Before you can live happily ever after, you have a wedding to plan! It's supposed to be a special day celebrating the love of you and your soul mate with your closest friends and family. I wish I could say that planning a wedding is a walk in the park, but it's not. It's work, hard work. I'm twenty-one and have been a part of three weddings: my aunt and two sister-in-laws, and now I'm working with two of my best friends. (Given I was only the flower girl in my aunt's wedding). Nevertheless, with all of the weddings I have been in and am currently apart of, there is one common element: the budget. Neither bride nor their groom has had a wedding fund, it this was all coming out of the pockets of their parents and their own.

After you have become engaged there are two things you need to do, 1.) Tell everyone! 2.) Make a budget.

The day you plan to sit down and discuss the budget, make sure your parents are a part of the conversation. It is important to find out if they are going to contribute to the budget. Tradition says the bride's parents pay for the wedding but let's get real, it's 2013 and times have changed. Although there are some families who do not stray too far from tradition, there are many couples today who do the very opposite.

I was doing research to see how much the average wedding would cost and the results were shocking to say the least. According to a couple of blogs, the average cost of a wedding in the United States is between twenty - twenty four thousand dollars! Me being a college student, those figures sound like a brand new car! My sister-in-laws had similar weddings that were smaller and only had close friends and of course the families. I asked them how much they spent and they said around ten thousand. But my friend Brittney, on the other hand, plans on having her wedding in May of 2015 with two hundred and fifty guests and hoping to stay under ten thousand dollars... Yikes. So far, she is trying to do everything DIY, except for the obvious dresses and suits.

It's all about sticking to the budget. Here is an example I found on another wedding blog. They had one hundred and thirty people with a grand total of almost twenty one thousand dollars. As I said earlier, it is imperative to sit down and have a serious conversation about the budget and seeing whether or not the parents are going to be contributing. It may be an uncomfortable conversation, but it has to be done. Once you have figured out the numbers, stick to it! Here are a few tips to stick with your budget:

1.) What Is Most Important: Once you have decided on your budget, you two need to decide on what about the wedding is necessary to have, then write it down. This will be your list to remind you about what is important to purchase, stopping yourself from splurging on unnecessary items.

2.) More People = More Alcohol & Food: The bigger the head count, the bigger the bill is going to be for alcohol and dinner. Decide whether or not you are going to have an open bar or any alcoholic beverages at all. And for dinner, if you are having a smaller wedding, ideally less than one hundred people, consider doing a buffet! Cheaper!

3.) Mmm Dessert: Traditionally, people have beautifully decorated cakes but lately I have seen a lot of people doing cupcakes! It's a great idea but keep in mind the head count! Try not to purchase more than you need.

4.) Reduce-Reuse-Recycle: Purchase decorations that you can reuse! I remember throwing away so many decorations from my sister's wedding; they were beautiful but such a waste! If you use a lot of mason jars, use them as pots for plants or even cups!

5.) Choosing Wedding Dates: Believe it or not, there are some days in the year where you will receive a discount from venues! My best friend Brittney and her fianc© chose the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend because they found a ton of places that reduced their venue prices! Never do it on a holiday but weekends of holidays are great too!

Happy Planning!