How to Organize Your Wedding Budget

If you have made the decision to get married you and your partner have some very important planning to do in order to have a ceremony and reception where your family and friends can celebrate.

After you have made the announcement about your engagement, it's a good idea to sit down with your partner and discuss how you would like your wedding to be; starting with how much money you want to spend.

Because this is time of excitement and happiness, it's very easy for couples to get carried away and begin planning the details of the wedding before they have considered how much money they can actually afford to dedicate toward the expenses.

First get a clear understanding of whether the responsibility is on you and your partner only or if either of your families will also help pay for the wedding. Then look at the total figure you have to work with and begin organizing your list of the things that are absolutely essential to have for your wedding to take place.

Starting with the most important items first will help you see where a significant part of your budget will be spent. These expenses include;

• wedding stationery,
• the location where the marriage ceremony will take place,
• the fees for the person who will perform the ceremony,
• your wedding rings and your attire,
• flowers,
• transportation,
• photography/video,
• gifts for the bridal party,
• reception catering and entertainment.

After you consider the essentials and have dedicated a certain amount of money for all of these things, you should start looking at the number of people you want to invite to your wedding ceremony and reception with regard to the amount you have to spend. And here is where the bulk of your wedding budget can quickly evaporate.

Depending on where you decide to have your reception, the charges per person can quickly mount if you decide to invite hundreds of people to your reception. It is not uncommon for the charge per person to average between $25.00 and $50.00 per plate and this often does not include the wedding cake.

Another factor that will have influence over the cost is the time of year you decide to have your wedding. The months of May, June, and July are extremely popular for couples to get married and because of this prices are usually higher during these months: the same holds true for where you decide to enjoy your honeymoon.

If you start with the essentials for your wedding it's much easier to keep control of how much you spend and be sure you have all of the major areas covered before you begin on thinking about all the things that would be nice to have. Creating a wedding budget from the very beginning and taking care of the essentials can avoid unpleasant surprises that can also be very expensive.

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