Budget - Credit Crunch Nuptials

The 'Wedding Planning Golden Rule'

We have a 'Wedding Planning Golden Rule' that even when planning celebrations with very generous budgets we try to keep at the forefront of my mind: How much money you spend celebrating your commitment to one another is not a measure of its strength. Weddings are about people, not about the euros spend. We know that the celebrity weddings featured weekly in glossy magazines (we plan some of them!) can frighten the average couple into thinking that weddings are all about how much you spend impressing your friends and relatives. They are not. A wedding should reflect who you are and say something about your own sense of style and values - not those of a soap star, glamour model or Hollywood A-lister.

Budgeting is the most important task (and usually the most difficult) you need to undertake when planning a wedding. Whatever you now think you will spend, it is likely to cost, it is likely to cost you more! But it is impossible to plan anything until you have an idea of how much you can spend. If you start booking venues and signing cheques before you know what you can afford, you could launch yourselves headlong down the road to financial disaster.

If you are nervous about tying the knot in the current financial climate don't be scared into postponing your plans before considering that now is the time to secure yourselves a bargain. But never, ever get yourself into debt by spending more than you can afford on your dream day. Do not borrow, do not put it all on a credit card. Plan only for what you can afford. Starting your married life in debt is a recipe for disaster...

But if you have put a pot of money aside for your wedding then there has never been a better time to get married. The money is not earning you much interest in the bank and now is the time to bag yourself a serious bridal bargain. If you are willing to be flexible there are last minute deals to be had at hotels and wedding venues up and down the country. If you'll consider a weekday wedding then you could shave up to 25% off the costs.

Don't be afraid of planning a last minute wedding either. If key suppliers such as photographers, florists, entertainers and honeymoon tour operators have spaces in their diaries over the next three months, then there is serious room for negotiation. Those dates are unlikely to be filled so they should be far more open to offering a deal.