A wedding costs what?!

Your wedding day is the most beautiful, special day of your life. It can also be the most stressful if you don't have a well thought budget. Knowing who spends what and how much they spend is the most important first step. You must have an actual figure and know where every dollar goes. From here you can list of all of the "must haves" for your wedding and then decide how much to spend on each item. A wedding means different things to different people, so that the percentage of the budget that is spent on each item will be different for everyone. You must prioritize and decide what's most important to you and your fiance.

Once you know where the money is coming from, you must create a guest list. In this list you can create a budget for about 85-90% of people that you invite. Once you have a date and a ceremony planned, you need to decide on a reception venue. Make sure you have all the important questions, forgetting the details could hurt your budget later. Is alcohol included? What about decor, centerpieces? Does the package include a cake? Once a price has been fixed per capita, deduct the cost from your total available budget.

Then comes photography/videography and entertainment. As the day goes these are the memories that you and your guests will take away, so they are important. Choose a photographer with a personality that matches your own. Make sure you like their photo style and you get comfortable with them, in this way they will be able to capture the best, most memorable moments of your day. Entertainment is important for the success of your day. A disk jockey will be less expensive than a band, but some people prefer that "live" feeling. Determine how much of the budget should be granted in respect of entertainment and meet up with disc jockeys and bands. See them at another function to give you to a real feel for how they perform.

The dress. The best way to avoid any headaches with this step is to allocate a certain amount for the dress and don't let the sellers make you buy something slightly more expensive. Try on as many dresses as it takes to find "the one," but don't try ones you can't afford.

Finally, write down all the details. This is a priority and the most important first. This way, if you  run out of money, you will not cut something that was very important to you as you will have it 'on your list'. You have good food and entertainment and images to remember the day by. Most importantly, get things done early and not at the last minute so that there is nothing left to do. Enjoy the day and don't sweat the little things.

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