Before you start planning the wedding of your dreams, most people wouldn’t have the slightest idea how much of your wedding budget vendors account for. Which brings me to a question I know all brides-to-be can relate… When meeting with potential wedding vendors and receiving pricing from them, how are you supposed to know what’s the average; the norm to spend on this stuff?

When I go shopping out on the town, I’m always looking for the best bang for my buck, and planning a wedding shouldn’t be any different! A few months back, we came across an awesome wedding blog post from Every Last Detail. We think it’s a great breakdown of professional vendor costs and traditionally which vendors require more of your wedding budget than others. Based on the chart, they say to break down your total wedding budget into the following vendor percentages:

Catering | 20.4% of your total wedding budget

Venue | 17.4%

Event Design + Décor | 15%

Photography | 10.3%

Florals | 9.4%

Event Planning | 8.5%

Cinematography | 8.2%

Entertainment | 5.1%

Paper Goods | 3.2%

Cakes & Sweets | 2.1%

No matter how big or small your wedding budget is, you don’t have to downsize on the number of professional wedding vendors you invite to be a part of the big day. It’s all about prioritizing which wedding vendors are most important to you in creating a ‘uniquely yours’ wedding reception and which takeaways you want your guests to have and remember long after the night is over.

Creating wedding budgets are said to be some of the most stressful, frustrating and hair-pulling moments in the planning process. The 1928 team is always looking to alleviate stress or concerns the couple may have during the planning process. As part of our Coordination Services, we’ll create a personalized budget for you that itemizes spending categories, forecasted vs. actual spending amounts as well as reminders on when payment installments and final balances are due with each vendor. As an experienced planner, I think this coordination service in particular is well worth the investment, to simply not have to worry about keeping a tedious organized wedding budget all on your own.

My tips for doing a budget breakdown yourself – take it stride by stride. Don’t let the costs get away from you! Plan ahead on what you’re looking to spend and know what your wedding budget will allow. These percentages are a great starting point and sticking with them will ensure a top-notch wedding with quality vendors without breaking the bank.

Contact us with questions and as always, happy planning!

❀  Danielle