How to Set a Wedding Budget

Setting a budget is the most important step to take when starting to plan any kind of Wedding or Event – and it can be so easy to spend more than you hope if you don’t take it seriously. In my opinion, no single event is worth putting yourself into debt for and an incredible day can be created no matter how much or little you have to spend! Below are 5 simple steps to take when setting a budget that will help you to stay on track and reduce stress when it comes to planning your big day. I have focussed here mainly on the Wedding Planning side of things, but the same steps would apply for any Event of a larger scale!

 STEP ONE – FIND YOUR BALLPARK

A helpful way to narrow down the numbers when setting a budget is to remember that the figure you come up with should reflect your lifestyle, the length of your engagement & the style of event you have in mind. This means that you need to consider your jobs, how long you will give yourself to plan & save and whether you’re envisioning extravagance & luxury, low key & small or somewhere in between. Whatever the answers to these three points will help you to figure out how much you’re willing to spend.

The first thing you should do is sit down and look through your personal finances (eg. savings & your normal income) to decide how much you can/want to keep back every week or month for the big day.  You may then also want to approach family members and ask if anyone is willing to contribute. It is no longer expected that the Bride’s family pay for a Wedding, but it is still quite common for family members to like to help out financially if they can! I would recommend opening up a separate bank account specifically for your Wedding/Event  – especially if you are planning well in advance - to ensure the money you keep behind isn’t used for anything other than the event itself.

STEP TWO – CREATE A ROUGH GUEST LIST

Creating a first draft of your guest list is an extremely helpful way to gauge how much you will need to spend. Knowing how many people you’ll be hosting will help you to determine your budget when it comes to your venue, catering costs, how much stationary (invites, place names etc) you’ll need and many other factors. You may create a guest list that is noticeable larger than you were expecting – in which case you’ll need to either adjust the budget or cut down on numbers. On the other hand, you may decide to just put together a small list of your nearest and dearest friends and family so that you can spend more on the finer details, or just spend less altogether!

STEP THREE – NAIL DOWN THE BIGGEST COSTS FIRST

Now that you have decided on an overall figure and a rough head count, you should determine your biggest costs. These will be your non-negotiables – things that you/your partner do not want to compromise on. Usually the Venue, Photographer and Wedding dress come under this category – but everybody has different priorities. For some this may be fine dining for their evening meal, a dream wedding getaway car, or possibly some incredible flower arrangements!

 It doesn’t matter what these are, as long as you put together a list of costs you know are a vital part to your event. I would recommend only choosing 2-3 non-negotiable costs, otherwise you very quickly start to eat into your budget and end up having to cut down on other costs or going over your initial projected spend! Having this list will help you determine where the majority of your budget will be spent. This then leads us onto the next point…

STEP FOUR – PRIORITISE YOUR OTHER COSTS

After choosing those 2/3 all-important costs, the next thing is to make another list (can you tell I’m a big fan of a list?!) of every other vendor or item you will need to pay for. You should include even the tiniest payments – things like hair accessories or confetti – as these things can very quickly add up and tip you over the edge of your budget. Prioritise all of these payments from most to least important to make it easier if you need to take anything off or change your mind about anything! Doing this will also help you see exactly how to split the budget up for each category – Venue, attire, transport, accommodation, décor etc.

STEP FIVE – STICK TO YOUR PLAN

It’s all very well making these lists and coming up with a budget in mind – if you stick to it! I know all too well how quickly you can get carried away and it’s so easy to buy things without considering whether you actually need them, or whether they even suit your event style –especially if you are planning over the period of a few months and just picking up ‘little bits’ here or there – which is why people tend to overspend without realising.

Once you have decided your budget, a spreadsheet will become your best friend. I would recommend everyone planning a Wedding or large event to create one – or hire a Planner to do it for you – so that every item or vendor paid for is tracked, in one place and easy to keep on top of.

If you find the whole budgeting subject still completely overwhelming, I really recommend hiring a planner. Our jobs are to take the stress out of the planning and budgeting process for you! Budgeting is very personal and different for every couple, so I help my clients to determine the budget to suit them & their ideas, to secure the best prices for every vendor and to make sure that their dream day can be created without spending beyond their means.

 TOP TIPS

1. Midweek Weddings tend to be more affordable than the weekends (meaning your dream venue may be within reach if you can do a weekday!)

2. Similarly, booking a Wedding outside of the Wedding Season (aka the height of summer) will usually reduce your costs dramatically.

3. Set aside 10-15% of your budget for any unexpected costs from day one - they almost always crop up - so having this money set back gives you peace of mind that you won’t end up unable to pay for something. Of course, should it not be used, it can be a nice wee extra spending money for your Honeymoon!

4. I would also always recommend setting back between £300 - £500 for the Wedding day itself. This money is for anything that happens last minute - say your transport doesn’t arrive & you need to book something else, or a bridesmaid’s dress goes missing you need a quick replacement… Nobody wants things to go wrong on the big day, but any issues can be dealt with quickly and painlessly if there is that extra cash held back and somebody on board to take care of the situation.

Daisy x