How to set a Wedding Budget..and stick to it!

Congratulations...your engaged. One of the toughest tasks you need to get out of the way is the budget. Many couples have no idea of how much a wedding costs, and with the average wedding costing approx. $27,000, you should start saving sooner than later!

These few steps will get you in the right direction:

CONTRIBUTIONS - Talk to your parents to see what they can help with. There are traditionally certain aspects of the wedding that parents will pay for, so be sure to ask, don't assume your parents are helping though.

GUESTS - its simple math, the more family and friends you have at your wedding, the bigger the budget. You will need more space, food, decor....so intimate not only keeps the cost down, but allows for more time with your guests.

RESEARCH - check out wedding venues & wedding professionals in the area you plan on getting married in to get an idea of how much things can cost.

WEDDING DATE - the wedding date you choose is a two-fold budget tool. First, the longer your engagement is, the more money you get to save towards the wedding. Second, the time of year you get married will also factor; if you get married during the "off-season" you can get everything from your venue to wedding professionals as a discounted rate.

Be sure to set a budget and stick to it.

Once you get these steps done, then you can decide on what you and your fiancé want to spend on the wedding, no one wants to go into debt over their big day, so plan wisely.