by Kimberley Heit

Created on: April 27, 2009   Last Updated: May 04, 2009

Your wedding day is certainly a momentous occasion, but it is also the beginning of a lifetime commitment. Therefore, it is important that you ensure your newlywed days are filled with joy, rather then stress over debt. According to an American Express survey, eighty percent of newlyweds found the financial aspect of their wedding stressful. If you'd like to minimize the financial stress, it is vitally important that you create a wedding budget and stick to it.

Creating a wedding budget

When you're first basking in the excitement of being engaged, budgeting may be a very distant concern. However, you really need to work out an achievable budget before you make any major wedding decisions. Consider the following tips:

*The engaged couple should sit down together and have a good discussion on what they visualize for their wedding. What are your dreams? What things are the most important to you? This will help provide you with direction when it comes to allocating your funds.

*Once you have established your desires rank them in order of importance. For example, your three top desires might be a designer wedding gown, great photography and gorgeous flowers.

*Next, sit down with anyone who has indicated that they would like to financially contribute to your day and find out how much they will contribute and how they will contribute. This will enable you to work out exactly how much money you have to spend.

*Do your homework and find out what things really cost to make sure that your budget is a realistic estimate. You can find many prices online and there are lots of budget estimators that indicate what percentage of funds you typically need for each area. For example, most people spend around fifty percent of their budget on the reception.

*Now you can create a budget. When it comes to allocating funds start with your most important desires and work your way down the list. Be prepared to compromise in areas that aren't vital to you, rather then trying to come up with funds that really aren't available to you.

Sticking to your wedding budget

Many couples start off on the right foot and create a budget, but far fewer end up sticking to it. Consider the following tips to help you stay on track:

*Sign up to one of the free wedding budget calculators that can help you keep track of your spending. Or start a Microsoft Excel document or the likes to keep track of it all yourself. Every time you make a purchase notate it in your budget and see how you are tracking overall. If you have gone over budget in one area, make sure you cut back in another area.

*Make sure you remind yourself to think in terms of what you can have, rather then getting caught up in the things you can't. If you are able to achieve the things that top your list of desires, all the other aspects are not necessary to having a great wedding day.

*If you run into a major stumbling block think outside the box to solve the problem, rather then just saying to hell with the budget. Everything is marked up, so there is always a way to achieve what you want for less. Make something for yourself, ask around you might just find that someone you know has a hidden talent or owns something that you can borrow.

At the end of the day remember that your wedding day is supposed to be about celebrating your love and commitment, not keeping up with the Jones'. If you and your fiance are both positive, it will be a happy occasion.

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