Budgeting

A wedding budget is not a simple under taking. Well, at least an accurate wedding budget is not. Staying under budget is one goal of most brides. Things get a little more complicated when you start to think of splitting the costs among several groups of people. Here are some things that you should consider when deciding who is going to pay for what.

How should we break down the expenses?

Traditionally, there is a set of rules that dictates who pays for what in a wedding. Generally speaking, the bride's family is responsible for the reception and ceremony expenses. The groom's side of the family is responsible for the rehearsal dinner as well as a small portion of the flowers for the wedding. The groom is responsible for the rings for the bride and the honeymoon. The bride is responsible for the rings for the groom. There are many variations on this and we could go into much more details. But families are not as traditional as they were in the past. And today's bride and groom are waiting even later to get married than ever before. The combination on those two points makes it harder to come up with a standard budget breakdown that works for everyone. Before you get started, you should examine your family situation. It may even be the case that you have to fund the wedding yourself. You just need to come up with a break down that works for your family.

What are you going to include in your budget?

How you breakdown the expenses will determine what you include in the budget. If the groom to be is paying for the honeymoon, then you can let him track that separately. But if you are letting the groom's parents pay for their share of the flowers, you would want to include that in your budget. Communicate with them early in the planning process and let them know how you want to handle the situation. Are you going to pay for it up front and let them pay you back? Or are they going to write you a check for you to use when you need. Getting an accurate amount available to spend is should be a priority. Also make sure to communicate any changes in prices as soon as possible so that there are no surprises.

How can I keep track this in my budget?

You will want to keep track of who pays for what in your budget somewhere. The best thing to do is to add a column called "Responsible" to your budget. Fill in the column as you figure out prices. If there is going to be a split payment on a service, you may want to include multiple line items in order to track the amounts for each contributor. Account for the fact that the is more than one party paying for items in your budget. If the groom's parents are paying a few hundred dollars for flowers, make sure that amount is counted in the overall budget total.

Spending time getting your budget in order is important in wedding planning. Spend the time necessary to get your financials in order. You will spend much more time in the future trying to correct problems if you are not organized up front. Have a well budgeted wedding!