I have been looking up the average wedding price and from what I can tell, it averages at about $20,100. This means people are spending typically a minimum of around 15k and up to around 25k. Of course, this does not include the ultra extravagant weddings, but a more realistic idea of wedding costs for most of us.

I also saw that about half the people overspent from their initial budget. Although this is not surprising, it shows how important setting a budget is. I would advise not even slipping in it a little unless you are willing to give from another area (or already have). It could mean the difference of 10k apparently!

I agree that choosing a wedding budget and sticking to it is very important. I know a couple that went 5 thousand dollars over their budget. It was actually in the live entertainment and flowers. My friend, the bride, absolutely loved a certain type of arrangement and flower selection and went crazy. She ended up switching from real flowers to silk flowers as well because of a few reasons. One reason was so her bouquet would be preserved easily and also because she liked the different arrangements they could do with them. Honestly, I think she got snowed over by the floral lady, but I am not going to tell her that- as long as she is happy!