How to Plan a Wedding Budget

Congratulations! You’re engaged! After you’ve told your family and friends, you’ll likely want to head right into planning the big day.

Setting a wedding budget is the first item you’ll want to tackle because you can’t move forward with your vision until you know how much money you have to spend.

At St. Bonavenue, we’re here to make your wedding dreams a reality, which includes helping you accurately allocate funds for the various aspects of the celebration. In this article, we’ll share the average wedding budget breakdown to help guide you through the process.

Keep in mind that these are averages. You may choose to spend more or less in certain areas depending on your personality and preferences. Wedding costs and wedding budget percentages will also vary depending on where you’re getting married and the size of your guest list. But you can use these average wedding budget percentages as a baseline for how to plan your wedding budget.

Ceremony (3%)

A portion of your budget should be allotted for the wedding ceremony; specific costs might include:

• Ceremony venue rental (if needed)
• Marriage license
• Officiant

Reception Venue, Catering & Rentals (45%)

Unsurprisingly, the majority of your budget should go to your reception, meaning the venue, food, and beverage costs. These may include:

• Reception venue rental
• Catering (food, service, equipment rentals such as china, linens, etc.)
• Bartending (service, alcohol, rentals such as glassware, etc.)

Photography and/or Videography (12%)

You’ll want to remember this day forever, so this isn’t an area you’ll want to skimp on!

• Photography
• Videography

Reception Music/Entertainment (10%)

This line item will definitely keep the party going! You have a few options here, so it’s important to consider them all, including:

• Band
• DJ
• Cocktail hour musicians (if different)

Stationery (3%)

This includes all of your wedding stationery needs, from engagement announcements and save the dates to thank you notes.

• Engagement announcements
• Save the dates
• Invitations
• Other stationery pieces, including ceremony programs, menus, place cards, table number signs, etc.
• Thank you cards
• Postage

Wedding Attire (9%)

You’ll want to budget for both of your wedding-day looks, and wedding party looks if you are covering any hair, makeup, or attire for the group.

• Attire (wedding dress, wedding suit)
• Alterations
• Accessories (shoes, veil, jewelry, tie, etc.)
• Hair styling
• Makeup styling

Wedding Rings (2%)

This shiny detail is often overlooked, but your wedding bands are needed to seal the deal. You might even want to consider wedding ring insurance, as well.

• Wedding bands
• Ring insurance

Flowers & Decor (10%)

These are the little touches that really make an impression on your guests. We suggest allocating 10% of your overall wedding budget to this area.

This would include personal flowers (bouquets and boutonnieres for the wedding party), as well as ceremony decorations, centerpieces and other non-floral decorations.

• Flowers (personal and decor flowers)
• Lighting (professional lighting, candles)
• Miscellaneous decor (guest book, ring pillow, signage, frames for photos, etc.)

Favors & Gifts (2%)

Wedding favors are a nice way to send guests home. And don’t forget to thank your wedding party members with a small gift as well.

• Favors for guests
• Gifts for the wedding party

Cake (2%)

Any after-dinner sweets you decide to provide should be accounted for here, including:

• Wedding cake
• Desserts
• Candy bar

Transportation (2%)

Depending on your venue, you may need to hire transportation services to get everyone where they need to be safely and on time. This may include:

• Wedding-party transportation to and from the ceremony, reception, and lodging
• Guest transportation to and from the ceremony, reception, and lodging
• Parking

And now that you know how to plan a wedding budget, you can move forward to the other many details of your big day!

Don’t Forget, We’re Here to Help!

At St. Bonavenue, we can offer a dedicated team of experts to guide you through your wedding planning. We also have all-inclusive wedding venues, on-site catering and A/V services and free parking, among many other services that can help consolidate costs for your bottom line.