Planning Your Budget

 
Elaborating your big day with white roses,  a guest list of 200, a 35-person swing orchestra,  ice sculpture,  and free flowing champagne  is easy. Finding the money to finance your big day dreams, well, that's another story. That's why budgeting  properly is such a crucial step in planning effectively. This might take some time, patience, and coming to terms with reality. However, that doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice the things you want -- like the elaborate four-tiered wedding cake  that you can't live without. Carefully monitoring where and what you spend money on can make all the difference in the final outcome.

Budgeting Guides

Basic Tips

  • Take Time to Budget. Spend an afternoon with your spouse to draw up a budget that you feel you can realistically pull off, whether the wedding be lavish or economical.  You'll be spending a portion of that total as you go along your wedding countdown and a large majority will account for payments on the day of or after your wedding.
    • First, how much money do you have saved that can be put towards the wedding?
    • How much more do you need to finance this wedding? How will you find this money? Will you need to charge thousands of dollars on credit cards?  Are parents willing to chip in some dough to help out?
    • Once you see what kind of debt  this will put you in, consider if after the wedding you'll be able to pay off the wedding debt in a reasonable amount of time (about one year) while still attending to the other payments and responsibilities you have.
    • If the outcome seems unfeasible, maybe it's time to start cutting corners.
  • Leave Room for Unexpected Expenses. Whatever budget you give yourself, add on about 15%. This is important to do as it allows for a cushion, which accounts for the items most people forget to include in their initial budget, and in the end it leaves you on or slightly under budget.
  • Don't Give in to Pressure. Bring your budget checklist with you when you meet with vendors, planners, and other people who you must negotiate with during the wedding planning process. Hold your ground and be firm when you state your budget. Vendors will try to get you to spend more if they can.
  • Only Pay for What Matters Most. Not every woman wants a $5000 wedding dress  and not every couple cares if they come in a limo. Determine what aspects of your wedding are "must-haves" and which things you can live without. This helps cut corners and save money where it counts the most. By playing favorites you can also save when it comes to your honeymoon. If an elaborate honeymoon is where you want to celebrate your romance, then cut back on the wedding and put the money towards your trip as newlyweds. Likewise, if a honeymoon  is a trip to a bed and breakfast,  don't be afraid of spending the money on the wedding.
  • Cost=Size+Style. The size and level of formality account for how much you'll have to spend overall.
  • Do It Yourself. Get creative and find ways to make things or do things yourself instead of paying someone else to do it. If going it alone sounds like a nightmare, consider hiring a wedding coordinator. Often they can work with you to try and safe you money even though their costs will account for about 8% of your budget. You may also want to temporarily hire one just to get yourself organized before the big event and to keep things flowing smoothly on the day of the wedding. If a wedding coordinator is not in your budget, ask a friend or family member to be your planner. They'll be honored to help.
  • What's It To You? Do you want to have a unforgettable, outlandish wedding day and land yourself in debt for the next several years? Or would you rather save some money, have a great time, and be well-off for your life as a newlywed? Neither is right or wrong. It's a personal choice.

External Links

  • About.com -- A printable financial planning worksheet to track your wedding expenses that is organized in easy to read categories.
  • Brides.com -- Three weddings, three styles, and all ways to make a wedding fun and budget-friendly.
  • Infostuff.com -- A short article about how to break down your budget by percentages, plus some tips on how to save cash here and there.
  • iVillage -- Several articles about budgeting for a wedding.
  • The Knot -- Money saving tips from day to day life to planning your big day.
  • Lifetimetv.com -- How to throw a wedding like the stars, but for a lot less money.
  • Town and Country -- What a wedding costs and which styles are pricer than others.
  • WeddingChannel.com -- Little ways to save money on a daily basis.
  • WeddingChannel.com -- Wedding insurance: who needs it, why, and what it can do for you.
  • Wedding Bells -- This features a budgeter converter in which you enter what type of wedding you plan to have (simple, traditional, or extravagant) and the number of guests that you want. It then breaks down costs by category giving a good estimate of what the average cost of a wedding is with the criteria you submit. You can add additional items that you plan to buy to get a more reasonable idea of what you'll spend.
  • WedThemes.com -- Several articles about how to save on different parts of your wedding, from the flowers to the dress.
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