I know the thrill of getting engaged can be overwhelming and the thrill of showing off the ring can make you forget you are about to spend a lot of money. The best way to try and avoid some of the stress and pressures of budgeting your wedding is to work out s sensible budget. This phase of planning will usually cause some arguments and you will have to learn how to compromise so the most important things are done the way you dreamed. Doing some early research is helpful in figuring out where you will have to spend the most amount.

Some tips for budgeting are very simple and don’t require much work at all. Sit down with a notepad and write down the things you want to have at your wedding. What type of hall, the level of food, transportation, pictures, video, and so on. Do some research in your area because most wedding halls will sponsor a wedding show that will bring together a lot of vendors that you can interview on the spot. This will save you a lot of time which you will want to have later on in the process. Everyone will be different when it comes to meeting with vendors, picking the right one, and second guessing about everything. At this stage of budgeting you are creating a rough outline that you hope will be a guide going forward as you meet with some vendors. No matter what you think something will cost just know it will probably cost you more. A strong outline can help you avoid cutting out something you really wanted down the line because money gets tight.

Some thing to do when starting your budget outline:

• Remember this is a rough outline of what you want for your wedding
• Give yourself a ballpark figure of what you can afford to spend on the entire event
• Break things down by percentage
  • what percentage of your money to you want to spend on each item
• Ask friends or family that have been married in your area and see if they are willing to discuss what they paid for their vendors
  • this can come in very useful when you try to negotiate your contracts
• Make sure to factor in little things that will add up such as place cards, favors, disposable cameras, programs, etc.. You will be surprised how fast a bunch of small items adds up to well over $1000
• Gifts for the wedding part, tips, and miscellaneous items have to be factored in also