Budget

You are so happy you are getting married; you have dreamed of this for a long time, you have pictured yourself walking down the aisle wearing a stunning gown in a beautifully decorated church, then dancing your first dance with your new husband in a gorgeous hall…..

Hold on, how are you paying for all this?

The sad fact is that wedding are expensive – including the tight budget ones.

Weddings used to be about family and communities helping the couple get set up in life. Now many couples are taking out second mortgages or maxing out their credit cards. What a way to start married life with a big debt!

So we hope you have been saving / have rich relatives / won the lottery!

For example, even the wedding licence is about $200 in most communities. You will also have to pay someone to perform the ceremony (Ontario only recognizes ministers from official churches, town clerks and justices of the peace, so officiant services start at about $200 and go up.)

The average cost of a wedding is running around $27,000!!!!

We know most of you are not in this league, so we have prepared a guideline to show how much to spend for each wedding item on a more realistic budget.

Category	Percent	Small Wedding	Percent	Medium Wedding	Percent	Large Wedding
Ceremony	3%	150	2%	150	2%	200
Clothing	13%	650	14%	1,050	14%	1,400
Reception	40%	2,000	40%	3,000	40%	4,000
Cake	3%	150	3%	225	3%	300
Stationery	2%	100	2%	150	2%	200
Flowers	5%	250	5%	375	5%	500
Decorations	5%	250	5%	375	5%	500
Music/Audio	10%	500	10%	750	10%	1,000
Photography	10%	500	10%	750	10%	1,000
Gifts	1%	50	1%	75	1%	100
Transportation	3%	150	2%	150	2%	200
Lodging	0%	-	1%	75	1%	100
Rings	4%	200	4%	300	4%	400
Misc	1%	50	1%	75	1%	100
Total	1.00	5,000	1.00	7,500	1.00	10,000

Target budget		5,000		7,500		10,000
		50 guests		75 guests		100 guests
		community hall		medium quality hall		medium quality hall
		small buffet dinner		simple dinner		dinner & hors d'oevres

Note: when you get to around $10,000, you can think about adding a wedding planner. We strongly suggest you go for a set fee and not a percentage of your budget so you know exactly how much you are paying.

For a $5,000 wedding, your reception works out to $20 each for 100 guests. Obviously, some compromises need to be made. You can eliminate things like limos and lodging and cut down on other expenses like decorations and other events. Our philosophy is to give the best party you ever have, so we would rather you cut your guest list to 50 guests and gave them a great meal. Or do something different like a brunch or afternoon tea.

Don’t despair! Nice weddings are possible even on a small budget, and we want to help make your dreams come true. We can put together some amazing decorations for you and offer advice on all aspects of your wedding.

Wedding Budget