by Karen Eckles

Created on: February 18, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2007

7 Step Budgeting for Your Wedding

As you begin to plan your Wedding Day, you are going to notice a lot of talk about your Wedding Budget. A budget is a good idea so that you and your fianc can keep track of your spending, impose limits on spending, and decide what parts of your wedding are going to get the most of your budget finances. If a budget is not something you want to tackle and stick to, at the very least, you and your fianc should set a firm figure to spend in full for the wedding and honeymoon expenses. Remember two things when trying to decide on the amount you have to spend:

-Include everything from the gown to the airport parking fees, gifts for the attendants and parents, deposits you may need to put down, and add a little cushion for the unexpected.

-You are going to see a lot of things in your planning that you think you must have to complete the day (i.e. printed stir sticks & coasters, expensive favors, and engraved toasting flutes for the wedding party) that will lead you to make compromises about what is an absolute must have, and what is not so important after all.

Step 1:

Sit down with both sets of parents and anyone else who you think will want to contribute financially, or even donate something to planning process. Find out how much exactly they plan to contribute and write it in your budget. If someone is giving you a gift of say the limousine service or making your wedding cake make a note of it on your budget.

If you don't have any family contributions to your Wedding Budget, don't feel bad. Many other couples are in the same boat. You and your fianc will have to figure out what you can pull together to spend, what savings to use, or how to finance the day. The two of you may need to make some changes to save for your wedding, like taking lunch instead of eating out, and skipping that movie at the theater for a night watching television together.

Take a good look at your salaries, savings and debt. You will need to add a cushion of about 10% to your Wedding Budget to plan for the unexpected or forgotten items. You want to be able to pay for your wedding without sinking further into debt. Spend only what you can afford to spend!

Step 2:

Make inquiries of businesses or friends, or search the internet to find ball park pricing so that you can get a grip on the expenses and you won't be shocked later. It is a good idea to get two or three prices on one item or service so you can compare, and properly itemize your budget. Your budget may get

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