Top Wedding Budget Allocation Tips

Allocating your wedding budget might seem easy. You need a venue, wedding attire, food, drinks, decor, cake, etc., all the major stuff for weddings. However, anyone who has seen at least one episode of Say Yes to the Dress can attest to just how easy it is to splurge on wedding outfits and blow the rest of the wedding budget out the window. And blowing the budget in one area means a compromise in others.

But while there are indeed areas that deserve a more significant chunk of your budget, effective division of said wedding budget and appropriate allocation of monies can help you make better decisions and fewer compromises or, worse, plunge yourself into financial difficulties due to impulse spending. 

Let's take a look at a few tips to help you properly assign wedding budgets and keep costs under control .

Set The Total Budget

Before you do anything else, you need your entire wedding fund before allocation. 

Before you go dress shopping or purchase bouquets, you need to understand the total amount you are working with.

Be realistic about how much money you have, when it will be available if you don't have a lump sum waiting already, and what contingency, if any, there will be, or how you will source additional income if required.

Non Negotiables

Remove the big-ticket items from play for now, as each wedding needs these things. These nonnegotiables are those things you must have at your wedding. Sure, you need food, but if your dream is a specific type of meal and you won't compromise, this is not negotiable. If you must pay for a MOB or MOG outfit, with no exceptions, then this, too, is non-negotiable. Look at those things, even the small details that need to be included in the budget, when you look at the allocation of funds.

Budget Allocation

Next, you need to consider all the ways your budget needs to be divided. The actual amount you will spend on each one is irrelevant at this point, but it's a good idea to simply write down what you want your budget to cover.

Start with the big-ticket expenses such as your venue, attire, wedding photography, cake, floral items, catering, etc. Then work your way down to the added extras that will make your wedding special, for example, hiring a wedding planner (not everyone else needs a wedding planner). And include everything you can think of, from decor hire to stationery and bridal party budgets, if you’re including this, drink costs if you're covering drinks, and so on, so you don't miss anything.

Identify What You Don't Need

At this stage, it is not technically removing anything but instead creating a backup plan if things don't work out financially or if you blow the budget. Those things that you want at your wedding but are willing to go without, change your mind on, or compromise. This is a good idea for reducing the budget and spending for any reason, i.e., you lose money or don't accumulate all the money you need in time. Knowing what you can cut back on or looking at more cost-effective choices that you won't be upset about can be a lifesaver if the worst happens financially.