LDS Weddings don't have to cost a fortune! Setting a LDS Wedding Budget is an important step for the LDS bride & LDS groom!

LDS Weddings don't have to cost a fortune!Setting a LDS Wedding Budget is an important step for the LDS bride and groom!

Now that you’re engaged, you’ve probably got a flurry of plans racing through your head. A LDS wedding requires purchasing big-ticket items like modest wedding dresses all the way down to small details like the LDS wedding reception table centerpieces. With so many things all clamoring for your hard-earned money, it’s easy to quickly get in over your head and spend way more than you can afford. A detailed LDS wedding budget helps couples planning their big day to keep things realistic.

LDS Prophets and Apostles have long encouraged Latter-day Saints to live within their means and stay out of debt:

• President Gordon B. Hinckley: “Look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible” (General Conference, October 1998.)• Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: “Remember this: debt is a form of bondage. It is a financial termite… Some debt—such as for a modest home, expenses for education, perhaps for a needed first car—may be necessary. But never should we enter into financial bondage through consumer debt without carefully weighing the costs” (“Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts,” Ensign, May 2004.)

The cost of weddings is high, sometimes astronomically high. LDS Brides often feel pressured to have a fairytale wedding at all costs, but the reality is that most people can’t afford everything they want. The solution to planning an LDS wedding on a finite amount of money is creating a wedding day budget. Brides might hate the idea of budgeting for their wedding, but it really does allow them to control their spending – instead of the other way around. If the bride’s or groom’s family is helping out with wedding expenses, a budget is even more crucial because it keeps everyone on the same page.

Before planning any aspect of an LDS wedding, it’s a good idea to create a wedding day budget. Couples who aren’t very familiar with typical costs for wedding services might want to do some cursory research on the Internet to get a feel for what price range is normal for flowers, invitations, photographers, wedding cakes, and bridal gowns. The free LDS wedding budget will be available soon from WeddingLDS with a comprehensively lists all the potential expenses of wedding planning along with their average costs, making it easier for LDS brides and grooms to see what their dream wedding will mean in terms of dollars. It also groups items by category to make them easier to manage, from the wedding invitations to the honeymoon.

Nobody likes to set limits on the LDS temple wedding of their dreams. But in order to stay within your means and avoid the anxiety that comes from taking on too much debt in the early years of a marriage, the bottom line is that you need to set (and keep) a wedding day budget. A budget helps you to prioritize your wants, know what costs to expect, and see what the entire wedding is going to cost. It keeps you from spending more than you thought you would and gives you peace of mind when planning your LDS wedding.

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