Budget breakdown

mmoss042515

Hello, I hope that I have more luck with this post. I managed to (completely and unintentionally) offend the crap out of people in my last one. My FI and I have just started our wedding planning. I spoke with my fater last night and he said he wants to pay for our wedding and is setting the budget at 150k. My question is, what seems to be the biggest chunk of the budget? Food, venue, booze? Thank you all!

tammym1001

Generally the reception is the biggest part of the budget. That would cover food, reception venue, and booze. A lot of it depends on the size of your guest list as well though. I know a lot of people on here say that the reception takes about 60% of their budget, but ours was only about 40% of our budget since we had a very small guest list. I just finished reading your other post. First, I wanted to say it was probably a good idea not to put the amount in that thread that your dad gave you Second, I have put my foot in my mouth a few times regarding money when I'm talking to people who have to be a little more careful with it. I know I've offended some people before and I feel bad about it, but it definitely wasn't intentional. I feel like that was probably what happened to you. I would concentrate on putting a big chunk of your budget towards things that will affect your guests like the food, alcohol, and entertainment.

QueerFemme

mmoss042515 said:

Hello, I hope that I have more luck with this post. I managed to (completely and unintentionally) offend the crap out of people in my last one. My FI and I have just started our wedding planning. I spoke with my fater last night and he said he wants to pay for our wedding and is setting the budget at 150k. My question is, what seems to be the biggest chunk of the budget? Food, venue, booze? Thank you all!

Your father spent $40k on your sister's wedding, and he is more than tripling your budget?  

CrazyCatLady3

QueerFemme said:

mmoss042515 said:

Hello, I hope that I have more luck with this post. I managed to (completely and unintentionally) offend the crap out of people in my last one. My FI and I have just started our wedding planning. I spoke with my fater last night and he said he wants to pay for our wedding and is setting the budget at 150k. My question is, what seems to be the biggest chunk of the budget? Food, venue, booze? Thank you all!

Your father spent $40k on your sister's wedding, and he is more than tripling your budget?  

*Shrugs.*  Maybe her sister wanted a small wedding, and OP wants a big one.

CrazyCatLady3

OP, catering (including food and booze) and venue rental fees are the largest portion of our budget, about 45% of the total budget.  That is pretty standard.  Flowers were about 12%, Photography 10%, music 5% (but we opted for a DJ rather than a band) with the rest going to invites/paper, makeup, officiant etc.  I didn't include dress or rings in my budget, but that would be totally discretionary in terms of what you want to spend.  You should have ample room in your nice budget for that if you are including it.    How many guests are you planning to have?

ETA: Like Tammy, we have a relatively small guest list at 75 people, so our catering costs were at about 45% instead of the 60% guideline.

Maggie0829

Your reception should be about 50-60% of your entire budget.  Your guests will remember the food and the party.  They won't remember your flowers, or your linens, or your invites, or really even your dress. So you need to spend the most on making sure your guest are well hosted.

QueerFemme

CrazyCatLady3 said:

QueerFemme said:

mmoss042515 said:

Hello, I hope that I have more luck with this post. I managed to (completely and unintentionally) offend the crap out of people in my last one. My FI and I have just started our wedding planning. I spoke with my fater last night and he said he wants to pay for our wedding and is setting the budget at 150k. My question is, what seems to be the biggest chunk of the budget? Food, venue, booze? Thank you all!

Your father spent $40k on your sister's wedding, and he is more than tripling your budget?  

*Shrugs.*  Maybe her sister wanted a small wedding, and OP wants a big one.

Not based on the shitshow from the Etiquette board the other day. 

NYCMercedes

You can spend $20,000 or $5000 or $1000 on your dress. What are people going to remember? The food.

CrazyCatLady3

NYCMercedes said:

You can spend $20,000 or $5000 or $1000 on your dress. What are people going to remember? The food.

I definitely remember food, but I also remember dresses.  

Maggie0829

CrazyCatLady3 said:

NYCMercedes said:

You can spend $20,000 or $5000 or $1000 on your dress. What are people going to remember? The food.

I definitely remember food, but I also remember dresses.  

I remember dresses as well because I love dresses, but that isn't how most people are.  But after watching many a dress show I can tell you that, IMO, at $20,000 dress doesn't look much better then a $5000 dress.  Many times the $5000 dress is prettier then the $20,000.  In the end, no matter what your budget I think it is best to plan out the party first (food, bar, music) and then worry about your dress, decor, etc.

lyndausvi

60% of the budget should be reception food and beverage.

CrazyCatLady3

Maggie0829 said:

CrazyCatLady3 said:

NYCMercedes said:

You can spend $20,000 or $5000 or $1000 on your dress. What are people going to remember? The food.

I definitely remember food, but I also remember dresses.  

I remember dresses as well because I love dresses, but that isn't how most people are.  But after watching many a dress show I can tell you that, IMO, at $20,000 dress doesn't look much better then a $5000 dress.  Many times the $5000 dress is prettier then the $20,000.  In the end, no matter what your budget I think it is best to plan out the party first (food, bar, music) and then worry about your dress, decor, etc.

True, true.

belladonna1224

I think if you are handed a budget of $150k, you could probably afford to spend a chunk of change on a decent wedding planner. It will really cut down the hassle of wedding planning, and any good wedding planner will probably go over the budget with you in your very first meeting.

KatWAG

belladonna1224 said:

I think if you are handed a budget of $150k, you could probably afford to spend a chunk of change on a decent wedding planner. It will really cut down the hassle of wedding planning, and any good wedding planner will probably go over the budget with you in your very first meeting.

I second this. Hire a full time wedding planner. It was the best decision H and I made regarding our wedding. 

