Wedding budget breakdown: How to plan your budget

If you've recently gotten engaged and are planning on getting hitched in the next few years, you'll likely be thinking about your budget, and how you're going to spend it. Some couples will have put their wedding off for a few years to give them more time to save, increasing their budget to cover little extras, while others will want to get the ball rolling, even if it means cutting back on some things.

There are lots of things to consider when planning a wedding, which means that just like covering the cost of the venue, a dress, and cake, you’ll need to set money aside for smaller details – such as name cards, a guest book and maybe even confetti (if your venue allows it).

We want to help you make the wedding planning process as easy as possible, and although we’re mainly here to help you with finding your dream venue, we want to share our expertise so that every step of the way, you’ve got less to worry about. One thing that can make a real difference to your wedding planning, is budget planning from the outset. Before you dive head first into the whirlwind search of venue hunting, and ironing out the finer details, it really helps to have a solid idea of what budget you’ll be working with.

On average, a UK wedding in 2025 costs £23,250, which is up 12% from 2024. Spending thousands on wedding venues, clothing and catering is not uncommon, so being able to create a wedding that works for you and your budget is essential.

To help you along your way with creating a plan, we've pulled together a comprehensive wedding budget breakdown, including all the essential elements you'll need to include in your budget, and how much to spend on each. 

Wedding venue and catering: 50% of your budget

Holmewood Hall's magnificent facade (left) and delicious catering options at The Kings Arms Hotel (right)

The average cost of a wedding venue that includes catering is £9,877, and will likely be a sizeable chunk of your budget. It’s thought that the ceremony, reception and catering will take up about 50% of your budget, which of course is a lot of money, but this is the base of the whole day. The price will vary drastically depending on where you get married – for example, weddings in Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber can be thousands cheaper, and a registry office and small reception in a restaurant will cost you a lot less than total hire in a country castle.

Your wedding catering is so important, as nobody wants to be a hungry guest waiting hours to eat. This means that within this 50% budget, you'll need to incorporate canapes, an evening buffet or snacks, and anything else you want to add on. A lot of this will come as a set package with your wedding venue, but if you want to hire outside caterers, your venue may be cheaper – although bear in mind that you’ll still need to take the cost of any catering add-ons into this fraction of the budget.

The venue and your catering will be one of those variables that changes depending on not only the location you choose, and your meal selections, but on how many guests you have.

Wedding outfits: 9% of your budget

Take a look at our guide to simple wedding dresses which caters to a wide range of price points

A big dress, sleek suit, or tailored jumpsuit – whatever you want to wear on your wedding day will take up a chunk of your budget, as these outfits are up there with some of the most important parts of your day. Some people will want two, or more, dresses to change into throughout the day, or may want a more casual suit to change out of after the registry office ceremony. Whatever you choose, you’ll want to allocate around 9% of your wedding budget for your outfits. But be warned, this allocation doesn’t include outfits for your bridal party, like groomsmen and bridesmaids, so if you’re paying, you’ll need to work this into your budget somewhere.

Wedding flowers and decorations: 4% of your budget

Gorgeous floral aisle decor at Offley Place (left) and a striking tablescape at The Zetter Clerkenwell (right)

Flowers make a huge difference to any wedding, by adding so much colour and texture. You can really transform a space with your flowers and decorations, but they don't come cheap. Wedding flowers can become costly rather quickly, so it's worth making a priority list of what is essential – it’s likely that this will include a bridal bouquet, button holes, and small posies for the bridal party.

A way that you can keep costs down is by opting for a wedding venue that includes table decorations and is happy to provide you with their stash of artificial flowers – there are some really good ones out there. You could also make your own wedding displays, if you have the time and patience! But if you have more money to play with, there are other ways to incorporate flowers into your wedding, such as with a flower arch, hanging flowers, and with lavish centrepieces.

Take a look at our guide to the best wedding flowers by season to help find cost-effective seasonal blooms.

