There’s the dreaded six-letter word: budget.  No one likes to “budget”, we all want to spend-spend-spend on what we want and to not have to think about any of the repercussions of doing so.  Without proper budgeting and saving, however, you can very well spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on your wedding if you decide to put it all on a credit card or “on loan”.  To budget for your wedding day, you need to plan appropriately and also spend appropriately, which usually means “trimming the fat” on any extras for many brides.  If you aren’t sure how you should be budgeting for your big day, here are some ideas to get you started

Talk it Out

It’s important to sit down with your fiancé and discuss exactly what you want form your wedding day.  How do you both envision it appearing?  Is it a laid back backyard barbeque wedding or a sophisticated affair at an upper-class hotel downtown?  Depending on what your vision is, and how much you may be able to save, this will dictate just what your wedding is going to be.

TIP: If your families have offered to contribute to the expenses you may incur, ask them exactly what they will be contributing towards and for how much.  This will give you a better idea of how much expendable income you and your groom have to spend on your wedding and honeymoon.

Start Saving Immediately

The number one rule to budgeting for a wedding: start saving!  If at all possible, open up a higher savings’ account that will give you a higher percentage of savings each month or each year.  Some brides do well investing their money in low- to medium-risk mutual funds so that they make some extra money off of the money the put in.  Make an appointment with your bank and talk about opening a short-term savings account, and how to optimize the interest you would make off of each dollar you put into the bank.

How Much do I Save?

The general rule is that you save 10 to 20% of every single pay check.  This isn’t always possible, especially in an age where most brides and grooms have other “life” expenses to pay such as rent or a mortgage, children, utilities, and so on.  Look at what you spend per month, and look at what you are spending on.  That $120 night for dinner and the club last Saturday could have gone into a high interest savings account for your wedding last week; was the clubbing worth it?

Keep it Real

You may be dreaming about having that $50 000 wedding, but fact of the matter is that most of us cannot afford to do so.  Or even if we could, the idea of buying a house is far more appealing than spending a ton of money on a one-night party.  Take a good hard look at how much you are willing to spend on your wedding, and do not be swayed by how much other brides and grooms you know may have spent.