Talking Wedding Budgets

Write down THE BUDGET NUMBERS -- your parent's life savings, the amount of money you can charge if you max out all your credit cards. Then write down the amount of money you actually need to spend to have a beautiful memory that will last a lifetime without your family going bankrupt?

Don't have any idea how much it will cost. Well, click here for a preliminary list of items and make wild guesses as to what they're likely to cost. You might also follow some of the links to wedding vendors to see if they hint at prices.

Now, look at these numbers. The actual budget number is the maximum amount you can spend. Unless you're the only child of multi-millionaires or are marrying Trump, chances are you will have to compromise on the amount you can spend for certain items or eliminate certain items altogether.

The first cost item that comes to mind for most brides is the dress. It's not the determining factor in your budget, just the most important item when you see yourself playing bride. The gown is the most controllable cost in your wedding budget.

Yes, finding the right dress is important. It is your day to play princess and you want to be the prettiest princess any of your guest have ever seen. But, believe it or not, you can be the prettiest princess in a gown that cost a few hundred dollars or you can be the prettiest princess in a gown that cost thousands of dollars. Sometimes it's the same gown -- the expensive gown bought from a designer showroom in New York or Paris, the "bargain" gown bought through your local discount bridal store or online bridal shop.

While we're on the subject of gowns, and I've perhaps convinced you to look at less expensive gowns, let me suggest that you buy two gowns. Here's my reasoning. Emergencies happen. Brides step in puddles. Brides spill things. Brides trip getting out of limos. Besides, it's always hard to choose between two equally beautiful gowns.

At a wedding I attended, the bride came down the aisle with a red splotch on the front of her gown. She had dropped a tube of lipstick. Someone had tried to remove the spot and.... A second gown would have saved that situation. Then there's always the size problem. Yes, every bride thinks she will diet before the wedding and get down two sizes smaller. Problem is, they serve cake at every shower. Buy your regular size, the size that fits without expensive alterations, and if they have the size you wish you were and might be if you don't eat a bite the next six months, buy it too (or put in on lay-away if the store will let you). You can always sell the gown you don't wear on eBay; some stores will even let you return an unworn, unaltered gown.

Now, back to budget talk. If you have $10,000 to spend on a wedding and you want to invite 300 guest, how much do you have left to spend on the dress, the flowers, the bridesmaids, the groom, the groomsmen, the parents, the limo? Well, it depends. Ask your wedding planner. Ask PURPLE PENELOPE.

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WEDDING BUDGETS

TALKING BUDGET