Your Wedding Budget: A Quick Word

Jasmin

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I'm so excited to have a space to share my thoughts, resources, and inspiration with you. If you're like me, you may prefer long form content because it's informative, enjoyable, and perhaps a bit healthier than endlessly scrolling. This is the place!
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Hi, I'm Jasmin

When it comes to your wedding budget, it’s not the size that matters, it’s how you use it. All joking aside, the fastest way to blow your resources on any project is not knowing how much you have or what you’re trying to do with it.

The hairiest thing I see is couples who’ve jumped the gun on booking a venue/caterer and are now “venue-poor”. They went in budget-blind and came out the other side with nothing to show for it but an empty space.

I can make a space look magical, but I’m not an actual wizard!

First things first: Plan this thing in order!

The first phase of planning is the most important. It will save you tons of heartache, and is 100% free. Pick your season, your region, and your guest count. That’s it.

Write it down and prepare to stay flexible, especially with that last one. If you run into budget hiccups down the line, slashing your guest count is the fastest way to alleviate financial pressure.

Buh-bye Robert from Aunt Janet’s bowling league.

Wedding Funding: Bootstrap or Crowdfund?

As soon as you have those first three items nailed down, pour yourselves a glass of vino and start looking at finances. Stay realistic about your own earning, saving, and spending habits.

The same goes for accepting financial help. Who will be financing this shindig? Be honest about your relationship with those individuals. Keep in mind that with other people’s money comes other people’s opinions. So if autonomy is a high priority for you and your partner, you’ll want to make financial decisions that maximize your creative control.

Pro Tip: Take a few minutes with your partner to put together a brief, standard response to all the unsolicited questions and advice you’re about to receive. Most people do mean well, but they’re nearly always sharing what would work for them, not for you. You could try: “Thanks so much for your excitement! We’ll keep that in mind. Right now we’re just taking it slow and prioritizing staying connected to each other.”

A smug couple sitting arm-in-arm on a black leather couch.

If they press you, just adopt a beatific countenance and don’t say anything at all. They can’t argue with silence.

Wedding Budget Breakdown, Phase One

Back to wedding budgets. I highly recommend that once you have your total budget set, you think in terms of fractions of a whole, rather than hard numbers. Since different venues and caterers offer different types of value, it’s important to be able to toggle your costs based on their offerings.

With this in mind, please do not allot more than 40% of your budget to venue, catering, and bar combined. That means if you have a $100K budget, you’re looking at $40K for site fees, food, beverage, and service, plus all associated admin fees and taxes. 

Now $40K is a fortune if you’re doing a BBQ buffet and beer for fifty people. But if you’re envisioning a sexy ceremony site, a plated dinner served to directly to seated guests, and any beverage other than water, it’s going to add up very quickly and will also be multiplied by the number of guests you invite. 

A Sample Wedding Budget- Because Who Doesn’t Love Samples?

Here’s a sample budget breakdown for an elegant $150K woodland wedding in the Catskills for 125 guests in 2024. In this case, the ceremony and reception are happening at one venue. (We almost always produce this style of wedding.)

Note that in this example, the venue came with rentals such as tables and chairs. So between the venue, catering, bar, and a luxury cake, the total comes to about $55,500, or 37%. This leaves $4,500 (3%) wiggle room for service charges, tax, tips, or extras you might want down the line.

You can see how- regardless of budget- knowing some general numbers in advance would make you a hell of a lot more confident about where your money is going. You’re welcome. 🙂

Factor in the Fanciness

Another excellent rule of thumb is to consider the cost of a nice dinner out, then factor in the added cost of creating the dining ambience. Okay, so you love Italian food, but do you want pizzeria-Italian, or Tuscan villa-Italian

Do you want a full open bar, just a few bottles of wine on the table, or no alcohol at all? Do you want that artisan cake? Add it all up and multiply it by your guest count.

It’s not just about where you are and what you’re eating, either. It’s about what you see, hear, do, and feel, as well. So leave room in your budget and guest count to show each guest a good time. That’s what they came for! …and because they love you, of course. <3

I’ve seen couples struggle with venue poverty too often not to put this out there. So I’ll say it again: venue, food, bar = 40% of the total wedding budget including service fees. …And find out what value is included in your investment. Do any of these vendors provide tables and chairs, kitchen items, linens, dishes, flatware, stemware, and food service items? Or will be responsible for renting all that? Because event rentals are a whole other ball of financial wax.

The End of the Beginning

This is just the beginning when it comes to wedding budgets. I’m not trying to scare you, but you’ll be a lot more successful if you start in the right place. I thought this post would be a helpful start for someone who just arrived in the land of engagement and is looking for some guidance.

Let’s face it, many of us have blind spots around our own spending, and most people planning a wedding have no. earthly. idea. what a wedding costs to produce. But they do know what they have to work with and how they party. And that’s really something.

If you want to design an effortlessly beautiful wedding experience that will live on in your guests’ memories, reach out to Idyllwild and give us all the details you’ve gathered so far! We’ve been waiting for you!

…Still here? Grab a freebie!

Say, wouldn’t it be dandy to have a one-page list of all the planning phases you need to grow through, and in what order? I’ve got you. Click here for the Idyllwild Order of Operations.

Would you like to see more from me on this topic? Let me know in the comments.

A closeup image of a man's hands removing 50 and 20 dollar bills from his wallet. the text reads: Idyllwild Event Design followed by Wedding Budgets: A Quick Word It's not the size that matters, it's how you use it.

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