Before you start planning your wedding, you should sit down
with everyone involved with the financial aspects. Set a budget
rich enough to give you what you want but affordable enough to
not break the bank.

If you don't have a budget set from the start, you'll have a
difficult time holding on to your money. It's easy to spend an
extra hundred here and an extra hundred there. If you limit your
spending, you'll be less tempted to spend and more able to focus
on what you want and need more wisely.

Here are some pointers for creating an affordable wedding
budget.

Who's Paying?

Traditionally, the bride's parents were in charge of paying for
the wedding. Times have changed quite a bit, though. While the
bride's parents sometimes still pay for the wedding, it is just
as likely to see the couple pay for their own ceremony or have
financial help from parents on both sides.

If you aren't able to pay for the wedding yourself, then sit
down to have a serious discussion about what is going to work.
Depending on your financial situation, you might assume family
will help pay for the wedding, but even if you're positive of
that, show your family the courtesy of asking if they'll pitch
in.

The average wedding costs over $20,000 these days, and it might
be intimidating to ask for such a large amount of money. You
might want to prepare a plan that details how much you'd be
willing to chip in, what your budget is, and what type of help
you'll need or the specific expenses you'd like your family to
pitch in for.

Sometimes parents contribute a certain amount of money or offer
to pay for certain items such as the wedding dress, the
catering, or the entertainment. Look into splitting the budget
up as much as possible to have everyone willing to contribute
put in an equal amount towards the event.

Setting Your Budget

The budget always depends on the amount of guests that you're
inviting to the wedding. A general rule of thumb is that you
should prepare to pay $100 for every guest on the invitation
list. If you're having a large amount of guests, you may receive
a discount per head as opposed to paying full price per person
for smaller weddings.

Taking Care of the Basics

You shouldn't just make a wild guess at how much you're willing
to spend on your wedding. Instead, set the approximate amount of
budgeted dollars per guest and then put together a list of
everything you'll need to buy with that money.

By creating a detailed financial plan, you'll know how much you
can spend on every aspect of the wedding: catering, decorations,
transportation, dresses, photography, etc.

You might want to splurge in one area and you may find that
with a detailed plan, you can easily save some money in another
area of your wedding. By finding out what's important to you and
planning things carefully, you'll give yourself a better chance
of staying within your financial means.

Look around or ask friends that have been married before what
expenses they had and what costs their wedding day incurred.
Sometimes you'll realize that your numbers aren't very realistic
compared to what people who have gone before you have spent.
It's better to find out in the planning stages than when you're
actually heading off to make your purchases.

Prioritize

When you make detailed plans, prioritize what's most important
to you. Make sure to communicate with your partner so that you
both end up getting what you want instead of feeling ripped off
or resentful. Rate every item's priority on a scale of 1-5, with
"1" being your top priority and "5" being one of the least
important items. This helps prioritize wants versus needs and
helps you stay on track with your budget.

Ways to Save Money

There are always tricks to saving money on your wedding
package. Sometimes you can find places that offer catering,
decorations, and a reception room for a low price when bundled
together. Other times you'll find a photographer that also
offers videography for a discounted rate. By finding bulk deals
or making connections, you'll be able to minimize excess costs.

You'll also want to find out if you have any friends or family
members willing to help out for free. Sometimes you might know a
person capable of doing all your photography as a wedding gift
or you might know somebody willing to volunteer as a decorator.

There are many ways that you can save money, but most of the
trick in cutting costs is thinking creatively and resourcefully.
By finding out what is most important for your wedding, you'll
be able to spend money on what matters and save on things that
are less important.

Stick to It

Once you've set a budget, stick to it no matter what. Don't
plan to be frugal from the start be realistic. Instead of
trying to spend too little and create problems when you
overspend because of true cost, you should plan for costs as
truthfully as possible. It's no fun having financial pressures
because you didn't spend enough time planning properly.
Overshooting the budget not only causes arguments in the couple,
but it is also a sign of poor choices.

While it's true that this is your only wedding, it's not true
that you have an unlimited amount of money available to blow on
the event. It's easy to upgrade items for a couple of hundred
dollars, and some vendors will push you to do so. But if you
take every vendor's advice and don't follow your budget, you'll
never find your available money to be enough.

Don't stress over your purchases. Instead, spend what feels
comfortable and that is within your means. Have fun finding the
pleasure in the ceremony and not in the extra (and expensive)
trimmings.

About The Author: David Beart is owner of the
http://www.professorshouse.com , a site dedicated to family,
wedding advice, pets, and household problems.

Tags: wedding, wedding budget