Breaking Down the Wedding Budget

   I now know how much I would like to spend on our wedding, that's Php 100,000. So the next step would be to list down all the expense categories and allot a percentage of the budget to it. I referred to my trusty friend Google to help me set-up my wedding pie chart.
 
   The quickest and best way (at least for me) to search ideas for budget allocation is to search an image of a "wedding budget chart". This way, you can easily filter out allocation ideas not fit for Philippine setting (as majority of information on the Internet is not locally set-up) and choose the one the best suits your wedding ideas. Here's an example of a chart I lifted on the Internet.

Source: http://www.eweddingassistant.com/category/Budget.aspx

The chart above covers most of the normal wedding expense categories. But since each of us has a different idea of what we want, and how much we want it we can tweak the percentages to match which items we want to prioritize.

This pie chart is my own version of how I want to spend our P100k budget in percentage (1st graph) and actual numbers (2nd graph). Maybe you'll wonder why the Flower, Stationery, and Decor is allotted only 3%. As I see it, invites will be thrown away, flowers will wilt and die, and decors is just additional perk not a need. So, prior to finalizing this budget, I researched on ways on how I can save up on these things which I don't want to spurge on. And I found out lots and lots of interesting options to get away with the 3% allocation - Keywords: DIY and Creativity. I also included a 2% allocation for Planning allowances which I think is an important item that may be always overlooked. That fare and food for the trip to Divisoria, or that load you spent on calling the suppliers, or that work leave you filed to arrange the documents- all of those amount to something and when added up amounts to something large. So, better allocate a budget.

How you will divide your budget, however small or large it could be, depends on your preferences. Some wants to splurge on the best photographers and videographers, some on luxury feast, some on the ceremony. So it is entirely up to you.

Breaking down the allocation further - the itemized expense breakdown

Now this one I think it will take a longer time to finalize and complete because for you to itemize the things you need to buy and pay for, you have to have a clear vision of what you want your wedding to be. In my case, since I've decided I'm DIY-ing  some things I was able to list down all the materials I think I'd need.

For example, our budget for PV is only Php13,000 and as per my research the only way to get away with that is to hire a service only PV. I've decided that I'd do the albums myself later on since I know how to layout and edit pictures (I kinda do this professionally). So in my itemized budget I noted to hunt for photobook sales in group buying sites where I can grab a P1000 8x10 hardbound photobook. 

Here's a screenshot of my Excel file:

I was the one who came up with that Excel file design because I wanted my own all-in-one wedding budget/task planner that I can work comfortably with.

If you need a guide on how to set-up your own budget planner you can turn to our trusty friend Google to lend you a helping hand. Just type in "wedding checklist excel" or "wedding budget excel" and you'd be given lots of references.

So, that's how I plan to spend all that money. Do you think it will work-out? It is very challenging I know, but if I pull this through I believe I just passed one of married life's readiness exam. Think about it, how many times will you budget the household income for your future family? So, this is training for the future. ^^

*English is not my native language. I hope you'd spare me the grammar lectures.
*I'd like to know what you think. Please drop a comment below.