Planning the Wedding Budget
Aug 30th, 2008 by Dreamscapes Video
The number one subject that married couples argue about is money. Is it surprising that this subject also causes the most tension before the marriage? Devising a realistic budget in advance is important because wedding costs can easily spiral out of control. The most important thing once a budget is drawn up and agreed upon, is that both bride and groom stick to their plan.
Yes, making a budget isn’t as fun as other aspects of wedding planning, but it doesn’t have to be that bad. Planning the wedding without a budget however, is almost guaranteed to put a couple in serious debt. How should a couple approach the task? Open two-way communication is a must for planning a wedding, which is excellent practice for the rest of the marriage.
Couple need to be honest in their desires for the special day. While brides often assume that men don’t really care, that isn’t always the case. A marriage is a big change for a man too, and he also has his family to take into account when plans are made.
Once the excitement of the engagement wears off, go somewhere quiet and talk about what’s important to each of you in regards to your wedding day. Listening to your partner’s opinion is as important as talking so be sure to do both. Then, make a list of what you both want (to arrive in a horse-drawn carriage, lobster, renaissance theme, color scheme, etc.) and what are absolute necessities (photographer and videographer, caterer, flowers, rings, etc…). You’re going to use this information when it’s time to allocate your budget.
Once the list is drawn up, it is time to crunch the numbers. First figure out how much money is immediately available (for example, in savings accounts, stocks/bonds, real estate, trust funds), how much needs to come from income, and how much might come from others. If the wedding date is distant, it may be prudent to open a higher-interest bearing account for the money so that it can earn interest.
Don’t make unrealistic estimates based on what others might cover in planning your costs. Whatever is contributed by friends or family should be accepted graciously. It would be immature to become angry or disappointed if the amount isn’t what you hoped it would be.
Once you know how much you have and how much is coming in toward expenses, a total amount can be concluded. Draw up a list of all the wedding expenses and decide on a dollar amount or percentage of the total you would like to spend on each item. This will guide you as you begin to shop around. Of course, if you want to exceed the budgeted amount, money from another item on the list needs to be decreased in order to keep the budget balanced. Since the wedding budget is so important, if you find it easiest to use budgeting software and worksheets, by all means use whatever tools are necessary to keep organized and on track.
