The Blog of a Burlington Wedding & Event Planner

No one likes budget talk. The fun of planning a wedding seems to evapourate pretty quickly when money talk rears its ugly head. But when it comes to a wedding, you have to know the dollars and cents of your planning.

One of the questions I get asked time and time again is “Am I spending too much?”. The answer really depends. Depends on what your overall budget is, what is important to you, how many guests you’re having, etc.

But there are those couples who are ‘foodies’ and MUST have great food at the reception. Or those who are passionate about music, for who a DJ won’t do. Those couple know that they are willing to devote a large chunk of their budget to getting the perfect details to suit their passions.

But many couples feel that yes, the food and music must be good but aren’t sure where to start in the budgeting process. For them, I would recommend the following breakdown by percent of their wedding budget:
Reception (45%)
Planner (12%)
Bride’s Attire (5%)
Photography (5%)
Flowers/Decor (5%)
Entertainment (5%)
Videographer (3%)
Transportation (3%)
Stationary/Invites (3%)
Wedding Rings (3%)
Wedding Gifts (3%)
Ceremony (2%)
Cake (1%)
Hair & Make-up (1%)
Groom’s Attire (1%)
Accessories (1%)
Accommodations (1%)
Miscellaneous (1%)

So for a wedding with a total budget of $25,000 it would look like this:
Reception (45%) – $11,250
Planner (12%) – $ 3,000
Bride’s Attire (5%) – $ 1,250
Photography (5%) – $ 1,250
Flowers/Decor (5%) – $ 1,250
Entertainment (5%) – $ 1,250
Videographer (3%) – $ 750
Transportation (3%) – $ 750
Stationary/Invites (3%) – $ 750
Wedding Rings (3%) – $ 750
Wedding Gifts (3%) – $ 750
Ceremony (2%) – $ 500
Cake (1%) – $ 250
Hair & Make-up (1%) – $ 250
Groom’s Attire (1%) – $ 250
Accessories (1%) – $ 250
Accommodations (1%) – $ 250
Miscellaneous (1%) – $ 250

And if the list above has things that you aren’t including, like a videographer, remove that line item and either add it to another category or put it back in the bank!



Hope this helps!