Your budget is vital because if you don't know how much you've got to spend, you can find yourself going way overboard in the blink of an eye (or the tinkle of the cash register!)

Setting a total expenditure allows you to then break it down into sections to better budget. Of course, setting a budget is not always easy because every bride wants a dream wedding, but your dream wedding has to be something you can afford to pay for, and not still be paying for years after the event.

Recent surveys of newly married couples have suggested that the average cost of a wedding these days is $19,000. This is not a definite, but simply the average.

Here is a rough breakdown of how your total expenditure will be divided:

Reception	37%
Rings	14%
Honeymoon	14%
Photography	10%
Miscellaneous	8%
Bridal apparel	6%
Music	5%
Flowers & decorations	4%
Invitations	2%

Once you've decided on the total amount you have to spend, you can use the above guide to work out a rough estimate of how much you have to spend on each aspect of your wedding. So let's say you have $10,000 to spend and you would like to invite 100 guests to your wedding. Using the above figures as a guide, you will know you have approximately $3,700 to spend on catering costs, and for 100 guests that works out to be $37 per person. Is that going to work for you? By giving yourself a rough estimate, you may then have to adjust your guest list accordingly.

It's a good idea to set out a spreadsheet with three columns - the above list of items, the breakdown of the amount available for each item, and a list of what you want/need within each category.

Setting realistic goals means you can stay within your limits and not find yourself shocked in a few months time by the amount of money you are spending. Unfortunately it also means determining what you can and can't afford now, before it's too late.

Once you've decided what you can afford and what you can include, it's on to the planning stage.