Planning Your Wedding Expenses

Once you have your budget set, you and your fiancé can begin determining how to spend it. To start, set priorities for what is most important to each of you (e.g. a live band, luxurious invitations, or maybe a designer gown). Understanding what your top desires are will help you adjust your budget accordingly.

It’s important to track your expenses if you hope to stay on budget. All of the top wedding planning sites provide budget calculators (ranked below by my preference):
The Knot
Brides.com
WeddingWire
The Wedding Channel
eHitched

If you prefer to do a quick calculation without having to register on a site, I recommend these free online options:
OurDreamWedding.com
YourWeddingCompany.com
Evantageous.com

I’ve also developed a simple tool for brides to download and use in Microsoft Excel. I prefer this option because you don’t have to sign in online to make updates. You can easily add items to meet your unique needs and you can track where your costs are trending based on bills that have come in.

Click here to download the Budget Worksheet

Keep in mind that some expenses may go beyond your expectations. Be flexible and willing to make adjustments as needed. If you find you are going over budget, don’t be discouraged. As many as 50% of brides and grooms find this happens. Sit down and determine if you’re able to increase your budget and if not what other categories you can pull funds from.