How To Allocate Your Wedding Budget

Are you recently engaged and ready to start your wedding planning journey? Firstly, a huge congratulations! Secondly, are you starting to feel slightly overwhelmed by the vast number of elements to be considered? Don’t worry, you’re not alone and here at Hyland Weddings & Events, we’ve you covered.

One of the biggest factors of any wedding planning is the budget - and trying to stick to it! We’ve been planning weddings for years, so we know a thing or two about all things budget-related and have whipped up a few hints and tricks on how to allocate your wedding budget so that the cost doesn’t creep up, but you still get the day of your dreams. Grab a notepad folks, it’s time to get clued up…

Consider Your Priorities

This is where you need to consider your venue, catering, drinks, décor and entertainment. This day should be all about you, however, we know our lovely couples want to put on the best day of their lives and spoil their guests at the same time. Sit down and consider what is important to you both as a couple and use that to work out where you want to pour the most money. What are the elements you absolutely cannot get married without? Are there things that would be nice, but you don’t necessarily need? Create a list for the ‘Must Have’ and ‘Would Be Nice’ items – and if you’ve got any money left over in your budget you can shimmy them around! This isn’t an area to rush – you want to feel completely at ease with your choices.

Budget Breakdown

This budget breakdown will quickly become your new best friend when making those all-importance decisions. Below is generally where most couples allocate their wedding budget throughout their big day.

• Venue and Catering: 40%-50%
• Photography and Videography: 10%-15%
• Music/Entertainment: 10%
• Flowers: 10%
• Décor: 10%
• Wedding Attire and Beauty: 10%-13%
• Transportation: 3%
• Stationery: 3%
• Cake: 2%
• Favours and Gifts: 2%
• Ceremony: 2%

Hyland Weddings & Events Top Tips

• It’s always useful to have a contingency pot. It goes without saying, unexpected things crop up as you go through your wedding planning which you may not have accounted for, so it’s better to be prepared. Don’t let this worry you, here at Hyland Weddings we provide detailed breakdowns that include the back-up fund, meaning those speed bumps are smoothly dealt with so you can continue enjoying every second of wedding planning.
• When enquiring with your potential suppliers, make sure you enquire to see if their quotes have VAT included. This will provide you with accurate costs and won’t leave you surprised when the invoice comes in.
• Spreadsheets, spreadsheets, spreadsheets. They are perhaps one of the most useful tools to help you with your wedding planning journey (our Founder, Natalie, can’t get enough of them). They’re great for tracking spending, where you can divide the costs into categories and assign a set amount to each one. This allows you to quickly and easily see if you’re overspending, sticking within budget or if you’ve got a few spare pennies to allocate elsewhere – remember that ‘Would Be Nice’ list we spoke about? Don’t fret, when you work with Hyland Weddings & Events, your wedding budget spreadsheet is something we’ll take care of.
• Keep in mind that if there is something non-negotiable, like that dream wedding gown you’ve always wanted, or the wedding venue you’ve driven past day after day, be prepared to cut back in other areas.

As wedding planners in Devon, our aim at Hyland Weddings & Events is to ensure a seamless and stress-free planning journey. From wedding budgets to spreadsheets (and everything in-between), we’ll offer you the helping hand you’ve been looking for. Get in touch to discover our availability for weddings in 2023/2024 and follow our loved-up adventures over on Instagram!