Brides USA

ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE

BUDGET

1

ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE

BUDGET

FIND YOUR

BOTTOM

LINE

Before you haggle over

the guest list or hunt down

your perfect venue, you’ll

need to determine your total

wedding budget. These days,

69 percent of couples pay for

part or all of their big day,

so chances are your figure will

be a combination of:

Your savings, minus

your emergency and

retirement funds.

(Don’t touch those!)

10 percent of your

current monthly

income, or whatever

portion you’re comfort-

able putting toward

the wedding without

going into debt.

Any contributions

from your parents or

other loved ones.

Is the total a little lower than

you’d like? No matter how

tempted you are to boost your

budget with plastic, don’t.

“Making minimum payments

on a credit card can be fero-

ciously expensive, doubling

the price by the time you pay

it off,” says Manisha Thakor,

author of Get Financially

Naked: How to Talk Money with

Yo u r Ho n e y. So that $500

statement necklace could cost

you a cool grand in the end.

DO THE MATH! THE FIRST STEP IN PLANNING YOUR

WEDDING IS SETTING YOUR BUDGET. HERE’S HOW

TO START CRUNCHING THOSE NUMBERS. BY REBECCA WEBBER

340 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 BRIDES.COM

DETAILS

MEREDITH JENKS. STATISTICS SOURCE: 2014 AMERICAN WEDDING STUDY