Wedding Budget: Prepare, Prioritize, Compromise

Why create a budget for your wedding? Love is a wonderful thing, but it makes most of us react to situations more emotionally than normal. When caught up in the romance of planning a wedding, it's all too easy to throw caution to the wind and spend spend spend. Without a plan, you will tend to make purchases and sign contracts in a piecemeal fashion, having no idea what the bottom line will be ultimately. 

An out-of-control spending spree may result in serious financial and interpersonal consequences. Therefore I urge you, together with your fiance, to take the time to figure out (approximately) and agree on how much your total wedding expenditures will be before you sign a single contract for wedding vendor services or write your first check. Just remember that your wedding budget is meant to guide you, and it's up to you to determine if adjustments are needed. In fact, adjustments probably will be needed as you go along. The most important point to remember is that communication is key!

The first step in the wedding budgeting process is to get an overview of all the potential expenditures you might have. Broad categories of wedding expenditures include wedding ceremony and reception accessories, guest and honeymoon accommodations, bride's attire, wedding cakes, clergy or officiant fees, organists, soloists, wedding entertainment, attendants' gifts, gratuities, groom's attire, wedding flowers, honeymoon, wedding invitations (including postage), rehearsal dinner, photography, wedding reception costs, rings, transportation, videography, and the services of a wedding consultant. As you begin to formulate your budget, keep in mind that the cost of gratuities could increase some expenses by 15 to 25 percent.