How to budget for your wedding with R250 000
With the help of wedding planner, Tracy Branford from Trunk Events, we’re going to show you a Wedding Budget Breakdown for a Wedding of R250 000.
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Wedding Budget Breakdown South Africa
It’s important for you as a couple to have a budget in mind; a realistic amount you are willing to spend for your dream day. So what exactly is a budget? Most couples don’t know what a wedding will cost and most plan their wedding a year in advance; so it’s very important from the start to discuss what you are comfortable spending and then remain within budget. Please do get parents involved as they have a lot to do with the spending and financial contribution as well as planning advice.
R250 000 rand is a beautiful spend for a wedding, and you might be asking, “How do you come up with this figure?” so we’ll give you a few tips as to where you should allocate your budget.
Wedding Budget Breakdown WEDDING VENUE AND CATERING
So let’s start from the top. We recommend you put 50% of your budget towards your wedding venue and catering for the day. R50 000 – R60 000 will get you an amazing wedding venue with about R45 000 for catering when working on 100 guests which make for R450 per person. If you are on a strict budget and you want to cut back, have a conversation with your caterer and perhaps eliminate one serving for example removing a starter and ensure for a decent canapé service during pre-drinks.
Side note: Be on the lookout for extra costs such as the assistant chefs on hand and hiring costs should the wedding venue not have a designated kitchen. Once you’ve got your wedding venue and catering checked for R125 000 or slightly less you’re good to go you can now sit back and plan the rest of your wedding with ease.
Things to consider for your catering
THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER AND VIDEOGRAPHER
Start by working on booking a wedding photographer next. Often a very good photographer’s starting price is from about R20 000 – R28 000. Realistically, R25 000 is a great average rate to budget for a package of 8 hours on the day, including extras like an engagement shoot or even a wedding album.
Videography is amazing and has become very important in these modern times. You will be able to look back on memories and can share links to the videos to those who couldn’t be there on the day with a simple click of a button. Videography has become equally as important as photography. When you budget for R25 000 for videography, it leaves you at R50 000 for photo and video which equates to 20% of your budget.
THE MARRIAGE OFFICIANT
Your marriage officiant will cost you about R3 500 and they will arrive at the ceremony venue half hour before and will do the actual wedding registry on your behalf.
THE WEDDING DÉCOR AND FLOWERS
For wedding décor and flowers put aside about 15% of your overall budget. Work with local florists who are located in and around the area of your venue so they don’t have a long travel time. It also gives your flowers’ longevity.
Side note: Remember the work that goes into flowers! Couples often think they can just go to the wholesalers and buy the flowers themselves but a specialised and professional florist are true artists and they can really bring the venue to life with their floral work.
What is décor? This includes napkins, candles, cutlery and crockery, table numbers, an easel for your seating plan, and stuff like that. It’s very important that the décor ties in with the floral theme to create an overall beautifully rounded look.
THE WEDDING DJ
A well-respected wedding DJ goes for about R8 500. So be sure to place 3.5% of your budget aside. This will get you as a couple a DJ from two hours before your ceremony starts, up until midnight. Be mindful that DJs do charge an hourly rate after midnight.
WEDDING BUDGET BREAKDOWN FOR A WEDDING CAKE
Your wedding cake will be anything from R3 500 – R5 500 depending on your taste and requirements. but we recommend using 2% of your budget. Many couples tend to steer away from having a wedding cake because guests don’t usually eat it but there are family members, like aunts and grandparents, who love to have a piece of the wedding cake before they go home. So if your family is traditional and you as a couple aren’t; still consider everyone who’s attending your wedding as well, and consider getting a one-tier wedding cake.
WEDDING HAIR AND MAKEUP
Be sure to book a professional makeup artist! Makeup and hair team prices vary but the majority have kept their packages at a standard rate of R2 500 for the bridal hair and makeup on the day along with the trials. You might also be considering treating your bridesmaids with hair and makeup but be aware that will pull another R6 000 from your budget. Another option is to have an open discussion with your bridal party and ask if they’re organising your bachelorette party to perhaps work together on a gift to you where they contribute towards their wedding hair and makeup.
THE WEDDING COORDINATOR
Somewhere in the planning process once you’ve booked most of your vendors; do consider booking a coordinator to relieve you of the stresses on the day and to be the person who will communicate with all the vendors. The coordinator will be able to give you guidance and pretty much take over from you where you are at during that time. He or she will be able to run with the rest of the details. They will be there on the day for a duration of eight to ten hours from the time you start with hair and makeup up until the dance floor opens and all formalities are concluded.
You can get a good coordinator for R5 000 – R7 000, so roughly 2% of your budget. Some coordinators might offer more than others in their packages, so be sure to be on the lookout for that. A lot of venues can also recommend good coordinators who they know, trust, and have worked with multiple times before. The coordinator will literally be your bestie on the day and ensure everything goes smoothly so your bridesmaids or your mom or mom-in-law can relax as well and not run around on the day. The coordinator will ensure that the timeline is set for the day and that everybody has been communicated all the details of your day and that you have the best experience!
WEDDING BUDGET BREAKDOWN FOR WEDDING STATIONERY
Digital invitations and save the dates with wedding websites can be created and be used for free but you do need some sort of stationery printed just to give your guests some information on the day. Most couples opt for things like a “Welcome” sign which includes the timeline of the day along with menus so the guests can see and know what they’re eating in advance.
The most important stationery according to Tracy from Trunk Events, is your seating plan. You can get a vendor to design and create this seating plan to tie in with the overall theme while supplying the necessary information. It is very important for your guests to know where they are seated even though there are a lot of couples that go for the “Free seating” layout. From years of experience, Tracy recommends having a seating plan as some guests need to know where they have been allocated. They want to know who they’re sitting with and they feel very important if their name is on a seating plan.
For your stationery, you can put aside 1% of your wedding budget and that also depends on how creative you are. You can DIY your own seating plan that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg but you do have to put a portion of your budget to the side for stationery to avoid any last-minute expenses. You can even print personalised name cards, you can handwrite notes to each guest making them feel very welcome or something that’s equally as important in your wedding just to help streamline the day.
THE WEDDING ATTIRE
The budget for your wedding suit and bridal gown is very personal and is difficult to give an exact breakdown or percentage. Purely because the taste and requirements of each couple differ so much. For the sake of this blog, we focused on a budget of R250 000 and we allocated 4% of the budget for attire. Use this as a guideline to determine whether you are happy with the spend or would like to spend less or more. Once you have reached that point in your wedding planning, you will definitely know which direction you’d want to go with when it comes to your budget.
A big thank you to Tracy from Trunk Events for the great advice when it comes to the Wedding Budget Breakdown South Africa; please be sure to contact her and her amazing team today!
