Many young couples are surprised to find out just how expensive wedding can be. If you and your bride or groom do not have a lot of money saved up or are not getting help from family, it might be a good idea to hold off on the wedding until you can better afford it. While you can have a small budget wedding for just a few thousand dollars, many people find that they have bills of $20,000 or more when it is all said and done! Before you decide to say “I do,” make sure that your wedding is not going to throw your marriage deep into debt from the start.

One of the most expensive parts of any wedding is the food. Along with a dinner at the reception, you will also have to pay for drinks, a cake and other deserts, as well as appetizers. Also, costs from the practice dinner must be considered, which is traditionally paid for by the father of the groom. However, depending on the arrangement, costs for this meal may fall on your shoulders, depending on your family's ability to help financially. You can save money by choosing a smaller cake, having a buffet line instead of a sit-down meal, and opting for fewer appetizers, but you can still expect to spend $15 - $50 per person on more per head at the reception.

You may also spend a lot of money on clothing for the big day. The bride's dress is typically the most expensive. You can find discount options for under $200, but in most cases, you may spend a minimum of $500 on a dress. Some brides spend thousands of dollars on their wedding dresses, and that's not even counting shoes, hair accessories, gloves, and jewelry. As far as bridesmaids' dresses go, it is usually the responsibility of each bridesmaid to purchase her own dress. However, if your bridesmaids do not have much money, the only way they can be in your wedding, in some cases, is if you help them buy their clothing. You can find simple options for under $50, but there are more expensive options as well, and remember, you also have to buy jewelry, shoes, and so forth.

Dressing the men in a wedding is not quite as expensive, but it can still get to be pricey in some cases. Typically, men will wear a tuxedo, although suits are worn at a more casual or dress down event. You can rent the outfits for the groom, best men, and groomsmen, which is a lot less expensive than buying, but then you risk the outfits not fitting as well. To save money on clothing, you can consider a small wedding party. Considering the variety of tasks to complete when planning a wedding, some costs can wind up not being included in the final calculations. Examples of such costs are shuttle transportation for kids and the elderly, dresses for the flower girls, ring bearer, and parents of the bride and groom.

Flowers are another major cost to consider during the planning of a wedding. In many cases, you will be surprised how much simple bouquets can cost - sometimes $100 or more just general designs with cheaper flowers. The more exotic your flowers, the more you will spend, and you may also have to buy flowers for the table settings, decoration, and boutonnieres.

Don't forget that you'll also have to pay to rent out the venue. The cost of your wedding location will change depending on where you live and what kind of place you're renting. If you get married in a church or other religious facilities, you often aren't given a set price, but it is polite to make a donation for use of the location. Reception halls can range from firehouse gather halls to ballrooms at fancy hotels. You can also set up tents and have your wedding outside if you have a big enough back yard, though then you may have to deal with bad weather.

Some other odds and ends things you have to pay for when it comes to a wedding include the following: the DJ, the marriage license and other paperwork you need for it to be legal, the priest or other person who marries you, the travel arrangements for out-of-town guest, the wedding planner, the dry cleaning for your dress and the other clothing, the limo, the table and chair rental, the manicures, the photography, the invitations, and the hair styling. You can always find more stuff to buy to make your wedding special, so it is easy to see how the prices can jump higher and higher!

At the end of the wedding, don't forget that you also have to pay for your honeymoon. You can honeymoon close to home if you're worried about the expense, but don't skip the vacation together if at all possible, as it will be your first time alone as husband and wife. If you're worried about the wedding costs, ask for money from guests instead of other gifts.