Step 6- Budgeting

Well, now that you've done the basic things to get the ball rolling, it's time to attack the not so fun part....Budgeting! Budgeting can be one of the hardest parts of wedding planning and cause some of the most stress! Since this blog is titled Reasonably priced Lds weddings, I will look at ways that will fit just this as well as give suggestions on how to go about it.

6) Budgeting:

For everyone, finances are different and that's ok! One thing I like to try to remember is the true importance of that wedding day. In the end, you will be married to the one you love, so how big the party was, how many people came, or  how bad the decorations turned out wont really matter! We all want things to look nice and have a few things happen that mean a lot to us though. So here are a few suggestions on how to go about creating a budget with your fiance:

 

   a) Talk to both parents and decide if the traditional ways are going to be followed as far as who pays for what. If not, discuss how they would like to go about it. If things are going to be non-traditional, I would suggest getting a $ amount from both sides of the family so you know what you are going to be working with.

       b) Before you start spending the allotted amount, sit down with your fiancé and make a list of things that will be needed for the wedding, as well as some upfront expenditures you will have as a new married couple (car payment, house bill, school, phone bill, etc). This may help you budget out how you want to spend the money, and possibly help you try and save money to put towards those upfront bills that you will have to start paying as newlyweds!

      c) If you feel comfortable, I would now suggest that you and your fiancé share with each other your individual finances. One thing I have found super helpful here is also creating a projected idea of how much money you will have by the time you get married. Dont forget to factor in your current expenses, along with your paychecks. This is a great time to also create a monthly budget, seperate from wedding stuff, to help you save money.

    d)  Now I would suggest making 3 individual google docs/spreadsheets for all of this that you and your fiancé can both share and have to refer to.  One, for all the things you need to buy for the wedding as well as upfront costs and your projected alloted amount for each. The second, for all the things you do buy along with their cost so you can check and make sure you are staying within your budget. Third,  individual spreadsheets of your daily/monthly expenditures and gains to keep an idea of how much money you will have in the bank by the time you get married.