It’s no secret that weddings cost money and budgets can quickly spiral out of control if you don’t get organized up front. Taking the time now to complete the steps necessary to set a realistic budget can save time, money, and many possible headaches as you plan your wedding.

Before you can crunch the numbers for your budget, you must first decide what type of wedding and reception you want, and how much money you have available to spend for the event. If you have a very large budget or an unlimited budget, this process can be quite simple as you can choose what you want without worrying about the cost. For the majority of couples this is simply not the case. You must set priorities for what aspects and details of your wedding are most important to you, and what you are willing to cut back on or completely do without.

Do you have to have the fanciest ballroom or mansion in town, or a reasonably priced venue that is finely decorated, or is a nice backyard event fine? Will your food be a top of the line sit-down filet mignon and lobster dinner, a nicely prepared and catered buffet menu, or a lower cost barbeque type meal? How many guests will you invite? 500? 300? 100? 50?

To plan your budget you must first answer all of the questions like those above about the type of event you would like to have. While answering these questions don’t get caught up thinking about the cost of each aspect yet. Make your answers a wish list of how you would like your big day to be. Once you know what you want, you can begin pricing the items that you have on your wish list to see how much they cost. Price out all the items on your wish list, getting prices from more than one vendor for each item. When you have completed this step in the budget process of getting multiple prices for ALL the items on your wish list, you will be able to see how close to your original budget amount you are. You can now sit down and review your costs for your wedding and set priorities for what aspects are most important to you (what you must have, what you can do without), and where to allocate your money.

Keep in mind the second most important part of your budget is the number of guests you will invite. The guest list can be reduced or increased in conjunction with the budget in order to make your budget work for you. With more guests you may have to spend less on individual aspects, and vice versa, with fewer guests you may be able to have a more extravagant wedding and reception.

Since each wedding and reception is different, only you can make the necessary decisions on the give and take of the budget. This budget worksheet will help you ask yourself the right questions, and fill in the blanks (costs) to set your priorities for your wedding.

-Jay Byerly