VulgarGirl

KatWAG said:

belladonna1224 said:

I think if you are handed a budget of $150k, you could probably afford to spend a chunk of change on a decent wedding planner. It will really cut down the hassle of wedding planning, and any good wedding planner will probably go over the budget with you in your very first meeting.

I second this. Hire a full time wedding planner. It was the best decision H and I made regarding our wedding. 

I'm gonna third this! Our wedding planner is fantastic and wonderful and I love him.

JCbride2015

mmoss042515 said:

Hello, I hope that I have more luck with this post. I managed to (completely and unintentionally) offend the crap out of people in my last one. My FI and I have just started our wedding planning. I spoke with my fater last night and he said he wants to pay for our wedding and is setting the budget at 150k. My question is, what seems to be the biggest chunk of the budget? Food, venue, booze? Thank you all!

So if you feel that bad about it, why not apologize instead of calling us meanies?

As I said, it's the tone of your post, not the content, that was the problem.  I'm sure you just misspoke about the $30k comment.  It's totally possible to have a huge wedding budget and be a kind, helpful member of this community.

And I will second the wedding planner suggestion.  We have the budget to splurge on great food, booze, and music for our wedding, but if we had more money dropped in our laps, I think a wedding planner would be really helpful.

justcallmesamson

OP, I agree with what the above said.  The very first thing you should do is hire a planner.  The planner can help you with your budget instead of you spinning your wheels.  When I first met with my planner she asked me to name three things that were very important/non negotiable for me and that is where we put a lot of our money.  Mine where the open bar, the band, and making sure we were able to hire enough help that none of our guests or wedding party had to help with set up or clean up.  I know that some other folks have their big ticket items as the dress, the food, or the decor, but those were less important to me.  

The bottom line: there isn't a one-size-fits-all budget formula for a wedding, especially one with a large budget.  But a professional can help you get this figured out.  

SN: My wedding planner is costing 10% of our total budget.  In your case that is a pretty hefty fee so you may want to try to negotiate a flat fee for the planner.  

Good luck!

StitelME

Reception costs (food, booze, venue rental) are definitely going to be the huge chunk of your budget. Like everyone is saying, those are going to be the details the guests remember at the end of the day/night.

I would also recommend getting a great wedding planner as well. I wanted to get one for myself but the money didn't fall into place for me. But with the kind of budget you mentioned in your first post, you are definitely going to want a professional to help you manage your costs. Vendors can get out of hand very quickly if you aren't careful, especially if they know that you have a hefty chunk of change to spend.

FSUFanatic

Great question!!! I know from looking at suggestions and per person cost, when I was looking locally, the biggest part was for food and drink. The place I was considering locally was $190/pp not including a bar. My first question/post here today was "wrong" I guess since people jump to conclusions without knowing the whole story when it was a simple question. I learned from other sites that some people are just rude and/or think they are better then others. I don't know your post but sometimes it is best to just let it go and move on.

Jells2dot0

FSUFanatic said:

Great question!!! I know from looking at suggestions and per person cost, when I was looking locally, the biggest part was for food and drink. The place I was considering locally was $190/pp not including a bar.

My first question/post here today was "wrong" I guess since people jump to conclusions without knowing the whole story when it was a simple question. I learned from other sites that some people are just rude and/or think they are better then others. I don't know your post but sometimes it is best to just let it go and move on.

What was your first post and what did people misunderstand? We're here to help, but i'm not sure what you are referring to with this post.

thelastdreamer

Our reception is like 40% of our budget, but we're having a dry wedding. With alcohol it would've been more like 60%.

angelbride2015

My reception will be 55% of my total budget.  But the numbers are flexible!!  You have to do what feels right for you.  My reception space is gorgeous and highly stylized, so we're not going overboard on flowers.  I want a $$$ photographer, so we're skipping a videographer.  It's crazy what all of this stuff costs!

The best thing I did was keep a document with a running total of estimated costs that always added up to 100%.  As I fleshed out the details, the numbers for each thing went up and down, but always added up to 100%.

And for the record, your tone didn't bother me. A big budget is still a budget and you need to know this stuff!

emmalouuu

Can I borrow your father?

sheslikeasunburn

I had a luxury wedding w/$60K budget (+$20K honeymoon), below is my rough breakdown.  Note, I have included almost everything except my engagement ring.  We paid for over 90% of the wedding ourselves.

150 ppl

Caterer (food, booze, dishes) - 40%

Rehearsal Dinner - 8%

Dress, Shoes, Accessories, Groom apparel - 8% 

Venue - 6%

Stationary - 5%

Photographer - 5%

Flowers - 4%

Morning After Brunch - 3%

Wedding Bands - 3%

Rentals (chairs, decor) - 3%

Shuttles/Limo - 3%

Hair & Makeup - 2%

Coordinator - 2%

Attendant Gifts - 2%

DJ - 2%

Photo booth - 2%

Cupcakes - <1%

Linens - <1%

Musician - <1%

Misc decor (votives, picture frames, place cards) - <1%

Welcome Bags - <1%

i just want to note that i was really disgusted by your "cutting corners" comment on the other post.  you are the one cutting corners by not earning the money yourself.  

[Deleted User]

According to TK, which is roughly our budget breakdown:

• Reception: 48%-50%
  Ceremony: 2%-3%
  Attire: 8%-10%
  Flowers: 8%-10%
  Entertainment/Music: 8%-10%
  Photography/Videography: 10%-12%
  Stationery: 2%-3%
  Wedding Rings: 2%-3%
  Parking/Transportation: 2%-3%
  Gifts: 2%-3%
  Miscellaneous: 8%
• To avoid stress, allot about 5% of your budget for a "just-in-case" fund. 
• If you're paying for your honeymoon yourselves, remember to budget for that as well.