Wedding Budget Reality Check
PROModel wedding budget trade-offs with concrete scenarios showing what I can actually afford. See exactly what gets cut when I prioritize venue, photography, or catering.
Example Usage
“We’re planning a wedding for 120 guests in Austin, Texas, with a $35k budget. We love beautiful venues and amazing food, but we’re not sure if that’s realistic. Can you show us what our budget breakdown should look like, what we can actually afford for venue and catering, and what we’d have to cut to make our priorities work?”
How to Use This Skill
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Suggested Customization
| Description | Default | Your Value |
|---|---|---|
| Total dollar amount for the wedding | $30,000 | |
| Estimated number of in-person guests | 100 | |
| Type of venue (hotel, garden, restaurant, barn, backyard) | restaurant | |
| Wedding location for regional pricing | Austin, TX | |
| Top 2-3 categories to prioritize (photography, catering, venue, flowers) | photography, catering | |
| Percentage reserved for unexpected costs | 15% |
What This Skill Does
The Wedding Budget Reality Check skill transforms abstract wedding budget percentages into concrete, actionable trade-off scenarios. Instead of generic advice like “spend 50% on venue,” this skill shows you exactly what happens when you prioritize specific categories: “If you upgrade photography to $8k, you’ll need to cut flowers by $2k and skip videography.”
Key Features
- Budget Scenario Modeling: See realistic allocations based on your total budget, guest count, and location
- Trade-Off Visualization: Understand exactly what gets cut when you prioritize certain categories
- Regional Pricing: Adjust for local costs (NYC weddings cost 2x Austin weddings)
- Guest Count Sensitivity: Model how 100 vs 150 guests changes your entire budget structure
- Priority Reallocation: Input your top 2-3 priorities and see budgets recalculated accordingly
Who This Is For
- Engaged couples in early-to-mid planning stages (6-18 months out)
- Budget-conscious couples ($10k-$100k+ weddings)
- Couples managing family contributions or expectations
- Anyone who wants to understand real trade-offs before booking vendors
Research Sources
This skill was built using research from these authoritative sources:
- A Practical Wedding by Meg Keene Worksheets, timelines, and budget decision frameworks from the bestselling wedding planning book
- The Knot Wedding Budget Breakdown 2024 Industry standard reporting on average wedding costs by region and category
- Reddit r/weddingplanning Budget Threads Real-world budget breakdowns from hundreds of couples with actual trade-offs made
- Brides.com Wedding Cost Planning Guides Comprehensive vendor categories and typical percentage allocations
- WeddingWire Vendor Marketplace & Pricing Real-time vendor quotes and market rates by location
- Zola Wedding Planning Platform Free platform demonstrating how couples organize and manage budget trade-offs
- Reddit r/Weddingsunder10k & r/BigBudgetBrides Comparative budget planning across income levels showing different trade-off patterns
- A Practical Wedding Podcast Expert interviews on how couples identify priorities and make trade-off decisions