It’s the first step in planning your wedding: setting your wedding budget. You deserve a beautiful wedding, but it should be within your means. A budget allows you to examine each wedding detail and allocate more money to the items that are most important to you.

Follow these steps and you’ll have a budget in no time.

Step One: Prioritize

Set some time aside to talk with your fiancé about what type of wedding you both want. Will it be low key or formal, in a church or on a beach, large or small? Weddings come in all shapes and sizes; it’s up to you to decide what type of wedding suits you both.

Also discuss what parts of the wedding are most important to each of you. Maybe having a limo large enough to fit your wedding party is more important than serving a champagne toast at the reception. Talk about each detail of the wedding and determine what you will splurge on and what you will curtail.

Now is also a good time to talk with your parents to see if they want to contribute funds to the wedding so that you can factor this into your equation.

Step Two: Put It on Paper

After you’ve done some talking, it’s time pick up a pencil. Putting your budget on paper makes it easier for you to stick to and it clarifies any possible miscommunication between you and your fiancé. Your budget should be made up of at least three columns: one for the description, another for the estimate cost, and a third for the actual cost. (See the sample wedding budget worksheet at the end of this article.) As you plug in your estimated costs, you may need to make adjustments to keep it under your total budget. Give your budget some wiggle room so that if you go over slightly, it won’t break you.

Step Three: Follow Through

The final step is perhaps the most difficult: following through with your set budget. Refer to your budget often. As you purchase items and services for your wedding, check the estimated amount and fill in the actual amount spent.

The task of working together to set and follow a budget for your wedding is a great lesson that you will be able to apply to your lives together. The most financially successful couples communicate about their money and work within a budget.

Sample Wedding Budget Worksheet

Item % Estimate Actual

Ceremony 2% ________ _______

Reception 48% ________ _______

Attire 8% ________ _______

Rings 3% ________ _______

Flowers 8% ________ _______

Entertainment 8% ________ _______

Photography 12% ________ _______

Transportation 2% ________ _______

Stationery 3% ________ _______

Gifts 3% ________ _______

Miscellaneous 3% ________ _______

My Total Budget: _________

Filed under: Wedding Planning