Whether it’s a lavish, black-tie affair or a laid back gathering in the backyard, a couple’s wedding day is a momentous, and often costly, occasion. According to the online wedding planning resource Zola, the average cost of a wedding in 2023 was $33,000. That’s a significant sum for couples to spend, and it’s understandable if couples aren’t sure how to allocate funds for their big day.
It’s important that couples recognize what’s most important to them when planning their weddings. Recognition of those priorities can help couples determine how to allocate their funds. Equally helpful can be how past couples have spent on their weddings. Utilizing data from its The Knot 2023 Real Weddings Study, the wedding experts at The Knot (theknot.com) have calculated general percentages of a wedding budget couples can devote to various components.
- Venue: 37%
- Catering: 28%
- Band: 12%
- Wedding rings: 9%
- Photography: 8%
- Flowers: 8%
- Alcohol: 8%
- Rehearsal dinner: 8%
- Videography: 7%
- Couples’ attire: 7%
- Rentals: 6%
- DJ: 5%
- Wedding party attire: 4%
- Guest entertainment: 3%
- Transportation: 3%
- Ceremony music: 3%
- Cake and desserts: 2%
- Stationery: 2%
- Officiant: 1%
- Favors and gifts: 1%
- Additional jewelry: 1%
Couples with a keen eye might notice these percentages add up to significantly more than 100%. That’s because the budgetary breakdown reflects personal preferences, individual couples’ budgets and what couples can expect to spend on certain components. For example, The Knot data indicates a couple that prefers a band for their reception instead of a DJ may need to allocate roughly twice as much of their budget to accommodate that preference. In addition, couples who do not intend to pay for wedding party members’ attire can find other ways to allocate those funds, which The Knot data indicates typically accounts for roughly 4% of a wedding budget.
Another variable to consider is family. According to The Knot data, couples allocated an average of 8% of their budgets to their rehearsal dinner. However, couples’ parents may offer to pay for that meal, which can leave more room in the budget for other expenses. In addition, The Knot reported that the percentage of couples asking a friend or family member to serve as their wedding officiant rose from 37% in 2015 to 51% in 2020. Wedding officiants do not often eat up a significant portion of a couple’s wedding budget (1%), but this is another expense that modern couples may not need to account for.
Weddings can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Couples who determine how best to allocate their wedding budgets may find it far simpler to plan their big day.