A Basic Budget

Creating a budget can be pretty easy. The big question is how much can you spend? Then possibly, how much do you want to spend? These are both important questions in creating you budget. Sticking to your budget can be hard, especially if you have a small budget, so it helps to use a budget tool like the one found here. Also, a percent of your budget should go to each part of your wedding. Here are some good percentages that should work well. 

Reception: 40%
Decor: 10%
Ceremony: 10%
Photography: 10%
Attire: 5%
Videography: 5%
Rentals/Lighting: 5%
Stationary: 5%
Gifts: 4%
Group Activities: 3%
Miscellaneous: 3%

Anything you choose to do to save money, like using friends instead of a photographer or choosing a venue with its own tables and lighting, means a higher percentage of your budget available for a different category.

EXAMPLE BUDGET:
This is for a $20,000 budget.

CATEGORY = ESTIMATED COST

Band = $800

Beauty and Health = $200 (Hair and makeup=$100; Prewedding pampering=$100)

Cake and (Cutting Fee) = $500

Catering = $7,700 (Beverage and bartenders=$1,600; Food and service=$6,100)

Ceremony Music = $200

DJ = $600

Dress and Attire = $1,780 (Bride's accessories=$200; Dress and alterations=$1,200; Groom's accessories=$60; Groom's tux or suit=$120; Headpiece and veil=$200)

Favors and Gifts = $200

Flowers and Decor = $1,590 (Additional boutonnieres and corsages=$100; Bride bouquet=$140, Bridesmaid bouquets=$200, Ceremony decorations=$280, Flower girl flowers=$30, Groom and Groomsmen                                   Boutonnieres=$40; Reception decorations and centerpieces=$800)

Invitations = $600 (Invitations and reply cards=$500; Other stationary=$100)

Jewelry = $400 (His ring=$200; Her ring=$200)

Officiant = $200

Other = $340 (Accommodations for wedding night=$100; Bridesmaid gifts=$80; Groomsmen gifts=$80; Hotel rooms for out-of-town guests=$0; Parent gifts=$80)

Photography = $1,500 (Additional prints=$200; Photographer=$1,300)

Planning = $350

Rentals = $0

Transportation = $200 (Guest shuttle or parking=$0; Limo or car rentals=$200)

Venue = $1,840 (Ceremony venue accessories=$40; Ceremony venue fee=$200; Reception venue=$1,600; Rehearsal dinner venue=$0)

Videography = $1,000

Remember that this is just an example and doesn't necessarily include everything you might be buying. 

Choosing a Theme and Color Palette

  There are many places to start planning your wedding. The big thing you need to decide before really starting to plan is your theme and style. You can just go with a specific color palette or you can go with an overall theme. Either or both of these can work for your wedding.

Choosing a color palette:
   For your color palette you want to choose colors that set a mood and don't clash. The color palette will influence a lot of decisions on flowers, venue, clothes, and more. You might decide to base your color palette off of the season when your wedding is taking place. For example, in summer you might want yellows, oranges and other warm colors and in winter you might prefer blues, purples, and other cool colors. Another detail to consider is what flowers are in season and what colors they come in. Some examples of generic color palettes are: Turquoise and brown; pink, green and yellow; pink and brown.
Also, if you're going to try to set a mood with your color palette you might, for example, used deep colors like purples and reds to give it a romantic feel. If you want you can even choose your favorite holiday's colors. Especially if it's around that time. Purple, orange and black, for example, for Halloween.

Choosing a theme:
   If you choose a theme one big idea to keep in mind is that the overall theme is your wedding and you don't want to outshine your moment with too big of a theme or one that's overdone. A theme can be many things. It can be one specific object or idea you incorporate into every part of the wedding or it can be and overall feel or setting of the wedding. An example of the first theme is if you're having a beach wedding you can incorporate sea shells of any kind or just one specific kind into the invitations, the centerpieces, and things of the such. For the second kind of theme you could have a greek theme with a greek looking venue, all sorts of activities that are connected to greek culture and maybe even some greek music. A way to help decide on a theme of your wedding is your heritage and if there are any themes that could come out of that. Also the idea of a holiday theme comes up as long as you don't make it outshine your wedding, because you don't want your wedding to feel like its just for that holiday.

   There are many ways to decide on a theme and/or color palette.

Other help:
Wedding theme ideas, here. They're on the left side of the page.
The ideas, here, are also on the left side of the page.
Here the ideas are near the bottom.
You can find help on your color palette here.
More color scheme help here.

Here are some inspirational pictures for a wedding with a purple and green color palette.

Here are some inspirational pictures for a western themed wedding.