A South African couple recently spent their honeymoon in court, I read in a news story on the Internet.

Their crime? Throwing a wedding they couldn’t afford. Then, skipping out on the wedding bills.

As I get further into this wedding, I realized, I really don’t have a handle on what I’m spending. Not that I’ve actually spent anything yet, except my time. But still ….

If you’re going to plan a wedding it’s a good idea to have a budget beforehand. It will help keep your spending in line. It’s easy to see how a wedding can balloon up to the American average of $28,000. It’s also easy to see how many couples can spend the next five years paying off a wedding that costs that much.

I’ve worked up a sample budget. I’m trying to think of this as a checking account; it’s a finite amount and if I want to spend more here, I have to spend less there. So this is what I have so far:

I’m shooting for 200 people and $10,000.  I have one friend who spent about $6,000 on her entire wedding. She opted to rent a VFW hall and have the event catered, a move that is often more cost-effective than the typical all-in-one function hall.

With 200 people, I’m looking at about $35 a head. I’m willing to spend more money on a meal, since many people feel cheated if they go to a wedding and the food is terrible. Ask someone how a wedding they attended was, and they’ll tell you about the food.

That’s my limit. I plan on a casual wedding, so if bridal attire costs more than that, the dress is too fancy for the wedding. I’m hoping that this will be an area to cut.

Flowers - $500

I also plan on keeping flowers simple. We’re looking at a beach or country wedding, and I’m picturing sea grass and a lot of natural beauty. I think I’ll keep bouquets small and simple.

A good DJ is essential to a good party, so I’m definitely willing to pay a little more for a good DJ. I’m also looking for a photographer that can get good candid shots of the wedding, rather than the boring, posed pictures will provide me with no end of blackmail opportunities. I think I’ll have to shop around before I can set a price.

Since I’m planning on serving the cake for dessert, I want a rich cheesecake (oh, yes … I’m sparing no expense on the dessert) that can feed 200 people.

I’m actually not planning on giving favors. No one really uses them, so Ed and I are going to make a charitable donation. Often, a charity will send cards to be placed at each guest’s seat, acknowledging the donation. I can even double the cards as a seating placement.

Ed and I actually bought our wedding rings two years ago. We’ve been holding on to them ever since.

So right now it looks like I’m at $9,700 so far and I don’t have a DJ or a photographer. Hmmmm … if anyone out there has a suggestion for cutting costs, or remembers a critical wedding component I’ve forgotten, post a note. If any brides out there have come across a great place to get a dress, flowers, etc. or worked with someone they’ve really liked, share the wealth of info.