Having a wedding budget is a great way to make sure you don’t go overboard with your wedding spending. Plan ahead so you can afford to have everything that is most important to you that will make your wedding day special. Here are some great tips for making your wedding budget.

Decide What You Can Afford

The first step to making your wedding budget is deciding on the total amount you want to spend. Who is paying for the wedding? Are you parents contributing or are you and your fiancé footing the bill? Once you have decided on the dollar amount you are ready to begin planning your wedding.

Make A Wedding Checklist

Make a list of all the things you will need for your wedding. You may want to get an already made wedding checklist and modify it. This will help you keep track of all your expenses and allocate your wedding spending appropriately.

Decide What Is Most Important

Pick three or four things on your worksheet that are the most important to you. Maybe it is your dress, the flowers and the photography. Then choose a few things that are not as important to you. Maybe those are the cake, the food and the rehearsal dinner. Plan on spending a little more on the items that are most important and making up for it by cutting back on the items that are least important.

Make Final Cuts

Look over your wedding checklist and eliminate items that you can live without. Maybe it’s the limo or the save the dates. Cutting back on things that aren’t really necessary and that won’t be missed will give you more room to splurge on the things that really matter to you.