Wedding Budget Tips: Planning With Real Data, Not Just Inspiration
A wedding photo can show you the design, the venue, and the perfect tablescape… but it usually doesn’t show the price tag. That gap between what a wedding looks like and what it costs can make it hard to set a realistic budget.
In the latest episode of the Pink Haired Planning Pod, host Carissa Campbell talks with Desirée and Kate Beckman of Tulle Together, a wedding-planning platform built around real vendor pricing. They discuss how to research costs, compare options and make choices that reflect what matters most to you.
Here are a few practical takeaways from our conversation:
1. Set your priorities early.
Choose the parts of the day that matter most, then build your budget around them. Kate shared that her 2025 Brooklyn Botanic Garden wedding for 150 guests came to about $97,000, but this came at a cost… She focused spending on the venue and catering, while scaling back on areas like florals, stationery and live music.
2. Compare the full cost, not just the headline price.
A lower venue fee may come with higher food, beverage or other charges. Ask for a full estimate and compare line items side by side before deciding.
3. Consider the date and season.
A Friday or an off-season date may cost less than a peak-season Saturday. Ask vendors how pricing changes with the date, and compare like with like.
4. Leave room for trade-offs.
If your first-choice venue or guest count uses more of the budget, decide what you’re comfortable adjusting. Trying to keep every element while lowering the total can lead to frustrating surprises.
5. Look for documented, dated pricing.
Tulle Together’s co founders explain that the platform reviews pricing submissions and tracks when quotes were collected. Treat older prices as useful context, not a guarantee of what a vendor charges today.Want the full conversation? Listen to the latest Pink Haired Planning Pod episode for more on wedding budgets, price transparency and using Tulle Together to explore costs.
