Here's an example of what a $10,000 wedding budget in US may look like



$10,000 wedding in St. Louis, MO

This couple invited 80 persons. The wedding ceremony was in the late afternoon followed by a reception with a cake cutting ceremony and an evening party with drinks, snacks and dancing. The couple decided to have an open bar for the first 1.5 hours of the reception. Hereafter, there was a dance party with a cash bar. 

Click here to download the spreadsheet for this $10,000 wedding budget.

THE BRIDE

TOTAL $1,250.00

Dress for the Bride

$730.00

Dress Alterations and Pressing

$80.00

Shoes for the Bride

$180.00

Hair Stylists for the Bride

$180.00

Make-up and Nails Artist

$80.00

THE GROOM

TOTAL $590.00

Outfit for the Groom

$390.00

Shoes for the Groom

$130.00

Hairdresser and Barber for the Groom

$70.00

CEREMONY

TOTAL $1,020.00

Venue for the Ceremony

$550.00

Officiant Fee

$250.00

Decorations 

$220.00

RECEPTION

TOTAL $4,162.00

Venue with open bar (1.5 hours, 80 people)

$2.632.00

Live music - student jazz band

$250.00

Simple snacks

$360.00

DJ (all equipment included for dance party)

$920.00

WEDDING CAKE

TOTAL $360.00

FLOWERS

TOTAL $680.00

Bouquet for the Bride

$220.00

Boutonniere for the Groom

$60.00

Flowers for the Wedding Locations

$400.00

MISCELLANEOUS

TOTAL $2,630.00

Wedding Planner (only day-of wedding coordination)

$870.00

Photographer

$1,250.00

Wedding Insurance

$260.00

Other Expenses

$250.00

TOTAL BUDGET

$10,692.00

Download Excel spreadsheet with $10.000 wedding budget

Click here to download the spreadsheet for this $10,000 wedding budget.

Typical wedding budget breakdowns

The infographic and table below give a high-level breakdown of wedding budgets. The majority of the wedding budget is usually spent on the wedding ceremony and reception. Not a big surprise as beverages and meals for the (large number of) guests is frequently a high cost.

1 - The wedding outfit for the bride
5% - 10%
2 - The wedding outfit for the groom
1% - 5%
3 - The wedding ceremony
5% - 15%
4 - The wedding reception
40% - 60%
5 - The wedding cake
2% - 4%
6 - Wedding preparation costs
1% - 2%
7 - Flowers for the wedding day
4% - 6%
8 - Wedding photography
5% - 10%
9 - Miscellaneous
10% - 15%

Table with a breakdown of wedding budgets in percentages

Looking for a thorough rundown of all the most common expenditures?

We've put up a comprehensive checklist for a wedding budget breakdown. Creating a wedding budget has two primary goals.

The first is to assist you in gaining a deeper understanding of the various expenditures associated with your wedding and helping you in making informed decisions.

The second purpose is to allow you to maintain track and manage your spending as the big day approaches.

Here are more wedding budget examples with spreadsheet downloads

$25,000 wedding in Orlando, FL.

This couple invited 100 people. Their wedding venue was a country club. After the ceremony, they had a cocktail hour with an open bar, followed by a seated three course dinner. The celebration continued with an evening party with a DJ and a live cover band.

Click here to go to this $25,000 wedding budget

$50,000 wedding in Phoenix, AZ.

This couple invited 240 people. The entire wedding day took place in a beautiful vineyard. The ceremony was outside, in the garden, and was enriched with romantic live music. Than they held a wedding reception with appetizers, a three course dinner, followed by a big party with a DJ and a live music band.

Click here to go to this $50,000 wedding budget

$75,000 wedding in Los Angeles, CA.

This couple invited 150 people. They had rented a venue just outside LA for the whole day. After the wedding ceremony, there was a 2-hour reception with an open bar and appetizers, followed by a seated dinner with a four course menu. The day ended with a dance party with a great DJ.

Click here to go to this $75,000 wedding budget

Make a list of what you find important

As you can see in the examples above, there are many different things you can spend your money on, and everything can cost a wide range of money. For example, your wedding food catering can be a simple buffet, a very elaborate 7-course dinner, or you can choose to not organize food catering at all.

The choices you make are very personal. Maybe you don't care a lot about an expensive wedding dress, but you do want a cool dance party after you get married. Or maybe you care a lot about the food at your reception, and less for a cocktail hour.

When you need to choose what to spend your money on, you can make a list with the following categories:

1 - What do you find so important that you don't want to be on a budget?

2 -What do you find important, but not important enough to pay whatever?

3 - What would you find nice to have?

4 - What would you doubt about?

5 - What do you think unimportant, and isn't worth your money?

This list can help you to also determine how much money you would want to spend on each category.

Look at our great wedding calculators

WEDDING BUDGET CALCULATOR

Do you need help on how much money to plan for you wedding? This Budget Calculator will estimate the costs. You can also download a customized spreadsheet for your wedding budget for free.

DRINKS CALCULATOR

Want to know how many drinks you need for your party? Use this Alcohol Calculator for Wedding or Party to find out how many soft drinks, beer, wine, cocktails and spirits you will need and what the estimated cost will be.