Most Bride and Grooms are on a high after their engagement. All they can think about is their love for each other, spending the rest of their lives together, how perfect and gorgeous their wedding is going to be, what a gorgeous wedding dress the bride is going to have, who will be in their wedding.... and the list goes on. Their in this wedding craze so to speak..... and then BANG reality hits them with the big question....  How are we going to pay for all this??  Who is going to pay for this, us or our parents? How do we know how much to spend on what? How do we figure out our budget?

 These are all logical questions and sometimes hard to figure out! None the less they must be figured out. You want your wedding planning to go as smoothly and stress free as possible! I mean this is your wedding!! You should have fun and enjoy the planning! The biggest tip I can give you is to have a well planned out budget, and then stay as close to that budget as possible so that you can keep track of where all your money is going so you don't feel lost and stressed and have no idea how much you've spent where and how much you have left! I highly suggest you hire a wedding planner / coordinator and let them do all the budgeting and planning for you! They are of invaluable service and are well worth the money to hire a professional that has planned TONS of weddings and will know how to get everything perfect and within your budget. If you decide you want to plan everything yourself, here are some helpful tips!

Here's a list below that will help you get an idea how to start budgeting according to some of the questions above.

So... who's paying for the wedding?? This is the first thing that must be decided. Traditionally the Bride's family would pay for the entire wedding costs. Most of the time the Groom's family would be responsible for the rehearsal dinner. This however is frequently untrue of couples who marry now days and end up flipping the whole bill themselves. If you can pay for the whole shebang yourselves, you've got it easy! If you want your families to pay for it or at least help out with some of the costs, you should have an up front discussion as soon as possible to make it clear who is paying for what.

 Some of the options are, let the parents contribute a certain dollar amount that they are comfortable with. The couple can then make their wedding budget according to that and make up any difference's themselves.

 Or the parents may want to pay for specific items, such as the flowers, caterer, photographer and so forth. The couple can then pay for everything else.

 The couple could also set a certain budget amount for the entire wedding and then split the costs evenly. So say the wedding budget was $15,000 each set of parents and the couple would pay $5,000.

  Next decide what is MOST important to you! For instance you may want gorgeous flowers and don't care about the wedding cake, or you may want the most AMAZING photographer ( wink, wink ) and are willing to bargain shop for your dress. And if your having a small wedding your catering cost won't take up as much of your budget and you can adjust accordingly so you can spend a little more on something else.

 Start by looking over your budget and crossing off anything you might not need. For instance if you're having the ceremony and reception at the same location you may not need transportation. Don't be afraid to ask your recently married friends what vendors they used and how much they cost. 

 CLICK HERE  to get a printable wedding budget worksheet to keep track of your budget and spending. 

 Here's some tips to help cut some wedding costs.... Save postage on your wedding invitations, rather then having a reply card in the invitations, ask guest to reply online or by phone. Not only will that save at the printer, but it'll save on postage as well.

 Change your wedding date from a Saturday to a week night or a Sunday. Most wedding vendors are willing to give you a discount on these not so in demand dates.

 Don't be afraid to ask your friends and family for help. Do you have a crafty Aunt that could help with some of the decorations or flower arrangements? Is there a friend that is a musician that could play the music for the ceremony? Most people are more then willing to help out with wedding details!!

 Throw a pitch in party! Invite your friends over to help assemble favors, invitations, centerpieces and other DIY little touches. Be sure to have some great snacks and fun music so it feels like a party and everyone has FUN helping out!

                                                                                                  All photographs used were found on pinterest! : )