Coming up... Budget Help

Valentine's Day always sprouts a fresh crop of the "newly engaged." To spare these couples the shock of how quickly wedding costs can escalate and spiral out of control, in the month of February, I'll be sharing tips on how to manage your wedding budget.

Tip #1

Your first, best and easiest way to keep the budget under control is to limit the guest count and the size of your wedding party

Rather than having your wedding in your home town, where you (and often, your parents) would be likely to have considerable social obligations, consider a domestic wedding destination like Santa Fe. Invite only family and your nearest and dearest friends for immediate cost savings. For example, if your per person dinner cost is $65 per plate, eliminating one table of 8 guests nets you a minimum savings of $520.

For your wedding party, entertain the idea of each of you having just one attendant. Not having to deal with managing a number of personalities will save you significant stress and only needing to buy a couple of very special gifts for your maid of honor and best man, will stretch your wedding dollars further.