Planning Your Budget

 
Before you got engaged, you may have imagined your wedding with all the signs of an elaborate event: white roses,  a huge guest list, a 35-person swing orchestra,  ice sculpture,  and free flowing champagne.  But now that you're actually tasked with finding the money to finance this event, you're worried you'll have to scrap the whole plan and head to Vegas. Don't make any decisions until you've written out a proper budget ; this might take some time, patience, and coming to terms with reality. While you may have to make some sacrifices, budgeting and planning can ensure the appearance of the things you can't live without, like the elaborate four-tiered wedding cake  you've dreamed about for years. Carefully monitoring your money can make all the difference in the final outcome, lessening the chance of surprises that could stress you out before your big day. 
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Reserve Time

  • It's best to deal with the budget as soon as possible, so sit down with your fiancé(e) to draw up an economical  budget. Make sure to remember that you'll be spending a portion of that total as you check off expenses from you Wedding Countdown Checklist, but a large majority will go to payments on the day of and after your wedding.
  • Check out your current finances. How much savings are you willing to put toward the wedding?
  • What gap does this leave--how much more will you need to come up with to finance the wedding? Will you need to charge thousands of dollars on credit cards?  Are relatives willing to help? Can they loan you money? See: Wedding Budget and Who Pays.
  • Once you have considered the possible debt  the wedding will cause, determine whether you can pay it off within a year after the wedding while also keeping up with your other fiscal responsibilities.
  • If your initial budget seems unattainable, go back through with a fine-toothed comb  until you have a manageable result. See: Money Saving Tips for Weddings.

Leave Room

  • No matter your ending total, even if you overestimated going along, add 15%. This cushion allows for forgotten items and expenses, initial underestimating, and getting carried away on a few details.
  • The more you plan initially for unexpected costs, the more likely you are to stay on or under budget.

Stick To It

  • When you meet with vendors and planners with whom you must negotiate during the wedding planning process, bring your budget checklist. It's their job to get you to spend more, so be prepared to stand your ground and firmly state your budget.
  • If you're a bit of a push-over, bring along your fiancé(e) or a determined friend for safety in numbers.

Must-Haves

  • Some brides don't care about designer wedding dresses  and many couples can do without a limo. Ask yourself which details are necessary and which you can go without. Cutting corners and prioritizing will help you concentrate on the things you're really looking forward to: engraved invitations,  booking the ceremony at a local garden, a hand-made lace veil. 
  • By saving up for favourites, you may have also trimmed enough for your honeymoon. If you're looking forward to an elaborate honeymoon to celebrate the beginning of your marriage, put some of the money you saved toward your trip. On the other hand, if you picture the honeymoon as a 3-day trip to a local bed and breakfast,  you can splurge on a wedding detail you were holding out for.

Do It Yourself

  • If you are the creative type (or have artistic friends and family), find ways to add home-made flair instead of paying professionals. Maybe you can enlist your crafty  sister to help with the favours, or your neighbourhood florist to cut you a deal.
  • If the thought of handling every creative detail is a nightmare, consider hiring a wedding coordinator. The cost will account for about 8% of the budget, but he or she will work with you to save you money. You can hire one temporarily to help you get organised, or to help make the day run smoothly. If professional help is out of your budget, ask an experienced friend or family member to be your planner; some people really enjoy helping and using their organising skills so ask around.

Weighing Options

  • When you choose whether to throw an extravagant wedding with your credit cards or save the money and incurred debt with a small wedding, you're making a personal choice. As long as you plan ahead and make an educated decision, don't regret your final choice. See: The Wedding Cost.

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.com: Several articles about budgeting for a wedding.
  • TheKnot.com: 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.
  • iVillage.com: 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.
  • WeddingBells.ca: 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.