Wedding Planning Stage 1: The Budget

The first thing I did after I got engaged (besides tell the whole world!) was to sit down with my fiance and make a budget. There are a lot of different ideas for how to start planning a wedding but I had to start with money. This is because my fiancé and I will be paying for a majority of the wedding ourselves, with some contribution from our parents. I didn't want to start making huge plans without knowing how much we really had to spend.
The average wedding for 2012 cost couples $26,989. [ref] Which is a good chunk of change especially in today's economy. My fiancé and I are lucky enough to have to well-paying jobs and low expenses so we set our budget for $25,000. This was going to be our contribution and anything on top of that from our parents was extra. The best advice I can give for setting a budget (if you need to) is to make a spreadsheet of all of your monthly expenses; student loans, car payment, rent, heat, hot water, etc. Then list out what your combined monthly income is and determine after expenses how much money you can save. It's important to be realistic; we knew we weren't going to save every extra penny so we left some money aside for eating out, shopping and fun activities. We are both dorky engineers so we tend to favor spread sheets and iPhone apps like Mint.com that track our money both coming in and going out. Below are some helpful tools for setting a budget and keeping track of your money. (They are all free, because if you are going to be making a budget why pay to do it?)

Apps (iPhone only):

Mint: This is a great app that allows you to put in your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, etc. and track all of your money. There is the online version which is more extensive but you can set savings goals and it will keep you updated with your progress every week. (the link is for the website but find the app in the app store)

Wedding Budget: This app is like Mint but breaks down your costs into categories related specifically to weddings. It keeps track of deposit due dates, overall costs and payment schedules. Find in the app store.

Online:

TheKnot.com Wedding Budgeter: You have to sign up to access this but most brides already make accounts with theknot.com and if you haven’t what’s one more username and password? This is a good guideline. It gives averages for how much each item will cost but I only use it as a really general reference. There are things missing on the list and they place importance on some things that I won’t be spending money one (ex. a wedding planner).

Martha Stewart Wedding Tools: Ah Martha Stewart, is there anything that woman doesn’t do? Well she is in the wedding business and like many other wedding websites has tools to help you budget your wedding. Again you have to sign in via Facebook or create a username and password. This is the same general idea as theknot but I think it is more comprehensive.