Brides USA

STILL STUMPED ON HOW TO STAY ABOVE THE

BOTTOM LINE? Plug your overall budget into the Brides

budget tool and you’ll get a personalized breakout of

how much you should spend on every part of the wedding.

Plus, you can keep track of bills as they add up! To get

started, visit weddingtools.brides.com.

2

BREAK

DOWN

YOUR

BUDGET

The average wed-

ding costs around

$30,000 and has

about 150 guests.

Use this chart as a

rough guide and

adjust according to

your priorities.

Hiring a planner? A

day-of coordinator

can charge $1,500

and up, while an

event designer will

cost around 10 per-

cent of your budget.

SET UP YOUR

SPREADSHEET

To track your spending ever y step of the way,

do what wedding planners do and create

an Excel workbook or Google Doc. Here are the

elements to include:

1 Down the side of your document, break each categor y

into its component’s costs. For example, under “Bride’s attire,”

make line items for the dress, accessories, and alterations.

2 Fill in columns with essential information. Ever y

spreadsheet should include vendor contact information,

estimated cost, actual cost, additional ser vice fees

and tips, transportation and parking costs for off-site

vendors, and taxes.

3 Create a line for your grand total, and use the auto-sum

function to add things up as you go.

VENUE/CATERING45%

2%MISCELLANEOUS

6%

MUSIC

5%

FLOWERS

9%

WEDDING ATTIRE/BEAUTY

12%

PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY

2%DECOR

3%TRANSPORTATION

3%STATIONERY2%CAKE

WATCH OUT FOR THESE

HIDDEN COSTS

Postage for invitations

Typical invites need

about $1.19 each. Weigh

yours before mailing

them to ensure your

stamps cover it.

Taxes and gratuities

They can add up to 28

percent to your venue

and catering bills. Make

sure to check which

vendors include a gratu-

ity and which will need

extra on the big day.

Plating, cake-cutting,

and corkage fees

Bringing in a caterer,

cake, or booze from

outside? Your venue

could charge you

a few hundred extra.

Extra staff “Saying

yes to that roast beef

carving station will

mean shelling out for

another chef or waiter,”

says Atlanta planner

Sarah Chancey.

Shipping fees Expect

them for anything you’re

ordering online or that a

vendor has to send you

(favors, stationer y, wel-

come bags, et cetera).

Rentals Saying “I do”

in your backyard might

be free, but the chairs,

tables, and dinnerware

you’ll need could cost

$50 per guest.

Guest parking If you’re

using a valet, you could

pay 10 bucks per car!

Vendor transportation

An out-of-town band

or photographer will

need a lift.

Set-up and breakdown

fees Cleanup often isn’t

gratis, and you may have

to pay overtime rates.

Digital access Some

photogs will charge you

as much as $1,200 to

view and share your

photos online. Yikes!

IS YOUR DREAM VENUE

(OR THAT DRESS, OR

IMPORTED PEONIES)

NONNEGOTIABLE

FOR YOU? IF IT PUTS

YOU OVER BUDGET,

JUST CUT DOWN IN

ANOTHER AREA THAT

MATTERS LESS TO YOU.

6%

RINGS

5%

FAVORS/GIFTS

342 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 BRIDES.COM

DETAILS ULTIMATE GUIDE