How to Plan a Wedding in Budget

Once you and your sweetie have decided to say "I do" the next steps are to begin planning your lifelong union and cementing your eternal committment in front of your closest family, loved ones, and friends. However, many excited new couples have no idea where to start when it comes to wedding planning on a budget. 

The good news is if you’re looking for full creative control, in planning the wedding of your dreams – this is the guide for you!

Learn how to keep your wedding in budget and get step-by-step wedding planning and cost-cutting tips in the comprehensive guide to wedding planning for beginners below. 

How to Keep Your Wedding in Budget 

Planning your wedding can lead to an overwhelming sense of accomplishment when all of your personal preferences and unique sense of style blend seamlessly together. Couples who opt for a wedding planner can experience the same sense of satisfaction and accomplishment by creating a realistic wedding plan that matches their budget.

Using the latest wedding technology tools for planning, seating, invitations, and vendor management is saving couples time and money.

Tools like the Product Seating Genie and Storybook help wedding planners visualize their seating charts for their most cherished friends, family members, and guests while documenting the experience via a cloud-based digital storybook that stores related images, videos, and text. 

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Learn more about how using the latest wedding technology and digital wedding planning tools can drastically reduce your budget later in the guide below.  

What Should Be Included in Your Wedding Budget Breakdown

Many new couples make the mistake of not creating a detailed wedding budget that accounts for all the potential costs of having the wedding of their dreams. 

One of the best ways to stay within your wedding budget is to have a comprehensive overview of all related costs and expenses. We’ve compiled a list of common wedding related expenses to consider when you’re creating your wedding budget. 

The following items should be included in your wedding budget breakdown whether you’re hiring a professional wedding planner or if you’re planning the festivities on your own. 

Catering Food and Beverages Costs: Wedding catering costs can be one of the biggest expenses of your wedding. Typical costs can include food and beverages for your guests, staffing fees for waitstaff, and taxes on catering products and services. 

Wedding Venue and Reception Decor: Plan for adding key features like centerpieces, floral arrangements, linens, and backdrops or aisle markers for the ceremony and reception hall. Leave room for labor and setup fees for rental equipment. 

Live Entertainment and Music: Direct fees paid to entertainers can include costs for paying a band, DJ, or live performer. Entertainment fees can include setup fees, breakdown fees, overtime, and gratuity. 

Food and Beverage Costs: Prepare for food costs including a rate by person, service charges, gratuity, and equipment rental for dinnerware, tables, chairs, and linens. These costs can go up exponentially for destination weddings and multi-day weddings. 

Wedding Flowers and Boquets: A wedding budget should account for flower selection, types of flowers, blooms, rarity, and seasonal availability which are all factors that can affect costs. Flower delivery, setup fees, and ceremony costs can also apply. 

Honeymoon Costs: Transportation and accommodation fees will likely represent the biggest costs in your honeymoon budget. Factor in costs for meals, entertainment, and incidentals to get a more accurate estimate of how much your honeymoon will cost. 

Paying for Hotel Accommodations: Accommodations for family, friends, and out-of-town guests are often a crucial budgeting factor for couples planning their wedding. Be sure to budget for plane tickets, taxi fares, and related fees for out-of-town wedding party guests. 

Mailing Custom Wedding Invitations: Save the date wedding invitations with RSVP inserts are additional costs to consider when planning your wedding.

Printing costs, envelopes, and postage for mailing RSVPs and invitations to potential guests may also apply to couples who opt for traditional invites over digital wedding planning apps and events. 

Marriage License Fees: Most marriage license costs are set. However, there may be variations on how much it costs for a marriage license, depending on your state or municipality. Prepare to pay a fee for the first copy and subsequent copies of your marriage license upon filing. 

Wedding Officiant Fees: Wedding officiants who preside over wedding ceremonies and vow renewals charge their own set fee for services.

Pre-marital couples should Include the base fee, travel fee, mileage reimbursement fees, and gratuity into your wedding budget once you’ve chosen your desired officiant. 

Professional Photography and Videography Services: Plan to pay an hourly rate or get package pricing for wedding videography and photography services that generate lasting memories of your event.

Check with your vendor in advance to get pricing for travel fees, editing fees, and digital delivery of copies of videos and photos from your wedding. 

The Wedding Venue: The costs associated with your wedding venue will largely depend on the type of venue you select and the date and time of your wedding. Contact your desired venue to learn about daily, hourly, or package rates for renting out your most memorable venue. 

Wedding Attire: Be prepared to spend a pretty penny on custom wedding attire that matches your theme and budget. Wedding attire can include wedding dresses, tuxedos for the groom and groomsmen, bridesmaids' dresses, accessories, shoes, undergarments, and cleaning. 

Step-by-Step Wedding Planning 

Now that you know what items to include in your wedding budget, let’s walk through the process of step-by-step wedding planning by phase. Our step-by-step planning guide features three key phases. 

Each phase can vary in the amount of time it takes to complete which is primarily up to the discretion of the bride, groom, and wedding planner who have to contact each venue or service to make an appointment for viewing or to request pricing estimates well in advance of the event. 

