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The Bride's Book of Lists: Things to Do and Questions to Ask

The Bride's Essential Wedding Planner: Deluxe Edition

The Bride's Essential Wedding Planner: From Yes to I Do and Beyond

Anti-Bride Wedding Planner: Hip Tools and Tips for Getting Hitched

The Bride's Mini 411: Checklists, Calendars & Contacts

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How to Envision Your Wedding

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How to Choose and Hire Vendors

How to Pay for Your Wedding

Wedding events and expenses can vary widely in complexity and extravagance. Setting and sticking to a budget is a crucial aspect of wedding planning, whether you’re spending a thousand dollars or a million.

Decide Who’s Paying for Your Wedding

Before you can set a budget for your wedding, you have to decide who’s paying. Common arrangements include:

Bride’s family pays: Traditionally, the bride’s family covers the majority of the wedding expenses, while the groom’s family pays for the rehearsal dinner.
Both families pay: In many contemporary weddings, the families of the bride and groom split all the wedding costs evenly.
Bride and groom pay: If the parents can’t or won’t pay for the wedding, the bride and groom often pay for the wedding themselves.

To prevent conflicts from developing later on, be sure to discuss money matters openly—with everyone involved— at the start of your planning.

Set a Budget for Your Wedding

An important part of deciding who can and will pay for your wedding is determining your total budget—the maximum amount you can spend or are willing to spend on your wedding and reception. Once you have an agreed-upon number, you can build a budget of specific expenses that together fit within your total.

Keeping Track of Your Budget

The best way to stick to your budget is to record every dollar you spend on your wedding in a computer-based spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel® or Google Spreadsheets®. These spreadsheet programs can help you keep track of your expenses, assess where each aspect of your budget stands, and ensure that you don’t exceed your total budget.

If you don’t have easy access to a computer or spreadsheet software, just keep a written log of your budget and monitor it each time you add an expense.

List of Typical Wedding Expenses

Review the list below to help determine your total wedding budget and your budget for each individual expense. As a general guide, note that most couples, on average, spend about 50–60% of their total budget on the wedding ceremony and reception.

Ceremony

Ceremony site fee
Marriage license
Officiant fee
Rings

Clothing

Bride’s attire

Wedding gown
Alterations
Headpiece and veil
Hair, makeup, nails
Jewelry
Lingerie
Shoes

Groom’s attire

Tuxedo or suit
Shirt
Tie
Shoes
Accessories

Flowers

Ceremony flowers

Bouquets
Boutonnieres
Corsages
Decorations
Flowers or petals for flower girl

Reception flowers

Centerpieces
Decorations

Gifts and Miscellaneous

Gifts for attendants
Bride’s and groom’s gifts for each other
Gifts for parents
Guest book
Ring pillow
Wedding favors
Welcome baskets

Photography

Albums
Engagement portrait
Photographer’s fee
Reprints
Videography
Wedding portrait

Music

Ceremony music
Cocktail hour music
Band or DJ for reception

Reception

Bar and beverages
Cake
Coat check
Food and service
Reception site fee
Rentals (chairs, dance floor, heaters, linens, place settings, portable restrooms, tables, tent)
Wedding planner or consultant