Budget time

With 7 months to go until the big day, Mr. Tango and I decided to check up on our progress saving and re-visit our budget to make sure we were/are still in line. We have a very up-to-date Excel sheet which includes how much we've paid so far, how much our monthly contributions should be, and how much our monthly contributions have been. It's never the most fun discussion, but luckily we are right on target!

Now that we were feeling a little better, I decided to compare our wedding budget with those of what it 'should' be. By the way - I highly recommend taking the word 'should' out of your dictionary if you want to plan your dream. Here is what I found (our numbers in red):

1. Reception 45% .....................................49%
2. Photography/Video 10% ......................12%
3. Flowers 10% ..........................................10%
4. Ceremony 7% ..........................................1%
5. Entertainment 5% ................................10%
6. Attire 5% .................................................9%
7. Cake 2% ...................................................0%
8. Transportation 2% .................................2%
9. Invitations 2% .........................................3%
10. Other 12% ...............................................4%
    

It's surprisingling similar! Where do you and your budget compare? I was surprised how little we're spending on our ceremony - the component that is probably most important! Mr. Tango and I had spoken about our priorities being the food and music, and I was impressed to see that our budget ended up reflecting this.

How are you doing on saving up for the big day? What are your most important elements?