Setting a wedding budget can be one of the most difficult things to do when planning a wedding. For most couples, planning a wedding will be the first ever time they have planned a huge event so costing it and budgeting for it is inevitably going to be a bit daunting. The fact is though that budgeting for a wedding is difficult but thankfully becomes easier once you get down to the nitty gritty of planning. Below we look at some simple steps you can take to ensure that you set a realistic wedding budget and stick to it.

Do Your Research

This is the most crucial stage of your wedding planning and this will underpin all of your future budget and wedding plans. You need to know approximate costs for EVERYTHING. That means you need to get on the internet and get on the phone to get approximate costs for everything from photographers and venue hire, to wedding shoes and bridesmaids dresses. It’s time consuming but it has to be done. Once you have all of these approximate costs, you then have the potential cost of your wedding. And check with your venue. Can they put any package prices together or items that they have, that you want for your day?

How Much Money Have You Got? Who Will Pay For What?

Now you know what sort of costs there are for all the different component parts of the wedding, do you have enough money to cover all of them? You may be being helped with funding your wedding by money from family, so now is the time to pin down how much money you have to work with by adding what you and your partner have to spend on the wedding with that of your family.

Make A Priority List

Chances are that you may need to cut some costs to make your wedding affordable. This is the case for most couples and it is just a case of prioritizing what is important for you both on your big day. One good way of doing this is for you and your partner to write down the three things that are most important for you. So for example, as a bride you may see your dress, your shoes and a particular wedding caterer as your priorities. The groom may have three other priorities, such as having a particular type of wedding car, a particular wedding party band and shoes from his favourite retailer. Ringfence the budget for these items, and then look towards the other costs of the wedding and see where you can save some money.

Have A Contingency Budget

If you’re happy that you have the funds to pay for everything for your wedding then that is great! But wedding costs don’t always go to plan. Maybe your wedding photographer falls ill on the day before the ceremony and you have to pay over the odds for a last minute replacement, or other costs suddenly change at the last minute. For that reason, it is always good to have a little extra put by for these potential emergencies. An extra 10% (or 20% is even better) can give you the peace of mind that you can cope with any eventuality. And if these eventualities don’t happen? Then you have a nice little amount of money to start your married life together!