Once you know your wedding budget, you can then determine how you to spend for everything. It would be great to create a wedding budget spreadsheet to help you breakdown your expenses.

While the average wedding cost varies for some reasons, the national average for a wedding budget falls around $28, 000, excluding the cost for engagement ring and honeymoon. In general, a sample wedding budget includes the following items and may be divided as such:

Attire 10%

Reception (Venue, Food and Cakes) 37%

Ceremony site rental 3%

Flowers and decorations 10%

Invitation and thank you cards 5%

Photography 10%

DJ/Musicians 10%

Wedding planner 10%

Gifts/Favors/Transportation 5%

Having a sample budget is particularly helpful when you want to decide where you can spend less money on so you may spend more on another item instead. This is also beneficial if you want to see how you can consolidate the budget for several categories and allocate the amount you’d save for another category. Like if you’d want to hold the ceremony and the reception at the same venue, then you can have a bigger budget for, say, your attire.

This breakdown may vary depending on your priorities. Just remember that when forming your budget, carefully decide how much you are going to spend for the wedding then determine how to divide the expenses.

Wedding costs have significantly increased over the years (today’s average being $25,000). Still, many couples prefer to spend a lot for their wedding, at the risk of their life savings. But I believe that you don’t have to find yourselves in debt or broke right after the wedding, even though you’ve just promised to be together in poverty or in wealth.

Follow these simple tips and you’d learn that you can make your wedding budget work for you.

• Make a shorter guest list. You don’t need to invite everyone in your office or church. Limit it to only include some of your closest relatives and friends. Remember to be tough on your wedding list.
• Shop around: There’s a greater chance that you´ll find that perfect dress on sale if you have more time to shop around.
• Set a budget: Determine how much you can spend and be consistent with it.
• Borrow or rent as much as possible: It’s cheaper than buying new items.
• Schedule around off peak season: Wedding suppliers often have discounts during less popular days.
• Do it yourself: Express your personality by making your own invitations and Bonbonnieres. You’ll not only save money, you will also create a more intimate and personal atmosphere, making your wedding more special.
• Coordinate with suppliers: Let them know your budget. They may be able to help you work within it or recommend you to vendors who can accommodate you.

Planning your wedding can be tough, especially if you are on a tight budget. But it can also be a learning experience as you’ll learn how to do things on limited resources, and without compromising the event’s specialness.

Making your wedding budget work for you can be challenging, especially if you are planning a small wedding. The trick here is to know your priorities. For example, if you want a more elegant dress, then you may scrimp on, say, the centerpieces so you can spend more for the dress.

Or you can choose to spend less on the invitations.

Cheap wedding invitations can easily reduce your wedding costs. To give you some ideas, here are some of the things that you can do to save money on the invites.

• Avail of Package Deals and Discounts
  • There are promos in wedding shops that offer invitation packages, which include invitation, save the date, and thank you cards. Purchasing these kits will give you a good chance of saving enough cash. Target and Wal Mart usually offer a wide selection of cheap wedding invitation packages. You can even purchase them with discounts during off-season sales.

• Shop around early
  • Ordering wedding invitations at the last minute may lead you to more expenses and disaster. Last minute rush could result in buying a product that is more expensive or not your taste. Shopping around during the early stages of planning gives you the chance to find the best deal in the market.

• Do it Yourself
  • Perhaps the best way you can save on wedding invites is by doing it yourself. Let your creativity guide you in designing and printing your own invitations. Or if you want, you can also save money on printable kits that you can find online.

If you are considering the option of cheap wedding invitations, don’t let your guests have the impression that you didn’t put much effort on the invites. Remember, with enough creativity, you can make your invites look elegant without having to spend much for it.

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