Want to know how to create a wedding budget? It starts with the basics.
Flowers, a live band, wedding gown, reception venue, it all adds up quickly. When it comes to wedding planning, everything needs to be budgeted. According to WeddingWire, if you’re like the average American you’ll end up spending close to $30,000 on your special day. Regardless of how much you spend, you need a wedding budget to keep you on track.
Whether you’re planning a huge wedding or a small, intimate ceremony, wedding budgets help you to visualize and plan exactly where your hard earned money is going.
If you’re working on planning the wedding of your dreams and aren’t sure where to start when it comes to your budget, we’re here to help! Overland Chauffeured Services has assisted with countless weddings, therefore we know a thing or two about them! Follow our tips below on how to create a wedding budget.
Step One: Decide the Type of Wedding you Want
Big or small? 50 or 100 guests? Church or venue ceremony? Formal or casual? There’s a lot to consider when it comes to deciding which type of wedding you want. Discuss all options with your future spouse. Talk to your friends and family about the pros and cons of each kind of wedding.
Maybe your partner wants something completely different than you do or maybe your expectations align with theirs. Whether you want the same type of wedding or have to come up with compromises, the first step to creating a wedding budget is to decide the type of wedding you’re going to have.
Step Two: Determine Who is Paying for what part of the Wedding
Now that you know the type of wedding you want, next up is determining who will pay for what. Will you and your future spouse be paying for all or part of the wedding? Are your parents paying for the actual wedding or reception? Who is paying for the rehearsal dinner?
Perhaps just you and your fiancée or fiancé will be paying for some of the wedding expenses or both sets of parents plan on chipping in. Whatever the case may be, you can’t start budgeting for a wedding until you know who is paying for what.
Step Three: Crunch the Numbers
Once you know who will be paying for what, you’ll be able to find out how much each person is contributing for their portion of the wedding. Once you can add contributions from all payees of your wedding you can start crunching those numbers.
As a general rule of thumb, according to money-management expert Dave Ramsey and leading wedding marketplace WeddingWire, wedding budgets should be broken down into categories and percentages. Both of their websites have suggested percentages based on certain budgets so they’re great resources for determining how much to allocate to certain categories like the wedding venue, DJs, catering, wedding bands, etc.
Step Four: Keep Track of Budget/Spending
Once you crunch the numbers and decide how much you’re willing to spend on certain aspects of your wedding, create a spreadsheet or wedding journal to keep track of everything. If you’re planning on a long engagement, the wedding planning process may take longer, therefore, keeping a journal will help you remember your budget.
Step Five: Enjoy the Process
Wedding planning can be time consuming and stressful, however, it should be a beautiful time in your life. You got engaged to the love of your life and are planning your perfect day together. Be sure to step away from the chaotic planning process and enjoy it. There are many parts of wedding planning that can be tons of fun like cake tasting, picking out your wedding bands, choosing your set list of songs for the DJ, etc. Sit back and take in those precious moments of the wedding planning process!
Now that you know how to create a wedding budget, it’s time to get started! Follow the steps above for creating and sticking to your wedding budget and you’ll be in great shape come your wedding day.
One of the crucial components to wedding planning is choosing transportation for the bridal party and your wedding guests. Overland Chauffeured Services provides award-winning chauffeured wedding transportation that will make your wedding day absolutely perfect.
We offer several options designed for the perfect wedding package including: hourly service, a wedding limousine package and a wedding travel package. All options include transportation in any of our premium vehicles and a dedicated chauffeur that will keep you on time to each appointment the day of the wedding and to your ceremony and reception. Keeping things running in a timely manner on your wedding day is extremely important and our chauffeurs will ensure your transportation is just that.
To book chauffeured wedding transportation for your special day, request a quote or call (913) 381-3504. We can offer wedding day transportation for the bride and groom, bridal party and wedding guests as well as chauffeured transportation for all wedding events including the following:
- Engagement parties
- Bridal showers
- Bachelor/bachelorette parties
- Rehearsal dinners
- Wedding Day services
- Getaway Car for the Newlyweds
- Family and friends airport transportation
- Brunch following your wedding day
- Honeymoon airport car service
All of us at Overland wish you the very best with your wedding planning process!