It’s no secret that weddings can cost a good chunk of money! And for good reason – it is such a special day, and your vendors are putting in so much time and effort to ensure that you have the wedding of your dreams. Where do you start with figuring out your Utah wedding budget? How much should you spend? What is worth the money, and what isn’t? I am here to help! I planned my own wedding nearly 10 years ago, but I’ve also have the pleasure of photographing 200+ weddings over the past eight years, so I’ve compiled all my best advice into this blog post!

Budget, Budget, Budget

First things first, SET A BUDGET! I cannot stress this enough! When you are first engaged, it is so so important to get together with your future spouse and both sets of parents so that you can discuss budget. The overall budget is important, as well as who is contributing to what – are the bride’s parents paying for most of it? What are the groom’s parents paying for? What do you need to contribute yourself, as the engaged couple? Starting out with solid numbers will help guide you when to comes to choosing vendors, and deciding where you’d like to spend your money!

As a starting point, the average wedding budget from my survey was around $12,000-$15,000. Remember, a budget is not limiting – it lets you know exactly how much you can spend without feeling any guilt. As you start talking with vendors, you may find out that your initial ideas were not realistic, and that you need to go back and adjust some numbers. Please remember that vendors have a cost of doing business, and that this is how they make money. They aren’t asking for your arms and legs, but they do deserve to make a living from their job. If a vendor is not in your budget, that is totally fine! Be respectful, thank them for their time, and continue your search!

Utah Wedding Budget – Where to Spend Money

So where do you spend your money? Your top 3 items should be what are most important to YOU! I always recommend spending the most money on you, your partner, and your photography / videography! You and your spouse are the stars of the day! You should look and feel your best, and you should make sure that it is captured and preserved by someone who is experienced! For women, this means a dress that makes you feel beautiful and is well fitted, a bouquet, and professional hair and makeup. Click here to read more about why professional hair and make is SO important! For men, this will mean a well tailored suit, tie, shoes, and a haircut. If your groom has some skin insecurities, there is nothing wrong with a little makeup for him too!

Your wedding photographer and videographer will be the second most important item to budget for. This is a once in a lifetime event, and you want to hire people who have experience! Your photographer will need to be able to handle all types of lighting, all types of personalities, and know how to handle and direct a crowd. A professional photographer will have backup equipment while shooting your wedding, and also backups for file hosting all your wedding images. Once everything is said and done, all you will have left from your wedding day is your amazing spouse and your photos and videos. These moments are priceless! Your photos will be passed on for generations. Trust me on this – selecting and paying for a great photographer who provides an amazing experience and delivers beautiful, timeless images, is one million percent worth it.

From my own experience and surveying past clients, the top three big budget items were: venue, dress, food, and photography. An overwhelming majority of people I surveyed said that these things were totally worth it! AND, if they were to go back and do it again, most people said they would spend even more on photography. Definitely don’t skimp on photography, because that was the number one regret!

Another tip – wedding planners and coordinators are so so worth it! I cannot tell you how many times I have had to be the coordinator on a wedding day – and I am more than happy to pitch in, but the wedding day really runs so much smoother when one person is dedicated to making sure everything is on time!

Where to Save Money

This will be a little different for each couple depending on where their priorities are! After investing in yourself and your photography, I believe the next most important thing is the experience. What do you want your guests to remember about your wedding? Is it the beautiful grounds of the venue? The amazing food? Or how much fun they had dancing? Some people love food, and therefore want a big extravagant meal. Other people are way more into dancing, and would rather invest in an entertaining DJ. Whatever is not important to you, that is what you should save on!

There are so many ways to save money – if you have bridesmaids, you can reuse their bridesmaid bouquets as the reception centerpieces. Most wedding guests forget to take the favors, so instead, you can put that budget to use on pretty thank you cards! Are you going to look at a wedding guest book after the fact? Or would you rather have a photobooth with pictures? From my survey, most people wish they wouldn’t have spent money on food, guest book, decor, and wedding favors.

Unexpected Costs

While a budget is great, and totally necessary, there are some unexpected costs that might pop up, or that you might not think of budgeting for. Here are a few costs, that you might want to factor into the budget:

• Ring Cleaning
• Dress Cleaning
• Thank You Cards
• Stamps
• Prints / Albums
• Outdoor Tent – if you’re planning an outdoor wedding, you need to make sure you have a backup plan in case of inclement weather
• Toilets – if your wedding is at a campground or a remote location, your guests are going to need a bathroom!

There you have it!

A great start to setting up your wedding budget, and having the wedding you’ve always dream of! Are there any other wedding budget questions that you have? Leave a comment, or send me an email and I’d be happy to assist!