Jun 25, 2008 By Eric Rippel 3 min read

It’s a day that’s supposed to be one of the most memorable of your life; the day of your wedding, a mixing of glamour and love. But unless you’re planning to elope and be joined in matrimony by the local magistrate, you’re probably planning an opulent wedding, complete with beautiful wedding dress, matching bridesmaid dresses, flowers galore, and, at the very least, a 10-foot wedding cake. So now it comes to call: exactly how much will it cost to make your dreams come true?

According to Richard Markel, president of the Association for Wedding Professionals International on SmartMoney’s commercial Web site, the average cost of a wedding in the United States is now between $21,000 and $24,000.

Fortunately, there’s a plethora of techniques hopeful couples can search out when putting together a budget for their wedding.

Jesse Garshak is a financial consultant working at National City Bank in Rostraver Township, and said anyone can walk through his door to review their assets and see how much they can set aside for investments such as a wedding.

“If you’re looking to save for a wedding, the first thing you need to keep in mind is saving,” Garshak said.

As far as wedding planning goes, Garshak said he would advise savings vehicles such as a certificate of deposit or a mutual fund.

“If you were planning for a wedding 10 years from today and you have mutual funds, it might fit the bill but without actually sitting down and seeing what their goals are, it’s hard to say specifically,” Garshak said.

What he does is take a “financial snapshot,” which Garshak said allows him to go through a couples’ finances and examine what options are open to them for the goals they have in mind.

“You go through and see what they have,” Garshak said. “You break it down to the bare bone.”

Garshak said by breaking down a couple’s assets, he can show them what money they’ll have left after taxes, bills, and other expenses.

Still, there are those hopefuls who trudge on no matter what the costs.

Erin Thomas of Greensburg is currently planning a June 19, 2010, wedding to James Polites, also of Greensburg. Thomas said that they’re saving up from paycheck to paycheck and also speaking to family members about putting away for their reception.

“We are trying as hard as we can to not take out a small loan or borrow any money,” Thomas said. “We want to pay for it ourselves as much as we can.”

Timing also plays a role in the wedding plans, Thomas said, which is why the couple is waiting two years before marrying. Thomas hopes to finish school and have more job security by then.

“If we can save $1 million for the wedding, we will spend it,” Thomas said. “But we also want to focus on our future more than the wedding. We want to make sure we have enough for other things such as a house or car. But we are saving little by little just for the wedding, and however much we are able to save for it, we will use it.”

Concessions have had to be made also, Thomas said, but she tries to remain realistic when planning.

“My dream wedding includes a gown that would probably cost a couple grand, I would love to have the biggest cake that can be made, and a honeymoon in Hawaii,” she said.

“We are both independent people … with jobs that don’t pay as well as they should. However, we are doing our best to make it the best wedding we can have.”