cost associated with having a wedding ahead of time.
Unfortunately, that’s usually not the case—and these unwelcome surprises are often the reason many couples go over budget. Therefore, as cliché as it is to say, you should expect the unexpected.
You can do this using the Extras column in your spreadsheet. Under this column, you should include any tips, taxes, fees, or other costs. Anything you didn’t know about at the beginning.
Your Extras column should accommodate 15 percent of your total budget to brace you from any unforeseen costs.
You never know what other last-minute wedding costs you may have no choice but to incur. A vendor may require a setup fee or transportation costs covered.
It’s also possible that your family’s preference for fine wines could add hundreds or even thousands to your total wedding costs.
But, have no fear—your budget is now built to handle anything (well almost anything)!
Next Step: Review our wedding venue contract tips to avoid some of those unexpected costs!
Taylor Wright
Monday 9th of December 2019
I like that you said that to weigh in the possible outcomes like a preference on finer wines. My sister got engaged last week and is laying out the essentials for her wedding. I'll have to show her this so she can know what to prioritize for her wedding.