In addition to having a good wedding checklist, a wedding budget breakdown and/or spreadsheet should be considered a mandatory tool for getting started with wedding planning. Before putting any deposits down or buying any wedding supplies, it’s very important to determine your overall wedding budget, starting with the maximum amount of money you and your fiancé intend to spend on your wedding.
And if you don’t already have one, a good wedding binder (affiliate link) is an invaluable way to organize your budget, checklists and everything else you’ll compile as you plan your wedding.
So what is the average wedding cost, anyway?
That’s a great question, and one that you should indeed be asking. We like this site to check on current averages by state and type of expense (reception venue, engagement ring, etc.) since things change from year to year.
The average cost of a wedding nowadays might come with some sticker shock, but as you take a deep breath remind yourself that these are just averages. It is absolutely possible to still plan weddings on a budget with a little creativity and perseverance. 😉
How to Use a Wedding Budget Breakdown & Spreadsheet
Using a spreadsheet for wedding budget planning is not only smart in the initial stages of wedding planning; having a wedding budget breakdown will be invaluable right up through your wedding day as inevitably more and more costs will come up that you hadn’t thought of originally. By using a wedding budget calculator, you’ll be able to see where you can cut back on costs in order to accommodate whatever new expenses arise.
You can download our spreadsheet below and follow the instructions that follow as you fill it in to create your own wedding budget:
- Wedding Budget Spreadsheet (Excel format, 12 KB)
Wedding budget breakdown
While the actual wedding budget percentages will vary from wedding to wedding, here is a typical breakdown of costs that can be applied to most weddings and which you can use for your own wedding as a starting point:
50% Reception (Venue, Food and Beverages, Cake, etc.)
10% Bridal Gown and Accessories
10% Music
10% Photography
10% Flowers
10% Everything Else (Invitations, Gifts, etc.)
Wedding budget calculator
Our wedding budget Excel spreadsheet is actually set up as a calculator as well, to make this process super easy. No math skills necessary here! 🙂
To get started, determine the maximum amount you are willing to spend on your wedding and enter that amount in cell D8 in the Excel spreadsheet. Keep in mind that your budgeted total should include not just the wedding itself, but also any pre-wedding events such as the rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, etc.
Once you hit enter, a suggested breakdown by category will populate based on your total budgeted amount in the colored boxes. The wedding budget percentage breakdown reflects the ratios listed above (50% for the reception, etc.)
Wedding budget checklist
This wedding budget sheet also has a built-in checklist so that you can itemize costs within each major category.
Starting with the reception venue rental (row 14), enter an estimated amount for each line item in column D excluding any items that don’t apply to your wedding. Feel free to enter other items not listed on the Excel wedding budget template in the “Other” row at the end of each category. If your estimates total more than the budgeted amount, the “total” row will alert you by turning red.
Tip: Don’t worry if you are over budget in any particular category just yet; as long as your overall total at the bottom of the wedding budget planner is within your total budget, you’re still on track. If necessary, determine which items to eliminate or cut back on in order to stay within budget overall.
Once your wedding budget planning spreadsheet is finalized, use the “Actual” column to enter final costs and keep track of total expenses accrued once you begin to shop or make payments to vendors.
Good luck! 🙂 While this won’t be an quick exercise for many couples, it will definitely pay off in the long run–and will help keep you on track and accountable for all of the money being spent towards the big day.
Download: Wedding Budget Worksheet (Excel format, 12 KB)
Wedding budget FAQ
When should I create a budget for my upcoming wedding?
Ideally, couples should start working on their wedding budget as early as possible in the wedding planning process. It’s important to have a roadmap in place before spending any money so that you can make the best decisions about specific costs along the way.
What is a typical wedding budget breakdown in terms of costs?
While every wedding is unique, couples generally spend the majority of their wedding budget on the reception venue (50%), followed by the bridal gown (10%), music (10%), photography (10%), flowers (10%) and everything else (10%).
What is a wedding budget calculator?
Typically in Excel or Google Sheets format, a wedding budget spreadsheet or calculator is used to help simplify the budgeting process. Using the suggested wedding budget percentages on the spreadsheet, you can then enter your own estimated costs in order to figure out how to best spend your money.
What if I go over my wedding budget?
If you go over your budget in one or more category in the course of wedding planning, go back to your wedding budget spreadsheet to see where you can cut costs in other areas in order to stay as close to budget as possible.