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Show me the money! Here's my wedding budget breakdown
My wedding in total cost roughly £13,500 which I believe is the bottom end of average here in the UK, and was largely thanks to... Read more
Newly engaged and totally clueless as to how much your wedding will cost? You're not alone. Pretty much everyone goes into wedding planning like a big ol' noob and is quickly boggled by all the hidden costs. (It's called an industrial complex for a reason.) We've got your back. Here are a few sample wedding budgets to get you started. With a simple wedding budget breakdown, you can at least have some idea how to allocate your hard-earned dough to the right buckets.
We can't stress this hard enough: any wedding budget you find online won't be totally inclusive of all your own needs and won't always be totally accurate to your area. Use these wedding budget examples just as a general overview.
6 ways to stay positive with a tight wedding budget
My fiancé Ryan proposed to me the day after he graduated with his bachelor’s degree. We have been together for seven years, and both of... Read more
Sample wedding budget for a $2,000 wedding
What kind of wedding this might be:
DIY wedding in a backyard or city hall with a tiny restaurant reception.
What could the wedding budget breakdown look like?
- Venue/officiant: $100
- Attire you already own: $0
- Catering, homemade desserts, and other hospitality: $750
- Alcohol and drinks catering: $375
- DIY emailed invitations: $0
- Lower-cost photographer or skilled friend: $400
- iPod or Spotify DJ: $0
- DIY flowers from a grocery store: $50
- Simple table decor: $50
- Makeup and hair by a skilled friend: $0
- Other umbrella expenses: $250
Total: $1,975
Save money with a cake and punch reception
Once upon a time (okay, mostly in the '40s and '50s), before weddings became huge social events, they were typically held in a church with... Read more
Sample wedding budget for a $5,000 wedding
What kind of wedding this might be:
A smaller, backyard wedding with food truck catering and karaoke, or a larger guest list at home with a punch and pie wedding.
What could the wedding budget breakdown look like?
- Venue/officiant: $100
- Attire: $275
- Catering, dessert table, and other hospitality: $2,000
- Alcohol and drinks catering: $500
- DIYed invitations: $175
- Lower-cost photographer or skilled friend/student: $500
- Aspiring/first time DJ or an enthusiastic friend and sound system rental: $250
- Bouquet and boutonniere only: $250
- Decor/rentals: $550
- Makeup and hair by a skilled friend: $0
- Other umbrella expenses: $400
Total: $5,000
7 tips on stretching your wedding food budget
We know that you can NEVER have a shortage of budget-stretching ideas. I previously gave you these recession-friendly wedding budget ideas, but let's get food-specific... Read more
Sample wedding budget for a $10,000 wedding
What kind of wedding this might be:
A buffet-style meal at a more affordable venue for fewer than 100 guests, a small wedding at a chic restaurant in a large city, a midday or non-Saturday wedding with some cost-saving methods, or a huge, festival-style blow-out at an inexpensive camp site with a guest jam session.
What could the wedding budget breakdown look like?
- Venue/officiant: $3,000
- Attire: $450
- Catering, cake, and other hospitality: $2,500
- Alcohol and drinks catering: $750
- Download and print invitations: $175
- Mid-priced photographer: $1,150
- DJ: $850
- Flowers from a local grocery store: $50
- Decor/rentals: $500
- Makeup and hair by a skilled friend: $0
- Other umbrella expenses: $550
Total: $9,975
22 money-saving ways to stretch your wedding budget as far as it'll go
No bullshit: planning a wedding is MURDER on your wallet. It's truly ridiculous. I also want to help you! So here are a few ideas... Read more
Sample wedding budget for a $20,000 wedding
What kind of wedding this might be:
Chic venue in a bigger city with a smaller guest list, destination wedding with honeymoon after, trendy rustic barn venue for a mid-sized guest list.
What could the wedding budget breakdown look like?
- Venue/officiant: $7,000
- Attire: $1,000
- Sit-down meal catering, cake, and other hospitality: $3,800
- Alcohol and drinks catering: $850
- Invitations via Etsy: $200
- Photographer: $2,250
- DJ: $1,650
- Day-of coordinator: $1,000
- Flowers: $750
- Decor/rentals: $500
- DIY makeup and professional hairstyle: $150
- Other umbrella expenses: $800
Total: $19,860
10 super-obvious things I forgot to add to my wedding budget
When I started planning my wedding, I scoured the web for as many budget breakdowns as I could find. I made spreadsheets and included everything... Read more
Sample wedding budget for a $35,000 wedding
What kind of wedding this might be:
A hotel venue wedding in a mid- to larger-sized city, a large guest list at a summer camp venue, an all-inclusive resort wedding.
What could the wedding budget breakdown look like?
- Venue including catering, rentals, alcohol and drinks, cake, and staff: $14,000
- Attire: $1,200
- Professional invitations: $400
- Photographer and videographer: $4,000
- Live band: $2,900
- Wedding planner: $2,250
- Flowers and decor: $2,250
- Professional hair and makeup for three people: $400
- Small, morning-after brunch: $1,450
- Other umbrella expenses: $1,000
Total: $29,850
Want to see MORE wedding budget examples? Share your OWN budget breakdown in the comments — do it anonymously, if you want!
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
