Creating a Wedding Budget

It's time to set aside the romance for a moment and talk dollars and cents. Unless you're one of the chosen few for whom "the sky's the limit," you need to set a wedding budget. In fact, creating a budget should be one of the first things you do...before you fall in love with the $100 a plate caterer and the $15,000 gown!

The traditional rule of the bride's family paying for the entire wedding is quickly becoming history. Today, there is much more sharing of wedding expenses between the bride's family, the groom's family and the bride and groom themselves. Many couples are getting married later in life and are well established with their own careers. That means they are able to pay for more of the expenses -- sometimes they even want to pay for the entire wedding themselves.

A good way to begin creating a wedding budget is to set priorities. The bride and groom should discuss which elements of the wedding are most important to them. For instance, is it the reception location, the bridal gown or the entertainment that is most important to you? You should choose about three to four items that are your top priorities and set the rest of your budget from there.

How should you allocate your money? That's up to you! If you need help, however, there's a great wedding budget breakdown at Smart Wedding Planning. Go check it out!