As much as you may want that princes wedding in the Caribbean and to have extravagant food and decorations, chances are that unless you are a queen or a king you cannot have all that you envisioned. Budgeting for your wedding day is very important, especially in this rather unpredictable and harsh economic climate. No longer is it seen as being “a good idea” to blow what ever life savings you have on a wedding. So just how much should you spend on your wedding?

1) Talk to your Spouse. The most important thing to do is to talk to your spouse and to see what you both want and expect from your wedding day. What kind of flowers to you want? Is there a certain color you are envisioning? What type of venue would you like to have the ceremony and reception at? How should the invitations look? What are we wearing? What type of food are we eating? Though it is a rather long list of questions, these are all things that need to be considered when planning your budget.

2) Plan for What you Need. After you have talked things over with your significant other, you can start planning what you will need for your wedding. Make a list of things that you definitely need, such as:

• A reception venue
• A ceremony venue
• Food
• Drinks
• Cake
• Photography
• Entertainment
• Flowers and Decorations
• Invitations

Then there are the things that you may not need, such as the horse drawn carriage or the helicopter that is going to fly you to your wedding so that you can make a grand entrance on your wedding day.

3) Now it’s time to prioritize. That helicopter may not be the most important thing when it comes to your wedding, but the venue and the food probably is! Consider what is most important to you and make sure you allot more funds to such things than to flippant “extras” that you would like to have, but do not need to have.

4) Check your bank account. You will need to look into how much you currently have to spend and how much you need to save and in what period of time. Most weddings are between $15 000 and $20 000, so a good generalized goal would be to save that amount of money for your big day.

5) Consider what will be most expensive. As with most weddings, the food and drink is the most expensive, followed up by the reception venue costs or the decorations or the bride’s bridal gown. The goal is for you to spend perhaps 20% of your wedding budget on what is most important to you, and then allocate funds as necessary to the other parts of the wedding. If you also want to have great pictures, it would be fair to set aside 10% of your budget to find a good photographer who will capture the groom, the bride, and your family and friends at their most intimate and special of moments.