Four Reasons You Should Determine Your Budget before Planning the Wedding

By: Alexine

The most important aspect of planning your wedding is having a budget. This allows you to work within your means and not have to cut back on plans once you have decided on them. It gets very draining and frustrating when you get something done and then have to go back and change it because it doesn’t work financially. With that in mind here are some reasons to have your budget ready before you start planning your wedding.

Debt: While some are more fortunate to have parents to pay for their wedding, there are also those who have to pay their own way. Surprisingly enough, many people end their wedding with quite a bit of debt. This is something you want to avoid if possible. If money is that tight, elope at the court house and have a cookout at your place afterwards.
On the other hand if you have some money to spend, go through your finances and figure how much you can afford. Then you can plan according to your budget instead of going into debt.

Guest List: When you write your guest list, make three categories of people; must have, should have and can do without. This allows you to cut out any guests that you don’t have to invite given your financial circumstance or venue allowance.
If the venue in your budget doesn’t allow all your guests on the list then you can start taking people off the “can do without” list. This way you don’t ever have to un-invite people or run into a space shortage at the church or venue.

Theme: While most people want an elaborate wedding with all the bells and whistles, have more financial restrictions. By knowing your budget when you choose the theme or create your “big idea” there won’t be any disappointment. If your budget is small, a simpler wedding theme like “traditional” can help. Maybe you can’t have the huge centerpieces or the fancy tablecloths, but its ok, all that matters is that the wedding happens.
On the other hand if you have an enormous budget a getaway on the beach in a tropical place is always a nice choice. There you can have a fashionable theme with tropical flowers.

Allocating the Money: When planning the wedding you have to divide the money up into groups; for instance; food, attire, ceremony, flowers, venue and alcohol. The best way to do this is create a list. Write down all the necessities in one column and the extras in another. Then once you price the must haves you can use the left over money for the extras. This way if you don’t have enough money for the extras the wedding can still happen in a simpler form.

While all of these topics can be difficult, it is all worth while when you come to a decision of how much to spend and start making the plans. Wedding planning is not all fun and games as thought to be. However, the budgeting aspect of the planning process can leave a lot of stress out of the equation. Once you have determined your budget, get to work and have fun. Try to enjoy planning your wedding as it is a very special day in life!