Featuring stunning Real Wedding photos from Anna + Josh’s day by Emma Knutson
We know the process of celebrating your “I do”s includes a lot of variables, new terminology, and tough decisions only you can make. It can be overwhelming – but at The Sixpence, we believe you shouldn’t have to be a wedding industry expert to plan the perfect day!
We’re big on recommending you team up with great industry professionals to help guide you through a seamless celebration, and we feel strongly about building an amazing network of vendors that we’re proud to recommend. When booking at The Sixpence, our clients receive physical and digital access to our Preferred Vendor List, which features professionals across industries and across budget capacities that offer (in our opinion) the best of the best service for what you need.
One of our fabulous preferred partners is Creating Joyful Moments, an Indianapolis-based planning team who offers a variety of wedding planning and day-of coordination packages that bring intentionally designed celebrations to life. This month, we teamed up with CJM to share tips and resources on planning your wedding day worth saving and referencing during your planning journey, and tonight, we’re diving into a few valuable insights for budgeting and planning your day.
Information for this blog features cumulative data from awesome planning and resource centers The Knot, Here Comes the Guide, and BRIDE.
DID YOU KNOW
The average wedding cost in 2024 is $40,000 + & 90% of couples financially contribute to their wedding events
Our takeaways?
- Being proactive about establishing and enforcing a budget that works best for YOU is essential for hosting the perfect day, especially on your dime!
- Research your budget, average, and luxury costs before making decisions to ensure you get the most impact for your spends, regardless of your individual budget.
89% of couples have started wedding planning before getting engaged, some even booking their venue + date!
Our takeaway
- DON’T WAIT to start exploring and locking in your favorite vendors. If you’re planning to celebrate in 2024 OR 2025, now is the time to start the conversations with your professionals.
20% of weddings now occur on weekdays – trending upward since 2018
Our takeaway
- The impact of considering a weekday celebration: lower rentals and professional rates + wider availability during prime months
50% of 2024 weddings are following a 12-18 month long engagement
Our takeaways
- Book the vendors you love early – we are seeing more couples not getting their first choice in vendors because they are already booked. That includes your planners, popular dates go quickly!
- Longer engagements = more time to make thoughtful decisions with regards to your wedding!
2.5 million engagements are projected for 2024, according to data from diamond sales and proposal planners
Our takeaways
- With a jump in proposals, dates and professional availability will be affected: Proactively consider being flexible with your date and soak up every moment of the “to-be-wed” journey.
- Consider working with a proposal planner to start the entire planning process seamlessly (CJM offers a fabulous proposal package).
A 2022 Real Wedding Budget Breakdown from The Knot shares a look at how couples allocated their wedding budget:
37% – Venue
29% – Catering
13% – Band
12% – Lighting + Rentals
9% – Rings
9% – Photography
8% – Flowers
8% – Videography
7% – Couples Attire
6% – Planner
5% – DJ
3% – Transportation
2% – Stationary
2% – Cakes + Sweets
1% – Hair + MUA
Everybody’s wedding budget breakdown looks different based on what their priorities are. Your budget should be unique to you in that you choose to allocate funds and attention to the services most important to you.
What to consider when making your wedding budget:
- What you can afford – Obviously, you want to ensure your spends match what you can and desire to put into your day
- The size of your guest list (& wedding party) – Think: catering for a 15 guest intimate wedding costs differently than a 100 guest wedding, than a 250 guest wedding, etc. Guest count affects food served, drinks served, groups in photos, wedding favors, any allocated accommodation budget, gifts for wedding party, etc.
- The venue – Typically being a substantial spend of your wedding budget, you want to ensure your venue selection is a great fit for your budget
- Date & time – Weekdays and non-Saturday, off-season (outside of May – Oct.) dates may save you money with vendors across the board; specialty dates like holiday weekends can in some cases incur additional fees with vendors
- Your wedding style – If your wedding day vision includes a band or live musician(s), large-scale/specialty florals, a luxury getaway car, etc. you’ll want to plan for that! For some wedding styles, handwritten details fit perfectly. For others, fine printing or calligraphy is a must.
Ready to start planning an unforgettable day? Book a Complimentary Private Tour Today, or visit us at our January 20th Open House, 4 – 8 pm at The Sixpence!
