Our $5,000 Wedding Budget Breakdown

Today's post is all about the numbers – our $5,000 wedding budget and how we spent the money.

I'm mostly going to post the budget breakdown in manageable chunks but I'll add notes here and there to help clarify a few things.

Right. Ready? And away we goooo!

Our $5,000 Wedding Budget Breakdown

Image Courtesy of: Miranda Laine Photography

Ceremony:

• Fabric Backdrop: $12.99 (see the DIY here)
• Flower Girl Wands: $6.57 (see the DIY here)
• Mini Water Bottles: $5.95
• Bride's Shoes: $76.05 (see more about my wedding attire here)
• Groom and Groomsmen's Ties: $60.00 (see more about the men's attire here)
• Flower Girl Dresses: $19.62 (my mom made them from a pattern I already had)
• Wedding Party Bouquets (including the bride's): $75.98 (see more about the bouquets here)

***Here's more information about: my wedding hair/make-up, my wedding attire/jewelry, the DIY for the flower girl headbands (left over from our first wedding), the DIY for the ring bearer pillow, how The Boy got a DIYed wedding ring, find out how to get me wedding dress FOR FREE, and how we got my engagement ring and wedding band for only the tax.***

Total Cost for the Wedding Ceremony: $257.16

Out-of-Town Guest Welcome Bags:

• Food + Lunch Sacks + Labels: $33.96 (see the DIY here)

Total Cost for the Out-of-Town Guest Welcome Bags: $33.96

Paper Goods:

• Stamps/Postage: $160.55 (includes international postage)
• Paper Goods (save-the-dates, invitations, direction cards, rehearsal dinner invitations, wedding invitiations, RSVPs, envelopes, decorative touches, labels, thank you cards, ceremony programs, etc.): $264.33 (see the save-the-date DIY here, see the wedding invitation suite DIY here, and see the thank you card DIY here)

***Here's more information about: our save-the-dates, the flower girl information sheets, the junior bridesmaid information sheets, the DIY for our wedding ceremony programs, and how I DIYed a custom wedding planner.***

Total Cost for the Paper Goods: $424.88

Wedding Party Gifts:

• Flower Girl Gifts: $32.85
• Ring Bearer: $11.00
• Junior Bridesmaids: $13.57
• Bridesmaids: $75.00
• Escorts: $30.00

***Here's more information about the wedding party gifts.***

Total Cost for the Wedding Party Gifts: $162.42

Reception Decor:

• White Dinner and Clear Salad Plates: $224.28 (I donated these after the wedding for a $.99 a piece write-off)
• Forks and Knives: $68.70 (I donated these after the wedding for a $.29 a piece write-off)
• Cloth Napkins: $126.04 (see the DIY here)
• Glitter Letters: $2.00 (see the DIY here)
• Flowers for Centerpieces + Cans: $107.54 (see more on the centerpieces here)
• Chair Rentals: $243.28 (these did double duty as seating for the ceremony)
• LED tealight candles: $26.40
• Mason Jars: $30.00

***Here's more information about the wedding reception decor.***

Total Cost for the Wedding Reception Decor: $828.24

Reception Buffet, Beverages, and Dessert Table:

• Food (Cocktail Hour + Buffet): $503.18 (see more on how we DIY catered our own wedding here)
• Beverages: $100.00
• Wedding Cake and Dessert Table: $398.38

***Here's more information about we DIYed catered our wedding reception and the ribbon wedding cake topper DIY.***

Total Cost for the Wedding Reception Buffet, Beverages, and Dessert Table: $1,001.56

Rehearsal Dinner and Pre-Wedding Group Meals:

• Food and Beverages: $259.37

Total Cost for the Wedding Rehearsal Dinner and Pre-Wedding Group Meals: $259.37

**********************************

TOTAL COST OF OUR WEDDING: $2967.59

And now for the extras – these are the two items that were a part of our wedding but from the very beginning, we considered them blog business expenses.

Because of that, the cost of them was not included in our original wedding budget but were viewed as a business expense (we consulted with our tax accountant before making this decision, I would encourage you to do the same!).

Because of that, I did spend a little more than I normally would have on photography (and won't have had any videography at all).

Videography and Photography:

• Videography and Photography: $3,350.00

Total Cost for the Wedding Videography and Photography: $3, 350.00

However, even with those additional costs, our wedding still would have only been $6,317.59! Not bad y'all. Not bad.

The main reason our wedding was so cheap is because:

• we hosted it at our house
• we DIY catered our own reception
• I got my dress for free
• he wore a suit he already had
• we were already legally married (so no license or officiant fees)
• we made or borrowed just about everything in our wedding
• we had an AMAZING group of people helping out the entire week of the wedding

To be even more real, after our various post-wedding tax write-offs for donations, the real budget of our wedding was $2,693.49 (or $6,043.49 with blog business expenses)!

Huge.

I've got to tell y'all, I was convinced that we were over budget. Seriously, at the end there… you're spending money right, left, and center and it can feel like your little backyard wedding is suddenly a lobster and champagne sit-down at the Ritz.

Have any of you experienced the same feeling?