You've told everyone, and that is out of the way. Now its time to get down to business. The wedding budget is the next thing you want to nail down. It's traditional for the bride's parents to pay for the wedding. In many cases this does not happen anymore. Couples are paying for it themselves, and its a group of family and friends helping out.
What you want to do is establish a monetary amount that you would and could spend on your wedding. Be realistic when it comes to how much things cost. Research is key. Seach on-line in your area for Venues, flowers, and other elements to plan the type of wedding you want. You have to know an estimate of the wedding you want to plan. a great idea is to contact a local wedding planner, they will know how much things cost, and can give you an estimate on the wedding you want.
How much can you afford? Here is a formula that I used for my brides.
Family Contribution = this is how much the couple's family is willing to spend on their wedding. FC= $10,000
Couple Have Saved = this is how much you all already have saved for the wedding. CHS = $10,000
Couple Can Save= this is how much you can save up until the day of the wedding. CCS = $12,000
With this formula this couple has $32,000 to work with. The average wedding is $26,000.
CCS is collected as follows the couple has a year to save, they can afford to save $1000 each month for the wedding. However much you can save each month divide that by the months you have before the wedding leaving out the last month.
Planning a wedding can be stressful, take your time and decide your vision for your wedding, and how much will it cost. Have a talk with all key players. Some parents pay for certain elements of the wedding instead of just giving a monetary amount. For example the brides aunt will be willing to purchase the brides wedding dress. The most important thing is to have a starting point.
Good luck, and happy planning check back for part 3 in You're Engaged Now What!
