One of the first questions you and your fiancé should ask each other after you get engaged, is one that may seem a bit too awkward and premature: how much money should you spend on the wedding? If you wait a couple of weeks or even a few months, you may find yourself using every ounce of your savings account to afford things you never knew you needed or planned to spend your cold-hard cash on. So before you’re pulling pennies from your couch cushions, here are 5 ways to decide what your wedding budget should be.

 

1. What Kind of Wedding Do You Want

The first thing to decide is what kind of wedding do you want to have? Are you looking to have a black-tie or destination wedding? Determining the style is something that help you know how much you’re going to spend.

 

2. How Many People You Plan to Invite

Will you keep it small or invite more people than you ever imagined you knew? The more people you invite, the more you’ll spend upfront on the wedding.

 

3. Use an Online Budget Tool

Reference an online budget tool that will show you what the main things you’ll spend money on during the wedding and an estimate of how much it will cost.

 

4. Find Out Who Is Chipping In

Ask to see if any family members are going to chip in for the wedding. That will determine how much needs to come out of your pocket.

 

5. Make a List of Must-Haves

Start by making a list of ten things you definitely want to have at your wedding and the max amount you will spend on each. That way, when you are talking to vendors you have your max price that you’ll pay and you can negotiate from there.