How did you decide on your budget?

sinnedambition · August 2009

My Fi and I are at the beginning stages of our wedding planning. We both want similar things and are really happy with EITHER end of the spectrum...just not the middle.Example: My fi and I both want a "different experience" be it a village feel (Henry Ford) or A BBQ. We both want alcohol to be served (which cuts out all city parks). We want to avoid standard reception halls/hotels. How did you decide on your budget? I don't want to pay a lot of money for a wedding and then regret spending so much...but I also don't want to cut corners and regret not having the 'perfect wedding'.

mink492 · August 2009

Figure out who is contributing what (if any) then see what you can afford from there.

wpw08 · August 2009

We examined our incomes and determined what amount a month we could each put aside between when we got engaged and when we were planning the wedding for. That amount went into a separate account. That was our budget. We paid cash for everything and didn't go over. Once we had a total number, we then had to divide it up to see how much we spent on each apect of the wedding, but that really kind of fell into place.

meret28 · August 2009

We knew that my parents would pay for half, then we figured out how much my DH and I could afford and how much his parents would contribute and went from there.It all worked out very well.GL!

brobin01 · August 2009

FYI - Some city parks allow alcohol. Metro Beach allows beer and wine and they also have a vendor that they want you to use called cocktails and dreams. they have bartenders (1 for 5 hours for $150 bucks) and different alcohol packages..We are paying for our wedding and it is all about what you can afford. We aren't taking out any loans, or using any credit cards. Straight cash for everything. We have also been engaged since December 2008 and our wedding is next May..so that gave us 1 year and 5 months to afford a nice wedding.

ejay · August 2009

First we tried to take a guest count so we could figure out how much we had to pay for. Then we tried to see if our families were going to be able to contribute. Then we did research about the average price of most things, halls, food, dj, etc. We set a budget by estimating how much we wanted to spend for each of those things and have tried to go from there. For example: We want to spend under $900 for DJ, $1000 max for bridal gown+accessories+alterations...

corinne2010 · August 2009

We first had to have the budget talk with both sets of parents. I would suggest FI talks with his parents and you talk to yours. My parents said they were willing to give us X-amount of money and we decided we'd put that towards the reception. FI's parents asked what they are required to pay for. Things are kind of different these days, but I suggested maybe they pay for the bar and the RD. We figure each set of parents are contributing about the same amount of money. And FI and I created a max budget for everything, not per vendor about how much we'd like to spend.

mordacious · August 2009

My dad is paying for the reception so that helps a lot. We are paying for the rest. I have an amount in mind that I'd like to stick to and so far we have paid cash for everything but I have a feeling that some things will be charged when we get much closer. We are both just hoping we can break even after all is said and done (i.e. cash gifts covering what little we need to charge) because we are working really hard on paying off debt and not accumulating any due to the wedding.I have a hard time sticking to a budget, especially when I have never had a wedding and can't really say, "i'll make the invites for no more than $150". When that time actually comes it wll cost more i'm sure. It's the hidden costs that kill my budget.

sunkissed212 · August 2009

FI and I are paying for the wedding ourselves. My parents have said that they will both try and help out a little if possible but I am not counting on their contributions (only because if they can't help out, then I'm not screwed...and if they can, great). We sat down and looked at how much we realistically wanted to spend. Not just what we could afford but what we wanted to afford. We probably could have set a higher budget but we didn't want to drain savings accounts and all that. So we agreed on a number and we are sticking to it. We are paying cash for everything and keeping our 'wedding fund' in an interest bearing savings account. We are not paying off vendors early but we will ensure that we have the cash we need available when it's time to pay them. I want to remember my wedding day 10 years down the road...but not because I'm still paying for it! lol

leeshab1982 · August 2009

We knew that neither family would be able to contribute much, if anything. So once we realized we were basically on our own, we looked at both of our incomes compared to our bills and decided on an amount that we'd be able to put aside each month. We added it all together to see how much money we'd be able to save by the wedding date and that was our budget.From there, we just made a list of expenses and estimated how much we'd need for each vendor. After that, we made a guest list and figured out how much we could afford per person. That helped us narrow down our search for venues. My only suggestion is to have a good chunk of money set aside for "miscellaneous" because there are so many little, hidden costs that you never think about. We are still ten months out and these are already adding up.

*Rebecca & Chris* · August 2009

After we got engaged, my parents came to us and said they will give us money for the food and beverage at the reception and my dress. From there we went and figured out what we felt comfortable spending. Just know there is a good chance that you will go over it, so we aimed low knowing that we will go over.His parents didn't mention giving us money so we went at it as though the rest was from us. And good thing we did that because they didn't offer anything, not even the rehearsal dinner, so that added even more money in.... Then from there, we figured out what was important to us. Like, I am not a flower person, so we went cheap on that and then splurged on the photographer.

Truchana · August 2009

well, after we got engaged, fiance and I talked about where we wanted to get married. we both decided in our home town for some specific reasons. At that point, we made a list of every possible place we were interested and booked meetings with those places and gathered their pricing info. Once we saw how much they would charge, we asked our parents to help come up with their wish list of guests. We started from there. My parents list took precedence because I knew they'd be paying for the majority. So then it was like, ok, food and alcohol will cost this much, estimate for tent, estimate, for photographer etc.... My parents are giving us a ton of money. His parents are paying for alcohol and rd. I paid for my dress/accessories, and part of photographer. We are over the initial budget, but the way I looked at it was, I can spend $15-20K and have it at a typical hall with minimal decorations, basically the cookie cutter wedding I always go to and not be 100% happy or for another 5-10K I could have what I felt was my dream wedding. It was a hard balance to strike but I kept thinking 15K is still a ton of money to not think it was just beautiful and that's what it would have cost for 200 or so people at one of the decent halls. So, we are going all out considering what our families and us could afford and keeping things in perspective.2 things to keep in mind...1. yes msc costs do start popping up. Make sure you have at least $1000 - 2000 in the account for this type of stuff. ie. Extra candles, you decide to do a boudoir book, guest books you didn't plan on having, something costing more the following year you hadn't planned on, alterations going overboard cause you lost weight, etc. AND 2. Don't spend a fortune on your dress. You wear it once. I spent $2500 plus alterations and now i'm just wanting to shoot myself. Although I absolutely love my dress, it was kind of dumb.

rainyrae · August 2009

Things for us have been really unstable for us. FI works for himself and I recently lost my job in June. I spent time researching the cost of various things. Once I had an understanding of the general cost of things, I made a list of priorities. I decided how much time I had until the event and how much I can afford to stach awayOnce I have the amount I need I go and meet with the next vendor on my priority list. I like doing it one step at a time, because I am not getting in over my head financially. Every one is different, but FI and I decided that we would do cash for everything and if we could not afford to do that we did not need it. It was really stressful at first, but now at the end of each month or two it has been fun for me to shop. Instead of saying oh man how will i ever pay this off. I am excited and shopping only with what I have.Hope that helps

How did you decide on your budget?

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