- Set the total first, from what you have and what you are willing to borrow or accept; then split it. A budget built from quotes is a wish list.
- About half of most wedding budgets is the venue and the catering, and both scale with the guest count. The guest list is the budget's biggest lever.
- Fixed lines (photographer, attire, rings, music) cost the same for 40 guests and 140; per-head lines (food, drink, cake, favours, stationery) do not.
- Keep a contingency line of five to ten percent and spend it last, not first.
- Track three numbers per line: planned, paid, remaining. In Vowly Event the budget does exactly that, with payment tasks feeding it.
Set the total before the first quote
The order matters. Couples who collect quotes first end up with a budget that is the sum of the quotes, which is always more than they meant to spend, because every supplier quoted for the wedding they imagined rather than the one you can afford. Start from three numbers instead: what you have saved for it, what each family has offered, and what you are willing to add each month between now and the day. The sum is the total. It can be revisited; it should not be discovered.
Then decide what the total must cover. Some couples count the honeymoon and the rings in it; others keep them outside. Some count the engagement party. Write the list of what is in and what is out on the first page of the budget, because half the arguments about money in the following year are really arguments about that list.
Where the money goes
The split below is a starting point that most weddings drift towards, not a statistic. Your venue may include the catering, your cousin may be the photographer, you may not want flowers at all. Move the shares; what matters is that the total stays the total.
| Line | Starting share | Moves with guest count? | What it usually covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | 20% | Partly | Hire of the rooms, furniture, staff, sometimes the bar |
| Catering and drinks | 28% | Yes | Food per head, drinks per head or package, service, corkage |
| Photography and video | 10% | No | Coverage hours, second shooter, album, editing |
| Attire and beauty | 8% | No | Dress, suit, shoes, alterations, hair and make-up with trials |
| Music and entertainment | 6% | No | Band or DJ, ceremony musicians, sound hire |
| Flowers and décor | 8% | Partly | Bouquets, ceremony and table flowers, hire items, lighting |
| Stationery and printing | 2% | Yes | Invitations if printed, menus, place cards, signs; digital reduces this |
| Cake | 2% | Yes | Tiers sized to the guest count, delivery, stand |
| Transport | 3% | Partly | Cars for the couple and party, a coach for guests |
| Rings | 4% | No | Two rings, engraving, resizing |
| Contingency | 9% | No | The line you spend last: overtime, an extra table, the thing you forgot |
The guest count is the biggest lever
Roughly half of the budget is spent per head: food, drink, cake, favours, stationery, part of the venue and part of the décor. That makes the guest list the one decision that moves the total more than any supplier negotiation. Ten guests fewer is ten dinners, ten drinks packages, ten chairs and a tenth of a table's flowers. The guest list guide has the rules for cutting; the budget's job is to make the cost of each name visible, which is what the per-guest figure in the calculator does.
The other lines are fixed or nearly so. A photographer costs the same for forty guests as for a hundred and forty; so does the dress, the band and the rings. A small wedding therefore spends a larger share on the fixed lines and a smaller share per head, which is why the split for forty guests looks different from the split for two hundred; the examples page shows both.
Fixed, per head, and the lines people forget
- Fixed: photographer and videographer, attire, rings, band or DJ, officiant fees, the marriage licence, the couple's transport, hair and make-up.
- Per head: catering, drinks, cake, favours, printed stationery, chair and linen hire, part of the venue fee where it is tiered by number.
- Often forgotten: service charges and VAT on quotes that show net prices, delivery and setup fees, overtime for the venue and the band, tips, the day-after brunch, dress cleaning, the guest book and the signs, postage if you print, wedding insurance, gifts for the wedding party and the parents.
- Money that may come back: deposits refunded from hire items, unused drinks packages, the difference between the numbers you booked and the numbers who came, if the caterer's contract allows.
Deposits, balances and the last month
A wedding is paid in three moments: deposits at booking, often a year out; balances in the last month; and cash on the day for the few suppliers who want it. The budget has to show all three, or the last month arrives with balances that add up to more than what is left. For every line, record the total agreed, the deposit paid and when the balance is due; the sum of the balances due in the final thirty days is the number to know by month six.
Track three figures per line, not one: planned, paid and remaining. Planned is the agreed total; paid is what has left the account; remaining is what is still to go, and its total across all lines is the only figure that tells you whether the budget still closes. A budget that only tracks planned amounts is a plan; one that tracks paid and remaining is a budget.
Ten ways budgets go wrong
- Adding up quotes and calling it the budget.
- Signing the catering contract before the guest list is real.
- Reading net prices as final prices; VAT and service add a fifth to a quarter.
- No contingency line, so the first surprise comes out of the honeymoon.
- Counting the honeymoon and the rings in the total in January and out of it in June.
- Forgetting delivery, setup and overtime, which are never in the headline price.
- Tracking planned amounts only, and discovering the balances in the last month.
- Paying deposits from a shared account nobody reconciles.
- Letting each family add guests without adding money.
- Deciding late; every decision made in the last two months costs more.
Tracking it in one place
The calculator on the next page gives you the split for your own total and guest count, and the examples page shows three weddings of different sizes side by side. To track the real thing, Vowly Event's budget tool holds a planned total, a cost line per item with its category and whether it has been paid, and a running planned, paid and remaining summary; payment tasks with an amount and a due date feed it, so the balance due to the florist in the last month is one line in both the checklist and the budget. Planning is free without a time limit.
FAQ
- How much does a wedding cost?
- Whatever the guest count and the venue decide; there is no single number that means anything for your wedding. Set the total from what you have and what families offer, then split it; the calculator shows the split for your own figures.
- What percentage of a wedding budget goes on the venue and food?
- About half, in most weddings: the venue around a fifth and the catering with drinks a bit more than a quarter. Both scale with the guest count, which is why the guest list is the biggest lever on the total.
- How much should I keep as contingency?
- Five to ten percent of the total, spent last. It covers overtime, an extra table, VAT you missed on a net quote and the thing you forgot.
- What costs the same regardless of guest count?
- The photographer, the attire, the rings, the band or DJ, the officiant, the licence, the couple's transport and hair and make-up. Everything eaten, drunk, printed or sat on is per head.
- What do people forget in a wedding budget?
- VAT and service on net quotes, delivery and setup fees, overtime, tips, the day-after brunch, dress cleaning, postage, wedding insurance and gifts for the wedding party.
- Can I track my wedding budget in Vowly Event?
- Yes, free without a time limit: a planned total, cost lines with a category and a paid flag, a planned, paid and remaining summary, and payment tasks that feed it. On iOS, Android and the web.