Budgeting for Your Wedding Day

Budgeting for your wedding can be stressful, - whether you're dreaming of a lavish affair or an intimate get-together, the answers to these questions will help you figure out what you can afford to make it happen.
Books available to help you with your planning.

Who Pays For What?

Discuss with both families about who will pay for what. Occasionally some parents of the Bride will still pay for the entire wedding. More often the Groom's family are actively participating in the planning and paying a greater portion than in the past.

Are you finding it awkward to bring up the conversation? Talking to each family separately is the best way to have truly open discussions. Here are some budgeting strategies for determining your initial budget.

• Ask both families to commit to a specific dollar amount, and then add up all the contributions to create your budget.
• Ask each set of parents to finance a particular aspect of the wedding -such as the ceremony, honeymoon, or catering - instead of a dollar amount.
• Decide how much the two of you can realistically contribute between now and the wedding day. A poll conducted by The Knot found that 37 % of the couples say they're planning to contribute financially to their wedding.

How Much Will You Need?

When it comes to financing a wedding, you should figure out how much you need to spend to get what you want. Alternately, if you are on a fixed budget, determine what you can get for the amount of money you have. Set your expectations accordingly. With the average cost for a 150-person wedding about $25,000 you will need to decide what is really important to you.

Here is a Basic Breakdown of What You Can Expect to Pay:

Reception: 48%-50%
Ceremony: 2%-3%
Attire: 8%-10%
Flowers: 8%-10%
Entertainment/Music: 8%-10%
Photography/Videography: 10%-12%
Stationery: 2%-3%
Wedding Rings: 2%-3%
Parking/Transportation: 2%-3%
Gifts: 2%-3%
Miscellaneous: 10-15 %
If you're paying for your honeymoon , remember to budget for that as well.

How Much Can You Save?

As soon as you're engaged, start saving as much of your income as you can afford. Try to save 20% of your monthly income. The longer your engagement, the more you'll be able to save.

Ways to save: Limit your spending on small stuff - rent movies instead of going out; spend less on fancy coffees and drinks after work, download just the song you love instead of buying the whole CD, you get the idea.

Make your money work for you: Instead of saving your money in a low-interest savings account, consider opening a money-market account. The interest rate can be double that of a savings account. Be sure to check the fine print to avoid penalties.