How to Plan a Wedding Budget | Ask the Planner
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When it comes to how to plan a wedding budget, there is a lot of advice out there. We’ve even written several blogs about this topic ourselves! But sometimes so much available information can make it hard to get to the bottom line, and for many engaged couples the question remains:
Q: “How do I plan a wedding budget? Where do I even start?”
A: It’s all about prioritizing! No two couples will spend their wedding budget the same way. Whatever your budget, you first need to decide how to spend it before you start “shopping” for your wedding. Below you’ll find the Prioritization Worksheet that we use with our Full Service planning clients available for download. This tool will make a big impact on your wedding budget planning!
First, here are three quick tips to get you started on your wedding budget planning:
- Find out how much you have to spend. Sit down with your families and anyone else who might want to contribute to your wedding budget. Keep in mind that the provision of free services can be as valuable to your wedding budget as money, so relatives or friends who happen to be wedding professionals interested in gifting you with their services should be included in this initial budget meeting.
- Ask if there are restrictions. It’s important to ask anyone contributing money or services to your wedding if there are any conditions, such as having to invite certain guests, having to use a specific venue or house of worship, or having to clear any wedding purchases through them. If the restrictions don’t work for you, thank the individual for offering to help and tell them that since you’re unable to meet their conditions, you’ll have to pass.
- Prioritize. Using a tool like the one we’re including below, rate your wedding planning services in order of most important to you as a couple to least important. The highest percentage of your budget should go towards the services that you consider the most valuable.
BONUS TIP: After your initial budget planning meeting, create your guest list. The narrower you get that list, the more you’ll have to spend per person for food and beverage. Check out our video with even more helpful tips:
Hopefully these tips help you understand how to plan a wedding budget! If you’d like to download the Prioritization Worksheet we use with our Full Service Planning clients, you can do so by clicking on the below image:
If you’d like more personalized help with your wedding planning or would like to speak with one of our planners about how we can help you develop your wedding budget, e-mail us at info@justmarry.com and we’ll get back to you right away! You can also view some of our most popular wedding planning services on our website here. Be sure to reach out to us so we can customize a planning option that will allow you to enjoy every moment of your planning and your wedding day!
How to Plan a Wedding Budget
