📊 Wedding Budget Calculator: Impact of Upgrades

Planning a wedding starts with a reasonable number. You soon learn that a wedding budget is a living and breathing monster. Every single category has a dream upgrade that seems completely justifiable at the time.

This calculator tracks how fast those must-have splurges push you past your original budget limit. You want to avoid going thousands in the hole before you even start your marriage.

Start with your absolute maximum budget and your biggest single expense. The venue and catering will eat up the largest chunk of your cash. Lock in your venue cost first because that is non-negotiable.

As Chrislyn notes, the original budget they had at aleister was $30,000. She points out the venue was great and for $15,710 everyone had a great time. For her 220 guests, the hall and food made up about 42% of their total actual spend.

This is where feature creep happens. You might plan on simple bands and a basic dress. Once you start shopping, designer gowns and custom rings add up fast.

As Chrislyn puts it, her wedding dress was spectacular and the dress and accessories came to $2,619. Meanwhile, her husband insisted on platinum eternity bands. As she recalls, he bought them for $5,310 and felt they were well worth it.

Do not forget the hidden costs. Planners, DJs, guest favors, and unique entertainment ideas will eat up whatever budget you have left. Brutally prioritize these extras so you do not start your marriage in debt.

As Chrislyn warns, the additional costs including the caramel fountain supplies, DJ, and guest favors were $8,452. All these little upgrades pushed them over the edge. As she admits, what they actually spent on the wedding was $37,079 putting them over by $7,079 which was definitely too much to go over.

Based on content by Chrislyn on Weddings And Beyond TV (YouTube).

Original: Couple Can't Agree On Wedding Budget - Rich Bride Poor Bride 303 - Building Up The Budget