Money is the number one thing that all wedded couples fight about. But do you realize that the tension surrounding money begins long before the happy couple say ‘I do?’ Wedding costs can rapidly grow out of control which is why it’s so critical to begin the planning by devising a realistic budget. And once you’ve got the numbers crunched, it’s equally vital that you both stick to the budget.
And while a wedding budget doesn’t sound all that glamorous, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, planning your wedding without a budget is almost guaranteed to land you into serious financial problems. What’s the key to success? As it will be throughout your wedded life, open, honest, two-way communication is essential.
Newly-engaged couples must talk about how each envisions his and her special day. Women work on the theory that guys don’t care about the details but that’s not always true. It is, after all, the man’s day to remember, too and he has a family to please as well.
Once the excitement of the engagement wears off, go somewhere quiet and talk about what’s critical to each of you in regards to your big day. Listening to your partner’s opinion is as vital as talking so be sure to do both. Then, make a list of what you both want (to arrive in a roll royce, eat lobster, renaissance theme, color scheme, etc.) and what are absolute necessities (for example a photographer, caterer, rings, etc.). You’re going to use this information when it’s time to allocate your budget.
Once you both have an idea of what’s critical, it’s time to add it all up. You’ve got to determine how much money is available now (for example, in savings accounts, stocks/bonds, real estate, trust funds), how much you’ll have to commit to saving from your regular income streams, and how much you can realistically expect others to help with. Depending on how far out the actual wedding date is you may want to consider opening a higher-interest bearing account for the money so that it can earn interest.
When considering what others may be able to put towards the cause it’s really critical that you don’t make unrealistic demands. Take whatever others are willing to contribute graciously and try not to belabor the issue. Getting angry or disappointed in the amounts you are being given isn’t a very mature way of handling the situation.
When you know where the money’s coming from and how much is coming, you’ll know how much you’ll be able to spend. Now make another list of all wedding-related expenses and allocate a monetary amount or the percentage you’re willing to spend next to each item. This will help when you’re actually contracting for these services. Remember that if you exceed your budgeted amount in one group, you’ll have to scale back another so your budget will stay balanced. Because budgeting is so very vital for most couples, you’ll find that wedding budget worksheets, software and other tools are available everywhere, so go find one and start using it right now!
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