Wedding Budget: What are your priorities?

     So I'd love to jump right in and share the secret to knocking out a wedding budget but it turns out they are pretty difficult!  I chose to start this intimidating process with careful consideration of my priorities.

• Photography is our top priority.  Finding a photographer that can work with our theme, make us feel comfortable, capture the major events and the little details in a romantic way will be well worth a good chunk of the budget for us.  In ten years when we're looking back on the day, beautiful photographs will be priceless.
• Second is the cake.  I always dreamed of having a beautiful, heaven-in-your-mouth cake with tiers, edible flowers, and a romantic cake topper.  To quote my best friend, "everyone remembers the wedding cake".
• Next on my list is the dress.  I'll be paying for my dress as well as my bridesmaids' dresses and while I'd like to save as much money as possible, I still want the dresses to be beautiful and good quality.  David's Bridal has the largest selection in my area so I'll be starting there.

     Those are the top 3 elements I'm willing to spend extra on and I think it's important to nail that down so you know where to estimate a little higher in your budget.  Below is a list of 4 sites that have amazing budget tools.

http://www.theknot.com/,
http://www.weddingwire.com/
http://www.mywedding.com/
http://www.costofwedding.com/

     You can add and remove items from those lists to fit your unique situation.  For example, I removed the venue fees because my parents are going to let me get married in the beautiful back yard I grew up in.
     I'm working on talking to local bakers, florists, photographers, djs, caterers, etc to get some average costs to put into the budget because I would hate to come up short if I estimated a cost too low.  Wedding planning seems hectic enough without having to worry about dealing with unexpected expenses.  Until then, good luck and let me know if you find anything helpful in your own planning adventures!