How To Set a Wedding Budget | 5 Simple Steps

Wondering how to set a wedding budget? This post will go over exactly how to set a wedding budget so that you can actually start planning.

When you google “how to plan a wedding,’ you will see over and over again that one of the first things you need to do is set a wedding budget. While this is definitely not a fun part of wedding planning, it is a very important step.

You shouldn’t buy or book anything until you know exactly how much you have to spend.

Like most wedding planning tasks, determining your budget is easier said than done. In this post, I will walk you through the process of setting up a realistic budget for your wedding.

This post explains how to set a wedding budget in 5 simple steps.

Before we begin, I strongly believe that you should NOT go into dept over your wedding. This process will help you set a budget that is realistic and responsible for your unique financial situation. Know that you can have an amazing wedding no matter your budget.

The Importance of Setting a Wedding Budget

Avoid wasting time

If you try to jump into wedding planning without setting a budget (like I did), you will end up hitting lots of roadblocks and, honestly, just wasting time.

I was aimlessly researching and saving all sorts of vendors on The Knot and Wedding Wire with no idea how much I had to spend. When I finally did set my budget, I realized that a lot of what I had saved was way out of our price range. Looking back, I realized just how much time I wasted.

It’s hard to make any progress with planning when you don’t know how much you can spend. Setting your budget first allows you to narrow down your search and actually move forward with booking.

Avoid overspending

If you start buying items or booking vendors without knowing your budget, you risk overspending later on.

Chances are you’ve never planned wedding before, so you might be surprised by exactly how many things you have to pay for.

For example, let’s say you book a $5,000 venue but find out later on that your total budget is $15,000. While this budget is reasonable, you’ve already spent a third of it on one item. Now you only have $10,000 to spread across your photographer, videographer, caterer, coordinator, DJ, flowers, decor, wedding dress, suit, rings, stationary, gifts, and more. If you are set on having all of these items, chances are you will be going over budget.

Avoid disappointment

Finally, its best to start off your wedding planning with realistic expectations so that you can avoid disappointment later on.

Let’s say you do what I did and saved tons of gorgeous venues, only to find out later that they are out of your price range. When you do set your budget, you’ll probably be pretty disappointed that you can’t afford them and will have to start your search all over.

Or maybe you’ve already booked a venue for 5 grand, but also had your heart set on a specific photographer. If you have a strict budget and literally can’t afford to spend a penny more than 15k, you’ll be crushed if you find out you can’t afford them.

You should determine your budget first so that you can set your priorities and narrow down your searches to only include those within your price range. If it’s out of your price range – don’t even look at it!!

Okay, now let’s talk about how to set your wedding budget.

How to Set a Wedding Budget in 5 Simple Steps

1. Calculate your total savings

The first step is easy – calculate your combined savings.

This is going to give you a great starting point for your budget. To do this, you’ll need to open up both of your savings’ accounts and add up any accessible funds.

If this is a low number, don’t panic! We’re not finished. If this is a high number, know that you don’t have to spend any more than you want to – more on that in step 5.

2. Subtract your safety net

Now that you know how much you have in savings, you should subtract a safety net.

You will want to make sure you put some money aside in case of emergency.

NerdWallet recommends that you have 3-6 months’ worth of expenses saved. Use this emergency fund calculator from NerdWallet to estimate how much you should set aside.

If you have savings for any other goals, like a new computer or car, you may want to set those funds aside as well.

After you subtract these numbers from your total savings, you’ll see how much you have to drop on your wedding right this second. Basically, if your wedding was tomorrow, this is how much you could spend.

3. Add potential savings

If your budget is a bit lower than you would like, you should set up a savings goal. Take another look at your finances and figure out how much you could afford to put away each month until your wedding date.

If you are saving for another goal, like a car or house, consider pausing those goals for now and focus on saving for your wedding.

Pro Tip: The longer your engagement period, the longer you have to save. If you are tight on cash and want to increase your budget, consider pushing that date back a bit.

4. Add family contributions

If your families are planning on contributing to the wedding, you’ll want to know how much help you will receive so that you can budget accordingly.

This may mean that you sit down and have a conversation with your parents and future in-laws. It is SO important that you and your fiancé are on the same page and that you approach this conversation with sensitivity and respect. You’ll want to be transparent with your financial situation and may want to do some research into typical wedding costs in your area.

If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, I get it. I never like asking anyone for anything, especially money… which is why we skipped this step.

When planning our wedding, my husband and I decided that we were not going to ask our families to contribute. We set our initial budget based on what we could afford.

Once we started sharing our excitement and some plans, those conversations arose naturally. We are incredibly grateful to have received contributions from multiple family members that helped make our dream day possible.

5. Decide how much you want to spend

This step is really only for those who have a pretty substantial number so far. For example, if you are at a total of 65k after following the previous steps, you might not want to spend that much on your wedding.

Now that you have a general idea of what you could afford, you both should decide how much you actually want to spend.

This step can be difficult as you and your fiancé may have different opinions and/or priorities. It’s important that you sit down and have an honest conversation about your wedding vision.

I recommend making a list of priorities, estimating tour guest count, and then doing some research into the cost of weddings in your area.

No matter what you decide, you should pick a maximum number that you will not exceed. This will help you decrease the risk of overspending later on.

Next Steps

Now that you know your total budget, you’ll want to research and map out your wedding budget breakdown.

This will tell you what percent of your total budget you should spend in each category so that you know exactly how much you can afford for each line item.

Check out my blog post How to Break Down Your Wedding Budget for suggested allocations and a FREE budget breakdown template.

How to Set a Wedding Budget – Review

1. Calculate your total savings between you and your fiancé.
2. Set aside funds for emergencies and other goals
3. Add potential future savings
4. Add family contributions
5. Decide how much you actually want to spend

Already saved – safety net + future savings + family contributions = total budget

Following these steps will give you a realistic and responsible budget based on your unique financial situation. Remember, it’s not about the amount spent but the thoughtful choices and meaningful moments that make your celebration special.

Happy Planning!