Six Steps to Creating a Realistic Wedding Budget

From scrolling through Pinterest to talking about dream locations, wedding planning can feel all fun and dreamy—until it’s time to talk numbers with your client. Setting a carefully outlined budget is one of the most important steps you can do for your couple, but starting the conversation isn’t always a cakewalk.

Rest assured, we’ve taken out all the legwork with six steps to creating a completely realistic budget that keeps your client’s priorities in check every step of the way.

1. Start the Discussion
Before vendors are hired or venue contracts are signed, it’s so important to schedule a sit-down with your client and any contributing parties to discuss how much they’d like to invest in the event. Start by thinking big picture about where they’d like to have their wedding, how many guests might be invited, and how formal or informal they envision their event to be. Of course, talking about money with your client can be a tad uncomfortable, but it’s a critical step to avoiding a potential budget crisis down the line.

2. Do Your Homework
Once you and your couple are on the same page about how much they’d like to spend, it’s time to hit the ground running with market and vendor research. If you are less experienced with what vendors and things cost, there are many resources out there to help navigate the numbers, but make sure you’re taking into account the specific region your client is getting married in, the guest count, and any big-ticket items they are hoping to include. It’s also helpful to schedule calls with local professionals to get initial estimates or ballpark ranges to help create a realistic budget range from the start.

3. Set the Priorities 
As you think about putting together your client’s budget, try to identify three or four of the most important elements that they’d like to prioritize. These could be areas that are really special to them, like a dream photographer or videographer, or they could be elements to heighten the guest experience, such as floral or lighting design. Most importantly, once you’ve established their top priorities, remember to stay flexible in other categories with cost-saving options to keep expenses from spiraling. 

4. Create a Detailed Budget
Get down to the nitty-gritty with a plan outlining the percentage of their overall budget you’d like to allocate toward each category of the wedding. We recommend your budget lists ranges, rather than an exact number in each category, to allow flexibility as you move forward in the process. No matter how you choose to allocate the percentages, make sure your client is comfortable with the high amount as the absolute max they’re willing to spend. 

5.  Account for Extras
When you’re budgeting, always be sure to add a “cushion line” for any overage that might come up. We recommend that it be a large cushion fund because let’s face it, there’s always something your client will find along the way that they might want to add. Whether it’s an upgraded chair or the addition of a raw bar to the cocktail hour, they can decide how they want to spend that cushion fund once you’re all further along in the planning process.  

In addition to a cushion fund, don’t forget to factor in miscellaneous expenses, such as tipping, dress alterations, postal stamps and more.

6. Track Payments
Now that you’ve done all the hard work of budgeting, make sure to keep track of vendor payments in one centralized spot. If you are looking for a software to use, Aisle Planner is such a wonderful tool that our team uses day in and day out, with so many features to help couples keep tabs on their budget throughout the entire planning process. However, you can also do this with a simple and efficient excel sheet!

We hope these six steps to creating a realistic wedding budget are beneficial as you navigate the beginning stages of planning with your new clients!

xo,

Renée