My Biggest Dilemma As A Wedding Planner

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t get into wedding planning because I loved numbers.

While I can get a little starry-eyed in office supplies stores (Hello, Staples!), and I love a good color-coded spreadsheet, organizing the WEDDING BUDGET quickly became my least favorite wedding planning tasks.

When a bride would ask me if I offered wedding budget services I would cringe & think to myself “I really don’t want to!!!“!!! But I realized that while it might not be MY favorite wedding planning tasks, it’s typically not a BRIDE’S favorite task!! This means it’s a wedding task she typically needs a lot of guidance on, so as wedding planners we need to be the expert!!

If you want to offer Wedding Budget services or guidance to your clients:

my the top 5 tips that helped me overcome my fear of wedding numbers & dollar signs!!!

Understand who’s paying. Talking about who’s paying can be one of the most uncomfortable wedding conversations… but it is a necessity!! When working with a couple on their budget, one of my very first questions is if they’ve talked with ALL parties involved and understand exactly who’s paying for what. If they haven’t yet, I urge them to do so before we move forward with breaking down a wedding planning budget. It’s not beneficial for anyone to take time budgeting with $20,000 only to realize we’ll actually have $30,000!
Ask their top 3. I want to know what their priorities are, so I ask both the bride & the groom to give me their “top 3 priorities”! Sometimes it’s things like “band, food, venue” from one, and “photography, flowers, band” from another. Whatever the case, it’s helpful to see what their answer are, if they match up & if they don’t – develop a compromise that everyone is excited about!! Knowing their priorities will allow you to allocate costs more appropriately.
Rely on your experience. When I first started, I went off of basic budget allocations I could find through none other than Google. I knew that the average wedding budget is $31, 213 (source) and used The Knot’s percentage breakdown to determine the budget: “Reception: 48-50 percent, Ceremony: 2-3 percent, Attire: 8-10 percent, Flowers: 8-10 percent, Entertainment/Music: 8-10 percent, Photography/Videography: 10-12 percent, Stationery: 2-3 percent, Wedding Rings: 2-3 percent, Parking/Transportation: 2-3 percent, Gifts: 2-3 percent, Miscellaneous: 8 percent.” However my experience taught me that my clients tend to use 15 percent on Photography & closer to 20% if we’re included Videography. While that might seem like a small change between the average 10-12 percent, those numbers add up quickly!!
Compare weddings over the course of a season. In order to rely on your experience, you have to understand what’s worked & what hasn’t worked before! At the end of a season (hint: December is great time, y’all!), look back over your past weddings and compare the BUDGET numbers with the ACTUAL numbers. What areas stayed on budget? What areas went over budget? Why? Look back at the couple priorities (since that could be a reason for an over/under budget!), and also look at the un-planned (example: a last minute tent rental due to rainy weather). Understanding your wedding history will allow you to make better decisions with your client’s budget for future weddings!
Have a system!! Once you establish the budget, you need a system to stay on track! (I do not MAINTAIN the budget with every client, but if I do help them CREATE the budget I want to give them a solid system as they continue to maintain it!) Insert my Wedding Budget Template!! My friend Lacoya created this template when she was planning weddings & I love that I get to share it with you today!! This template allows me to create a wedding budget that automatically calculates (no more calculator!), and it’s easy to edit & share with my clients! If you’d like to see more, you can view the Customizable Wedding Budget Template HERE! Regardless of whether you use this template or not, create a SYSTEM to help you and your clients maintain the budget throughout the planning process!!!

I hope this helps ease your wedding planning budget woes! What tips do YOU have for create a wedding planning budget for your clients? I’d love to hear!

xo! kat

Images by SC Stock Shop