March 2023 – 15 min read
According to the 2019 Global Wedding ReportOpens a new website in a new window, the average wedding in Canada cost just over $29,000.
However, for every average wedding, there are also weddings that cost much less and much, much more.
What you choose to spend on your own wedding will depend on your financial situation, culture and preferences.
Advisors would always recommend your wedding budget stay within what you can afford. Creating a wedding budget can help you achieve that.
The first thing you’ll want to do is create an overall wedding budget. This includes determining who (couple and parents) is paying for what.
From there, you can breakout various budget items and allot amounts to each.
According to Brides magazineOpens a new website in a new window, this is a list of items for most weddings and the percentage of the total budget typically allotted to each item:
- Venue and catering: 40%
- Photography and videography: 15%
- Wedding attire and beauty: 5%
- Music/entertainment: 10%
- Flowers: 10%
- Favours and gifts: 2%
- Transportation: 3%
- Stationery: 3%
- Cake: 2%
- Decor and ceremony (includes marriage license and officiant): 10%
Add to these the cost of a honeymoon vacation, which can run from simple to luxurious.
According to WeddingWireOpens a new website in a new window, 74% of U.S. couples go over their budget, and over 50% increase their budget at some time while planning their wedding.
If you go over budget in 1 area, you should try and compensate in another to stay in budget.
There are ways you can try and keep your wedding budget under control:
Regardless of the size of your wedding budget, you’ll want to save as much money for the event as possible, so you don’t start your marriage with added debt. Here’s how:
Divide the total amount you need to save by the number of months until your wedding so you know how much you need to budget from each paycheque.
So the money doesn’t get spent elsewhere, open a separate account to save for your wedding. A tax-free savings account or high-interest savings account are ideal for this.
Now that you know more about saving for your wedding, why not meet with an advisor to:
Determine whether renting or buying best meets your financial needs
Discuss your financial goals and how you can save to achieve them
This information is general in nature, and is intended for informational purposes only. For specific situations you should consult the appropriate legal, accounting or tax advisor.