Wedding photographer: 10% of your budget

Taking the time to thoroughly research the best wedding photographers will help you find the perfect person to capture your big day

Although you'll have your memories to look back on, wedding photography is a huge part of your day, and will allow you to capture those moments, so you can reflect on them for years to come. In 2025, many photographers offer a videography package, so that you'll have stills and videos to enjoy over the years. Typically, even couples with smaller budgets will want to spend a large chunk on photography, and we agree that it’s not something you can easily scrimp on. Having said that, many couples allow their family and friends to shoot pics and film throughout the day, so if you need to save money, you could opt for a photographer who just attends the ceremony and takes a few snaps of the wedding party afterwards.

Wedding cake: 3.5% of your budget

Adding some fun and creative wedding toppers to your wedding cake can contribute to the overall effect of the day's decor

Your wedding cake will cost, on average, 3.5% of the budget, but can vary based on design, the number of guests you’re feeding, flavours, and who you choose to bake your cake. Wedding cakes make beautiful talking pieces at weddings, and offer a bit of decoration, as well as serving a practical purpose – feeding your hungry guests and keeping them on the dancefloor!

Wedding favours: 1% of your budget

These wedding favours at Lucknam Park add a pretty element to guests' tables

Your wedding favours will cost around 1% each on average, but these numbers could vary quite easily. For example, if you’ve got 20 guests in attendance, your favours will cost a lot less than if you were to have a grand affair with 200 people. Plus, you could even make your own, or ask your friends and family to chip in with creating something special.

Wedding hair and makeup: 1% of your budget

Getting glammed up with your nearest and dearest, like this bridal party at Winters Barns, can be a fun activity before the big day commences

Similarly, 1% for your hair and makeup doesn’t even allocate you £250 for your hair and makeup, based on the average wedding spend, and so, you may need to think about the cost of a trial, and for any members of your bridal party, too.

Wedding transport: 2.5% of your budget

A London bus kitted out in wedding gear to transport guests at The Zetter Clerkenwell 

Other smaller yet equally important costs to factor in include 2.5% for your wedding transport – which you won’t need to worry so much about if you’re celebrating the day in just one venue, but, if you want to go for a lavish wedding car or grand set of horses pulling a cart, they’ll likely cost you a lot more.

Wedding rings: 3% of your budget

Unsure where to start with your wedding ring shopping? Many of the tips in our guide to how to buy an engagement ring online will apply to wedding rings for you and your partner, too.

We’d suggest that you set aside around 3% of your budget for wedding rings. While rings symbolise the commitment you’ve made to one another, they don’t have to cost a fortune, and can be picked up for just a couple of hundred pounds each. This is really down to personal taste!

Wedding music and entertainment: 4.5% of your budget

Hiring a live band is one of many fun and unique ways to entertain your wedding guests - this wedding firework display at Crazy Bear Stadhampton is another, more extravagant way to provide entertainment. 

4.5% should be carved out for music and entertainment, which could be split into separate categories, but is easily combined if you are working with a tight budget. This pot of cash should cover performances, fireworks, photobooths, live performances, a DJ, and everything in between. If you want to keep the cost low, you could even create your own playlist and have it played through the venue’s speakers.

Honeymoon: 10% of your budget

Why not kick off the honeymoon early by hosting your wedding at one of many fabulous wedding venues with accommodation on-site - this luxurious suite at Brown's Hotel is somewhere you can extend your post-wedding high after the festivities have finished. 

On average you’ll need 10% of your wedding budget for your honeymoon – but this is totally dependent on your tastes, and whether you want a honeymoon at all. Many couples choose to go on staycations now, or will incorporate their destination wedding into their honeymoon. But if you like to do things the traditional way, 10% of your budget will give you a good amount of money to play with. Plus, you could ask guests for a contribution to your honeymoon in lieu of a gift.

We hope that after a read of our guide to budgeting for weddings that you’re feeling a little more organised – ready to take on the challenge that is wedding planning! Along with using our venue finding tools to help you with planning your special day, we love the advice that wedding experts Hitched and Bridebook provide, as they offer in depth details about all elements of a wedding – from your hen do down to thank you cards.

Once you've figured out how you're going to allocate your wedding budget, it's worth looking for ways you can reduce costs in certain areas. Take a look at our guide to how to save money on your wedding - there may well be places you're unnecessarily overspending!