Reader Question: How Should I Budget?

Hey all!  Hope your week is flying by!  Today we have another reader question to answer.  This one comes from Jenn in Indiana:

Dear PCW,

         My fiance and I sat down and figured out how much money we have to spend on our wedding.  We know what we want to spend, and what our families are willing to contribute.  I thought that would be the hard part, but now I am having trouble figuring out how that sum should be broken up.  Is there a certain percentage I should set aside for all the different wedding elements?  How do I figure out how much to spend on everything?  Thanks!

               Sincerely,

                          Jenn

This is a great question, Jenn, and one that most brides have to pause to think about.  Once you know your total budget for the wedding (make sure you factor in all contributors: you, your parents, grandparents, whoever is going to help you out) things get a little more complicated.  My advice is to sit down with your fiance and put all your wedding elements in order from most important to least important.  Then, distribute your funds accordingly.  So for example, if you rank photography as your number one priority, but flowers as number ten, invest a good chunk of your budget to go to your photog, but plan on DIYing some of your flower elements.  My now husband and I knew we had to have an open bar, so we spent money on booze.  Catering wasn't a huge priority for us so we saved money by going for a casual BBQ buffet instead of a fancy plated dinner.  The simple answer for this question is to spend money where it matters to you and your fiance and save on things that aren't as important.  There is no right or wrong answer here, just do what feels best for you!  Thanks for the question, Jenn, and hope this helps!

Have a wedding planning question?  Send it here and it you may see it answered in an upcoming PCW post!