Creating a budget for YOUR wedding

Now that you’ve been able to bask in the glory of getting engaged to your special person, let the planning begin.  Sit down one night and realistically think about what you want to spend to make your wedding day magical!

sit down, relax, and think it through

Take a second and think about how much money you have set aside from your income and any emergency funds you may have. How much of the money that you have set up for yourself, do you want to spend on your wedding? Then once you have decided how much money you are willing to spend on your wedding, take into consideration who may be helping you to pay for this special day. It’s typical that parents may be helping pay for some portions of your wedding day. However, this sometimes may not be the case. So don’t just assume they are going to help cover some of the cost, always ask them to make sure they are able to and willing to help you financially.

what do you plan on spending for each of your vendors?

Once you have established the specific amount that you want to spend making your wedding day unique, special, and magical it’s important to figure out which vendors are the most important for you to have. Then once you have come to an agreement on which vendors are most important to you, decide how much you want to spend on each of the vendors you are going to hire for your wedding. Typically, there are certain percentages of your wedding budget that are allocated to certain vendors. Below is an example of an estimated breakdown of what percent of your budget you want to spend on each of the vendors in the NEw England area.

1. Venue, Catering & Rentals - 50% total

2. Photography and Videography - 13% total

3. Planner - 10% total

4. Florals & Décor - 9% total

5. Entertainment - 5% total

6. Stationery - 3%

7. Transportation - 3%

8. Favors/gifts/misc. - 3% total

9. Cake/Desserts - 2% total

10. Officiant - 2%

vendor shopping

Once you have come up with a budget of what you ideally want to spend on your wedding day there are a few things you should start doing. You can now start “shopping” for all the vendors and other aspects you want to incorporate into your wedding day! Start by creating a spreadsheet to track all your wedding-related expenses. This way all the money that you are spending on your wedding is written out in the same place. So, you don’t have to go all overlooking through different receipts and emails to find out how much you paid for one thing or another. If you have already hired a wedding planner, like the LJE team, to help you plan your special day, they will have a wedding budget template for you to follow once you start the planning process. It’s also important to remember that if you are planning on using any credit card, that you may have, to pay for aspects of your wedding that you can pay that specific amount off quickly. If you can’t pay an amount off 30 days after you’ve put it on your credit card, don’t charge it. However, that doesn’t mean that you can pay for that specific service you were going to charge another way.

remember to read contracts

When it’s time for you to start signing contracts with vendors remember to read the contract fully. If you’re not reading a contract fully, a lot of the time you’ll miss hidden costs that you will have to pay later and not be able to negotiate with the vendors. This is so you know exactly what you are going to be paying a vendor for before your wedding day. And not have any surprises when you get sent the bill for what you are supposedly supposed to be paying a vendor for.

ways to save

Even when you have your wedding budget in place, there is still always going to be ways that you can save yourself some money and make your day unique and special. Consider having an off-season wedding. In New England, the off-season for weddings is usually between October – March. And if you book your wedding for one of these months certain aspects, specifically your venue, will be cheaper than if you were to try and book them during the peak-wedding season. Having your wedding ceremony and reception in the same property/location is another way for you to save money! You’re only renting out one space but having two completely different aspects of your wedding in the same location. You can even consider having a backyard wedding! Having your wedding in your backyard cuts out a lot more cost than you would think.

To get started planning your wedding that is playfully planned, joyously celebrated, and magically memorable, click here.

XOXO, LJE