Building a wedding budget

Building a wedding budget is hard. It’s intimidating. The truth is you’ve probably never done this before. Understanding how to break down your budget, how much to allot for each vendor, and more – it’s a lot.

This blog is based on the average Central Oregon wedding budgets that Daisy and Sun Events works with and is not transferable to other regions, states, or other wedding planners. This is also based on a $80k budget, 100-guest wedding.

Category 1 – Wedding Planner

Most couples spend about 10-15% of their total wedding budget on a wedding planner. This includes wedding planning and design services, as well as the coordination services on the wedding day (and their team)!

Category 2 – Venue

The average we see most couples spend on a Central Oregon venue is around $8,000. This is just for the space and its inclusions (typically a getting ready suite, venue coordinator, etc.).

Category 3 – Beauty

This is for hair and makeup. We see each couple do this differently, but the most common situation we see? The bride pays for her own hair and makeup, as well as one service for each bridesmaid. On average, we see bridal hair going for $500-600, and makeup for around the same. Bridesmaid and mom services for hair are usually around $175, and makeup services are around $175-250.

Category 4 – Stationery/Signage

The average amount we see our couples spending on custom signage is around $1500. Most of our couples use a site like Minted (if you need a code, reach out to me!) for wedding invitations, but to get customized invitations, it’s expected to spend around $1500+ depending on guest count.

Category 5 – Bridal Attire

Most of our brides spend around $2500-3500 on their wedding attire. This includes the dress, alterations, shoes, and jewelry (not wedding band).

Category 6 – Groom Attire

Groom attire can vary depending on if you plan to rent or buy. For rentals, we most commonly see $300. For purchasing, we most commonly see $600-850.

Category 7 – Officiant

This cost variation can be huge! Most couples we work with have a friend or family member officiate their wedding, which is about $80 for the marriage license and certification. However, some of our couples have an officiant, which tends to be around $1200.

Category 8 – Photography

This is one of the bigger ticket items. For an engagement session, 8 hour wedding photography, and a second shooter, we most commonly see couples spending around $6,000. However, there are so many different amazing photographers out there that start charging at $3,000 and some starting at $10,000. Remember, photos are one of the only things you have left after your wedding, so these should be allotted a higher budget.

Category 9 – Videography

This is another bigger ticket item. Most couples think that videography is much less than photo, but in reality, it tends to be around the same price. Most of our couples spend around $4000-$5000 for their videographer for 8 hours.

Category 10 – Catering

Another big ticket item that can vary greatly! There are a few styles – plated, buffet, family style, etc. Whether or not you have appetizers can also impact this. We most commonly see it as following:

Plated dinner: $120+/person

Family style: $75+/person

Buffet: $45+/person

Appetizers: anywhere from $15-35/person

This is one of the reasons that building a wedding budget can be so tricky!

Category 11 – Dessert

We are basing our pricing off of dessert tables. We see most of our couples spending $5-8/person for a dessert table, as well as $350+ for their cutting cake.

Category 12 – Bar

This is another cost that can vary greatly. The bar services we most commonly see are open bar, signature drinks with beer and wine, or just beer and wine. Other factors can impact this too, such as if you’re having a mobile bar, how many bartenders, etc.

Note: these costs are for basic, house-level liquors.

Open bar: $50/person

Signature cocktails with beer and wine: $38/person

Beer and wine only: $24/person

Category 13 – DJ/Live Band

This is something that a lot of people try to skimp on. My advice – don’t. This truly transforms your entire wedding day – from ceremony to dance party.

DJ: We see most couples spending $1800-$2500 for a DJ.

Live band: We see most couples spending around $5,000 for a live band.

Category 14 – Transportation

Transportation is a commonly-skipped cost. We think this occurs because most people are using Ubers, Lyfts, and other services. However, we do see it broken down as such:

Transportation for guests: $1800-$2400

Transportation for the couple: $800+

Category 15 – Rentals

Another big ticket item that can definitely vary depending on design, venue inclusions, etc.

We see most couples spending around $6000-$9000 on their rentals, or $60/person.

Category 16 – Florals

Another big ticket item that varies on design! We see most couples spending around $4000+ on their florals.

Other tips

We highly recommend having a “just in case” fund – this is usually around 3% of your entire budget.

Daisy + Sun Events offers budget consultations for $150, and we would love to connect on this! We also budget assistance and management in our planning packages.