Wedding budget planner

Wedding budget planner is one of the most important documents in the wedding planning. Wedding budget planner will help you to allot your wedding expenses and save costs. To avoid spending too much money for certain wedding arrangements, you can see the typical budget allocation, which will help you to distribute your expenses into different important wedding categories effectively.

The wedding budget planner can be introduced in the following percentage:

1. Venue and reception: 18%
2. Catering and food: 18%
3. Photography and videography: 10%
4. Flowers and decoration: 8%
5. Music and entertainment: 8%
6. Drinks: 8%
7. Dress and attire: 7%
8. Wedding planner: at least 4% (may reach 10-15% depending on the package of services you choose)
9. Beauty: 2%
10. Cake: 2%
11. Ceremony: 2%
12. Gifts & Favors: 2%
13. Stationery: 2%
14. Transportation: 2%
15. Wedding rings: 2%
16. Emergencies and backup plans: 5%

Total: 100% of the wedding budget.

Wedding professionals recommend using wedding budget template and wedding budget checklist. You can use it to add all the expenses you plan for your wedding, make changes and make the correct final decisions.

Wedding budget template

The wedding budget template includes not only the percentage distribution, but also the main components of the categories. For example, the structure of the wedding budget template may include the following:

1. Venue and reception (18%). This is the most important category to think about for your wedding. Choosing the right venue often depend on various factors, such as the style of the wedding (eco, rustic, boho, shabby chic, romantic, luxurious, etc.), as well as on the size of the event based on the number of guests. It may also depend on the season, depending on what kind of wedding you are planning: an indoor winter wedding or an al fresco wedding? The 18% of your overall wedding budget planner typically include expenses for the following: venue deposits, room rental fee, fees for the rentals and supplies (tableware, dinnerware, linens, chairs and chair covers, china, silverware, etc.); fees for the rent of the dance floor, parking fees, insurances, securities, ceremony fees, etc.
2. Catering and food (18%). This category includes plated or buffet meals, as well as the tasting of the wedding menu, rehearsal dinner, various food stations, expenses for the catering staff, equipment, rentals, meals for vendors (wedding planner, photographer, videographer, and other vendors); taxes (service charges), cleanup fees, beverage services, etc.
3. Photography and videography (10%). Includes photo and video shootings at engagement session (sometimes ? shooting of the bachelor and bachelorette parties), rehearsal dinner, shootings of the wedding day, creation of albums, photo and video editing the same day (when the short film of the wedding day is shown on the wedding day); highlight reel, feature film, etc. Be sure to receive full rights to your digital wedding photos to share them with your wedding guests after the event.
4. Flowers and decoration (8%): main centerpieces for the wedding decoration, bridal bouquet, bouquets for the bridesmaids, corsages, flower accessories, boutonnieres, flowers for the ceremony arch, ceremony arrangements, flowers for the cakes, wedding chalkboards, additional flower decoration (lanterns, tenting, etc.), plus the flower delivery fees. Please note that in case you choose seasonal flowers for your wedding, you will able to save money for your flower decorations.
5. Music and entertainment (8%): fees for the ceremony musicians and music for the cocktail hour, reception DJ, live bands, sound and lighting, microphones, fees for the entertainment (acts and shows), fees for the hire of a photo booth and dance floor, fees for the MC, etc.
6. Drinks (8%). May include reception drinks, non-alcoholic beverages, additional glassware, coffee and tea, special drinks for the kids, champagne toast, cocktail hour drinks, hosted beer and wine, mixers, bar signage, corkage fees, bartender tips and fees, etc.
7. Dress and attire (7%). Depends on the number and types of events you?re planning in the frame of your wedding. May include outfits for the engagement party, bridal shower, bachelor party, wedding dress and dress alterations, undergarments, wedding shoes and bridal accessories, jewellery, groom?s tuxedo, outfits for brunch next day, cleaning and preservation of attire.
8. Wedding planner (4%): the expenses for the wedding planner start at 4% of the overall wedding budget and may reach 10-15% if you are not involved in the wedding planning process and decide to delegate all the tasks to the planner. The full-service packages may include planning and coordination of the wedding, communications and negotiations with the venue and the vendors, assistance in drawing up contracts, creation of timelines, coordination of rehearsal, management and arrivals and deliveries, setup supervision, etc.
9. Beauty (2%): expenses for haircuts and hair coloring, facials, waxing, manicure and pedicure, professional shaving, tan, lash extensions, hair trials before the wedding, hair styling, makeup trials and wedding day makeup.
10. Cake (2%): may include cake cutting fees, cake display, cake toppers and cake stands, additional desserts, additional design elements for the wedding cake, sheet cake for extra servings, etc.
11. Ceremony (2%): venue fees, if the ceremony location differs from the reception venue, expenses for the officiant, marriage license and ceremony accessories: baskets, candles, ring pillows, flower petals, etc.
12. Gifts and favors (2%): include gifts for the guests, for parents, for the flower girl(s) or ring bearer(s), welcome baskets and wedding favors.
13. Stationery (2%): engagement invitations, wedding invitations, save the dates, RSVP cards, maps, rehearsal dinner invitations and after-the-wedding brunch invitations (if needed), envelopes and postage, return address labels, wedding day programs, place cards, menu cards, labels for favors, thank you cards and other paper goods and items. Some couples switched from traditional paper to digital wedding invitations, saving time and money for preparing, printing and sending them out.
14. Transportation (2%): transportation of the bride and groom to and from the ceremony and/or reception venue, tips for the driver, transfers for the guests to and from the airport, valet parking.
15. Wedding rings (2%): customization of the rings, bands, engraving, ring insurance, resizing, etc.
16. Emergencies and backup plans (5%): include taxes, additional charges, overtime fees, vendor tips, etc.

Of course, a wedding budget template may differ from wedding to wedding according to the requirements and expectations of every unique event.

Wedding budget checklist

The wedding budget checklist may by introduced in various forms and documents which you will find useful for your wedding planning.

One of the first steps of planning your perfect wedding is setting the budget and deciding, how many financial resources you can afford for the wedding, based on your families? contributions and your own.

To simplify the process of your wedding budgeting, you can use a budgeting spreadsheet free or the wedding budget excel sheet.

The wedding budget planner is also sometimes introduced as a digital wedding budget tracker. This is a tool which will help you to stay on track with your budget. You can simply add your total budget, and the tool will automatically show you the breakdown of your expenses. Such trackers usually cover all categories of costs and fees, from engagement party and bachelor party to the-day-after-wedding-brunch and honeymoon. Sometimes the budget tracker even provides recommendations how to allocate your resources wisely. You can add and change your list of expenses anytime and mark things which you have already paid for.

You can download your budgeting spreadsheet free provided by eazyplan. Eazyplan aims to make your event planning processes easier and introduces useful documents for download. Here you can download your wedding budget excel sheet as well.