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It's finally happened! The man of your dreams has asked you to be his wife. You are floating on cloud nine and then the thought occurs to you, "Oh my Goodness! There is so much to do! Where do I start?"

Aha! This is the very moment when the wedding planning begins. Anyone can plan a wedding, but the smart bride knows to start with the budget! The budget is the biggest and sole determining factor in deciding the type of wedding you can and will

have.

As a former bride myself, the best place to start deciding the budget is with what I like to call the "Cost/Debt Ratio".

Cost/Debt

With all the overwhelming thoughts that may be flying at you, you could tear your hair out. however, the one thought that you can't let overwhelm you is how much you can realistically afford to spend on your wedding. You must be firm in this matter because there is nothing happy or romantic about being bankrupt newlyweds over your fantastic wedding!

First, you and your husband to be need to sit down and discuss just how much you want to spend on your dream day. Keep in mind that there is life after the wedding that must be taken into consideration. Once an amount is set, you can start breaking the wedding details up into sections and deciding how much to spend in each area. Also, you may want to consider if there is any room for any extra expenses outside the budget for anything unexpected. Perhaps, setting the wedding budget
about $2,000 less could give you an extra $2,000-$3,000 extra for the unexpected. This amount is $2,000 less from the original amount that was decided upon.

Must Haves

Now that the budget is set, start thinking about what you absolutely must have for your wedding day and what is optional (i.e. things you may be able to have if the extra money permits). The budget is set around the must have items because they determine what amount you are spending where. It also will help you observe where you need to cut back. In this stage of planning, typically the most important aspects of the budget are spent on:

-The Wedding Dress

-The Wedding Cake

-Photography

-Flowers/Decor

-The Caterer (Guest List)

-The Wedding Rings

-Ceremony/Reception Venues & Entertainment

-Honeymoon

The rings are sometimes not included in the budget and are a separate entity altogether! All these items should have their
own budget within the bigger budget.

This is without a doubt the most important, other than the vows, and frankly, frustrating part of the planning. Even with all this, you can still manage to have

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