Budget Planning for Your Wedding

Money is the number one thing that married couples fight about. But do you realize that the tension surrounding money begins long before the happy couple say 'I do?' Wedding costs can rapidly escalate out of control which is why it's so important to begin the planning by devising a realistic budget. And once you've got the numbers crunched, it's equally important that you both stick to the budget.

And while a wedding budget doesn't sound all that glamorous, it doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, planning your wedding without a budget is almost guaranteed to land you into serious financial debt. What's the key to success? As it will be throughout your marriage, open, honest, two-way communication is an absolute must.

Each person needs to be honest about how they envision the day. Many women assume that men don't care about the planning but that isn't really true. It is, after all, a big life-change for the man too, and he has a family of his own to please.

Once the excitement of the engagement wears off, go somewhere quiet and talk about what's important to each of you in regards to your wedding day. Listening to your partner's opinion is as important as talking so be sure to do both. Then, make a list of what you both want (to arrive in a horse-drawn carriage, lobster, renaissance theme, color scheme, etc.) and what are absolute necessities (photographer and videographer, caterer, flowers, rings, etc...). You're going to use this information when it's time to allocate your budget.

Number crunching is the next step once the tentative list of items is drawn up. First, the total amount that is currently available to spend (for example, in savings accounts, stocks/bonds, real estate, trust funds), and how much needs to be saved from each person's income, and how much help with expenses can be realistically expected from others. If the wedding date is a bit distant, it may be prudent to open a higher-interest bearing account to allow additional interest to be earned.

Don't make unrealistic demands on others to cover your wedding expenses. Whatever is offered should be accepted graciously. Anger or disappointment is not a very mature way to handle the situation.

Once you have listed what money you have and what is expected, you will know what you have to spend. Now draw up a list of all elements to potentially be included in the wedding each with dollar amounts or the percentage of the budget you are willing to spend. This will be a guide when contracting each service. Of course, if you happen to exceed the limit in any category, the difference must come out of another category in order for the budget to stay balanced. Use the tools that work for you including worksheets or software, whatever it takes to keep it all organized!

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Newly Engaged? Then be sure to check out these Wedding Plan Ideas and Handy Wedding Tips

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