Phase 1: Concept and Budgeting

Phase one of wedding planning begins when you and your spouse make the final decision to get engaged or married. This phase begins with developing the wedding concept and creating a budget for the upcoming phases. 

1. Make Your Wedding Announcement 
2. Create the Guest List and Prepare to Mail Wedding Invitations 

Tour and Select Your Wedding Venues and Selected Vendors for: 

• Catering 
• Entertainment 
• Photography

As mentioned above, your wedding venue is likely going to be one of your biggest expenses, choose non-traditional venues to reduce costs in this area. 

Phase 2: Details and Decor 

Once you’ve completed phase one of your wedding planning adventure, you’re ready to move on to the more detailed steps of choosing your wedding theme, colors, and decor. Phase two is the stage where wedding planners contact a variety of different vendors to get the best pricing for custom and monogrammed wedding decor that can include wedding attire and venue accents. 

Choose Your Wedding Attire 

• Wedding Dresses 
• Tuxedos for the Groom 
• Bridesmaids Dresses 
• Groomsmen Attire

Savvy wedding planners can save costs on wedding details and decor by choosing to rent instead of buying wedding attire and venue decorations. 

Personalize Wedding Decor and Flowers 

Now is the time to contact your vendor and prepare for the personalization of decor, flowers, stationary, and all wedding-related accessories. Your selected vendor will emblazon your wedding accessories with your theme’s color and selected text to help bring your dream wedding to life. 

Phase 3: Finalizing the Details 

The final phase of wedding planning includes ensuring all venues are reserved, venues, are paid, and tying up related loose ends. Your wedding plan should include backup scenarios in case one or two details don’t fall into place. Phase three also includes setting up your wedding registry with your favorite stores and shops so that your guests will have easy access to purchase wedding gifts within their budget. 

Finalizing wedding details also includes preparing wedding seating charts using tools like the Product Seating Genie and creating engagement in wedding using Storybook. Wedding technology tools like these can help create a seating chart and digital memory for you and your wedding party guests. 

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Another key step to take during the finalizing the details phase is tying up loose ends for out-of-town wedding guests, which can include securing plane tickets, hotel accommodations, and paying for food and beverages for the duration of their stay. 

Stay in Budget with These Five Wedding Cost-Cutting Tips!

The cheapest way to have a wedding is to plan for a home-based wedding with limited guests. Couples who want to plan a traditional wedding on a limited budget can use some of the following wedding cost-cutting tips to save on wedding costs for food, vendors, wedding technology, and related costs that could normally break the bank. 

Tip #1. - Limit Your Guest Count

Wedding costs for guests which can include transportation, attire, hotel accomodations, and even additional meals depending on your wedding schedule, are often the biggest expenses couples face outside of securing the wedding venue and paying for catering costs. Taking on the total financial burden for numerous wedding guests can be a source of stress for many couples.  Cut costs by limiting your guest list to “must-have” guests which includes your closest family members, friends, co-workers, and the people in your life whose presence would truly make your day special. 

Tip #2. - Get Married on a Weekday

Many wedding venues offer lower costs and some even offer discounts when you opt for a weekday wedding instead of getting married on a peak day of the weekend like Saturdays. Choose a day in the middle of the week or on a Thursday for the lowest rates in some areas. Be sure to advise your guests of your non-traditional date well in advance so they can prepare to make travel arrangements or request time off of work or school if needed. 

Tip #3. - Get Married During the “Off” Season 

The spring and summer months are some of the hottest months of the year by temperature. They are also some of the most desired months for getting married. 

Getting married in fall, winter, or early spring can make a significant difference in your wedding budget and how much it costs to get married. Excited couples can typically book their desired wedding venue for a much lower cost in the winter versus peak spring and summer months that come with higher prices. 

Tip #4. - Choose a Non-Traditional Wedding Venue 

Not only can choosing a non-traditional wedding venue result in substantial cost savings, but it can also make an even more memorable experience for the bride, groom, and wedding guests. Choosing a non-traditional venue like a restaurant, museum, or even your own backyard can be a cost-effective and affordable option that simplifies wedding planning. 

Negotiate with Vendors 

Negotiating with wedding vendors is another way to reduce wedding costs when you’re planning your own wedding or using the services of a third-party wedding planner. Do your research in advance to learn about the going rate for the desired wedding accessories and related services to increase your bargaining power when sealing the deal with local wedding venue owners, caterers, equipment rental companies, and videographers. 

Tip #5. - Use Digital Invitations and Wedding Technology 

Using the latest wedding technology like digital wedding invitations, online wedding registries, and wedding planning apps can help streamline your planning processes and save tons of money on printing and postage. Using electronic tools for planning, RSVPs and wedding guest management tools is a great way to reduce wedding-related costs and easily manage all of your wedding planning-related tasks using a cellphone, computer, or tablet. 

Product Seating Genie and Storybook for Wedding Planners

Some of the latest wedding technology tools include the Product Seating Genie and Storybook which helps to make wedding planning a breeze while simplifying your guest list and creating a Storybook that includes lasting memories of one of the most important days of your life. 

Learn more about how you can simplify wedding planning with the Product Seating Genie and Storybook when you visit our website today! 

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