The Budget

The Wedding Budget, by Veronika Levine, adopted from the Knot Magazine

We have many brides who have a difficult time to establish a budget for their wedding.  I recently read this article in the “The Knot Magazine” and perhaps this will help our brides. The article recommends the following for our brides and grooms:

Who’s Paying?

Talk to your families about who will pay for what: Some brides’ families still pick up the entire tab, but more and more groom’s families are participating too.  How do you bring up the conversation?  For many couples, talking to each family separately is the best way to have truly open discussions.   When you do talk, here are strategies for determining your initial budget.

Ask both of your folks to commit to a specific dollar amount, and then add up all the contributions to create your budget. Alternatively, it may be easier to ask each set of parents to finance a particular aspect of the wedding (such as the ceremony, honeymoon, or catering) instead of just committing to a dollar amount. Decide how much you two can contribute between now and the wedding (37% of the couples we polled say they’re planning to contribute financially to their wedding.)

How Much Do You Actually Need?

Just like buying shoes, an apartment, or a pair of jeans, when it comes to financing a wedding, you should figure out how much you need to spend to get what you want.  Set expectations accordingly.  Knot note: The average cost for a 150-person wedding is about $25,000 (higher in urban areas).

Here is a basic breakdown of what you can expect to pay:

Reception: 48%-50%

Ceremony: 2%-3%

Attire: 8%-10%

Flowers: 8%-10%

Entertainment/Music: 8%-10%

Photography/Videography: 10%-12%

Stationary: 2%-3%

Wedding Rings: 2%-3%

Parking/Transportation: 2%-3%

Gifts: 2%-3%

Miscellaneous: 8%

To avoid stress, allot about 5% of your budget for a “just in case” fund.

If you’re paying for your honeymoon yourselves, remember to budget for that as well.

I hope that this  information will be helpful to many of my clients. Thank you Knot Magazine.