Five Steps Toward Establishing a Wedding Budget

Establishing a wedding budget is not fun, but it must be done. Looking at wedding dresses, dreaming of wedding venues, going to cake tastings, and shopping for bridesmaids gifts are all more fun than establishing a wedding budget. But what a couple is able to do with any of these elements of their wedding are all impacted by the wedding budget. All too often brides blow their wad on one or two items on the top of their list and then find they have to do without, or cut back dramatically on other elements of the wedding.

Consider Your Financial Situation: Start establishing a wedding budget with an honest assessment of where you are financially. What resources are available to enable you to mount your wedding celebration? How much money is available from savings? How much has been offered in the form of gifts from relatives? Depending on your financial situation, how much can you responsibly expect to borrow and later repay without causing an unnecessary stress on your new marriage relationship?

Consider Your Guest List: The act of creating your guest list during the budgeting phase of your wedding planning is extremely important and largely overlooked. However, if a relatively accurate guest list is not put together at this point there will be no way for the new couple to determine how much needs to be budgeted for a number of areas. For example, the venues for the wedding and reception are often the most expensive area of the wedding planning process, but if the couple does not know exactly who they will be inviting (it is worth the effort to take the time to make certain that no one is forgotten at this point) then it is very likely they will either spend too much money on the venue or end up with a venue that will not accommodate everyone you most dearly want to celebrate with.

Consider Reality: Take the time to find out what things actually cost. This will probably require a string of telephone calls or emails to a variety of vendors to discover the ball park pricing of what you have in mind. For example, wedding cakes are traditionally priced per serving. So a call to a couple of bakeries can give you the general price per serving of the kinds of cakes you like in your area then you multiply it by the number of guests on the guest list and add the number in the wedding party and you have a good starting point for establishing your wedding budget.

Consider Your Priorities: Life is about prioritizing and the process of establishing a wedding budget is no different. Unless you have the checkbook of an oil Sheik it is necessary to sit down as a couple and decide what elements in the wedding planning process are most important to you. To some, being married in the most prestigious wedding venue might be important. To another having that incredible design focal point for their reception that a grand wedding cake adorned with elegant crystal wedding cake jewelry offers might be most important. For still others, a simple expression of love and gratitude to the loved ones who came to celebrate with them is more important so they would want to choose to emphasize their wedding favors.

Consider Your Options: Finally, after everything above is covered; after a realistic, prioritized, budget that takes into consideration the size of the party and your financial situation is put together… after all that has been done. It is time for the final step in establishing a wedding budget – considering money saving options. There are indeed ways to save money on every aspect of the wedding planning process, but you have to know something about each discipline to do so. Check out Stepping Stones to Your Dream Wedding for insight into the wedding industry and some concrete tips on how to save money on the wedding planning process.

Truly, it is worth the effort to take the time up front developing a strategic plan for your wedding preparations. Besides for the very real protection it offers young couples from relationship straining financial woes as they start off their relationship, this discipline also can assist in laying the foundation for an intentionally designed wedding celebration. And most any well planned event is more memorable than something that is just thrown together – and that comes about by taking the time to establish a wedding budget.

Establishing a Wedding Budget