Budget allocation

I think it truly depends on ones preference. For me I think the wedding budget was nicely allocated as I watched A LOT of YouTube videos on advice on this topic. We picked what's important to us and what we were willing to spend money on which was venue, decor and photography/videography. If I could I would have wanted a cheaper dress. My dress cost $3000+ with alterations and I initially wanted a $1000 dress. But I don't regret it because I LOVE my dress

Budgeting wedding costs would be nice to allow for a decorator to get the work done though it was a small event that we took care to do ourselves. I would have cut down on the favours as it did end up being some taken by others just because some guests didn't show up. There were left overs that were handed out for Christmas the same year to friends.

I think this will vary wildly depending on what’s important to the couple.
For us, good food and an open bar were really important so probably close to 40% of the budget went straight there. I also have very specific taste and so finding the right venue and/or having nice decor was also a priority. I was planning to DIY our invitations and most of our signs/decor to keep costs down while still having things to my taste. We also invested in a day of coordinator which I think is very worthwhile and probably worth saving in an another area to fit into the budget.
We decided to save on music with a Spotify playlist instead of a DJ, skipped all florals and just went with greenery, and did a ton of researching to find an affordable photographer whose work we liked. Photography was one of those things that I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on because it can easily get to $5000+, but I also didn’t want someone horrible so if we didn’t get lucky with our photographer we probably would have increased that part of our budget. I also did my own makeup and hair - but I used to be a makeup artist so I was most comfortable with this. Definitely hire a pro if you’re not confident!

I know this is going to be a rarity but flowers are super important to me and a significant part of our vendor budget. We decided to not have videography to compensate. Also I know we would never watch the video anyways.

For us, our original date was July 25, 2020 and even then we knew wanted food to be our main focus. So we made the decision to forgo a dj and do music ourselves. We also went easy on the money allocation for decor since the ceremony and reception are taking place outside, we want the natural beauty to shine. So the money that would've been spent on flowers/decor went to getting a longer package deal with our photographer. Now with our June 12, 2021 date approaching it's looking like we're down to 10 guests so we're going all out on the food.

That's a huge personal preference thing. What someone prioritizes will be different between different couples. Some will put much more emphasis on the food and want a multi-course dinner with all the appetizers and late night stations while others with simpler tastes will go for something less extravagant on that front and have pizza and tacos. Some will splurge on having two shooters for photography and videography for 12 hours while others are okay with just a photographer who may not be as experienced. Some will absolutely need an open bar while many will not care for one and settle for a cash bar.

For us, we've completely reduced our DJ budget to zero since we don't foresee dancing to be something we can do in the near future and the main function of the DJ is to curate a party playlist and adapt to the vibe of the room. Similarly, any money we planned to spend on buffet/self-serve style food service can be allocated to something else like a more expensive/fancier plate of food since we're not allowed to have cocktail appetizers and self serve desserts.

If you're forced to stay outside due to restrictions on indoor gatherings, maybe your decor budget has shrunk since you now have natural scenery but you may need to use what you would've saved on a tent so that you're not constantly under the sun for hours and have protection from rain or other bad weather elements.