Wedding planning is such an exciting time in your life because you get to spend forever with your significant other! However, getting started on all things wedding planning can be overwhelming because there are a lot of decisions that need to be made. One of the first decisions you will make along your wedding planning journey is deciding on your wedding budget. Having a rough estimate of how much you will be able to spend on your wedding overall will help you know how to prioritize vendors throughout your wedding planning journey. Rich & Kitch have outlined 5 steps on how to prioritize your wedding budget & vendors to help you make these decisions. We created a FREE printable list you can use to rank your wedding vendors in order of priority, too!
STEP 1: DETERMINE YOUR WEDDING BUDGET
It is traditional that the parents of the bride will pay for most of the wedding expenses. If that is the case for you, we recommend starting your budget discussion with them. Then, decide what you and your significant other are willing to spend. And if needed, discuss with the parents of the groom if they are willing to chip in any money towards the wedding. Deciding who pays for what not only factors into the wording on your wedding invitations, but establishing a wedding budget helps guide your wedding planning decisions. Now is also a good time to start putting your guest list together as you are gathering input from your families!
STEP 2: PRIORITIZE YOUR WEDDING VENDORS
Once you know your wedding budget, it is time to prioritize your wedding vendors & other important items for your wedding day. As you are ranking what is most important to you, remember to think big picture. Think about what you want to be the most memorable for you when looking back on your wedding day. Also know that wedding vendors with labor intensive duties are going to be expensive. Therefore, you might have to make some compromises to get the things that are most important to you if you have budget restrictions. This Rich & Kitch blog post has tips for choosing your wedding vendors & you can read it here! Whether you have a tight wedding budget or not, as long as you are focusing on the most important things for your wedding day, it will be your best day ever!
If you click here or the image below, you will be taken to download a printable list you can use to rank your wedding vendors in order of priority. We suggest you and your significant other fill out the list separately first, then discuss your results. It is important that you both agree on what you want most for your wedding day, since the day is about both of you getting married!
STEP 3: GET INPUT FROM OTHER BUDGET CONTRIBUTORS
Once you & your significant other are happy with your list of wedding vendor priorities, you’ll want to run it by the parents of the bride and/or the groom's parents if they are contributing a lot of money towards your wedding. If needed, set the stage by stating that the wedding is about you & your significant other getting married, so at the end of the day, you will have the final say in these decisions. However, it is considerate to get your parents' input if they are funding the bill.
STEP 4: FINALIZE YOUR LIST OF PRIORITIES
After you get input from key wedding decision makers, it’s time to finalize your list of priorities. Make sure your non-negotiable, must-have items are at the top of the list. Think about your guest count & the experience you want for your guests. The more guests you want at your wedding, the more expensive it will be from catering, to table decorations, and wedding stationery, so keep that in mind, too! If you need ideas for areas to save money, read these blogs from The Knot: Wedding Budget Tips & Ways To Save Money.
STEP 5: START BUDGETING
Now it’s time to start researching the cost of your wedding vendors and set budgets for each category. To start, you'll want to consider wedding costs around the following:
Wedding location: major cities are going to cost more than a small hometown)
Season: in Cabo, for example, peak season is November – May so things like hotel rooms cost more than in off season from June – October
Date: some venues offer discounts for getting married on a Friday, for example
The Knot breaks down average wedding costs in this article. Remember to set aside money to tip your vendors at the end, too! It’s also a good idea to allocate about 5% of your budget towards an emergency fund for unexpected costs that might occur. As you are budgeting, make sure you are tracking all of your expenses in an excel file or another system that works best for you. Try to save money where you can, but also don’t be surprised if you go over your budget. In the Get Hitched With Rich & Kitch Wedding Planning Playbook, we coach you through making these wedding decisions & offer helpful templates/worksheets to make wedding planning easier for you! Click here to learn more.
By following Rich & Kitch’s 5 steps for prioritizing your wedding budget & vendors, you’ll have the foundation in place to plan the wedding of your dreams! Don’t forget to download our printable list to rank your wedding vendors in order of priority so you can move further along in your wedding planning process today!
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