So since you have decided to get married, you have set out a budget.  Now how can you possibly hope to stick to this budget?  Have no fear; there is no reason to go running for the hills in terror.  Instead, I am going to outline some major categories and the approximate amount you should expect to budget for each category.  This list is just given for guidelines, and is not something that should be set in stone.  Feel free to adjust a bit, but this will help you start forming a good successful budget.  One major thing to remember to start with, many will go over budget by as much as 10% easily, and without always realizing it!  Try as much as possible to allow for the slight budget overage in case it is needed. 

Category 1.  Reception, if you choose to have one this will be the one most expensive aspect of your wedding by itself.  This alone should be given a 50% chunk of your budget.  This is by no means set in stone, feel free to take a few short cuts to shrink that number down a bit more if you wish to spread the money around a bit more.  There is no reason why a small wedding will really chew through 50% of the budget.  If you are doing a large grand scale wedding then the 50% figure is a very good number to try to stick to. 

Category 2.  Wedding Attire, this includes the dress, tuxedo, shoes, headpiece or veil, hair, make-up, and any and all alterations, jewelry and lingerie that are needed.  This should typically be approximately 10% of the budget.  I personally do not like this number, but it is the standard that is given.  I think this number should be closer to the 20% range, but to get there requires cutting expenses in other places.  Remember that this includes everything that was mentioned; please don’t think that only the dress must be purchased, or else your poor groom will have nothing to wear! 

Category 3.  Flowers, this can be another major expenses that many do not even realize how quickly things can really add up.  This should be given a 10% chunk of the budget, especially since this includes the flowers for the site, the reception area, the wedding party, and the bridal bouquet.  This will add up rather quickly and will likely take the majority of the 10% budgeted.  If you want to save some money then please feel free to check some of my other articles that outline some ways to save money while planning a perfect wedding. 

Category 4.  Music, this is a category that can easily be reduced.  However, the music in this category includes the wedding, reception and any other events tied to the wedding itself.  If you decide to do the music yourself, you can easily make a CD of mixed music, or else use an IPOD to create a play list that will play the songs you desire in the order you wish them to be played in.  This is a great way to save a bundle on the costs associated with the music and allow a lot more funds to be easily moved to other categories.  However, a good general number is 10% of the budget here, however as said previously this can easily be adjusted. 

Category 5.  Photography, this is something that will likely cost every penny of 10% if not a bit more.  Remember this will include all pictures, proofs, and if you want a video made the price of the video.  Depending on the prices you can get and your part of the country, this can be a very expensive aspect of the wedding.  However, there are ways to save some money here.  For example, a friend who is good with a camera can take the pictures instead of having them done professionally.  But make sure you look at several samples of your friends photo work before going this route, most people are willing to spring the extra money to have a good quality professional photographer so they can have the spectacular pictures they desire.

Category 6.  Misc. Expenses, this is a category that is designed to just be a nifty catchall for things that do not fall elsewhere.  For example, rings, gifts, marriage license, and transportation, officiant fees and such.  This is typically set at a standard number of 6%, however can run higher or lower depending upon the scale of your wedding.  While the idea of running lower may sound wonderful, it is not as likely as running over a bit, since there is only so much negotiation in the items that are included in this category.

Category 7.  Lastly, we find ourselves with the smallest aspect of the budget, stationary.  This is something that can be higher or lower easily however this is typically around 4%.  Depending upon if, you have calligraphy done, what style of invitations, whether you do a separate RSVP card, or just a small post card, etc.  This also is partly affected by the number of people invited.  If you have a large list of people invited then you are unlikely to be able to get massive savings from this category.  If you are only inviting 50 people then you are going to be able to save a lot more money than those with thousands on their guest list.