Women think about their weddings for years before the actual event. As we dream of that day costs may never even enter into the equation. Would it surprise you that in America the cost of the average wedding is as much as a down payment on luxury car or a house? According to most sources the average wedding start at $20,000 and goes into the stratosphere from there.

Here is a breakdown of what generally has to be paid for and how much you can reasonably expect to spend:

License: a wedding license in most states cost anywhere from $35 to $50

Wedding Rings(his and hers): $150 - $10,000

Catering: here is the major expense-$18-$400 per person

Wedding Invitations/Programs:$100-$500

Dress: $100 and up most brides set a $3000 limit

Tuxedo:$350+ to buy maybe cheaper to rent

Photographer/videographer: $400-$10,000, seriously

Flowers: another major expense $500-$5000

Reception Hall/Decorations for same: up to $15,000

Transportation: $1000-$5000

These are just the major costs. There will also be many incidentals along the way. Let's revisit one of these costs to show you in practical terms what we mean by incidentals.

The true costs of wedding catering are not what you think. Included in this costs should be any specialty items that you require. The menu will be dictated by the budget or in cases where the bride is dead set on certain items it can dictate the budget. Things that add significantly to wedding catering costs are of course the size, style, design, and flavor of the wedding cake. The bigger and more intricate the cake is the higher the cost will be. If the wedding caterer is not making the cake then you may see a great savings on that score.

An inexpensive option is to have your favorite restaurant do the wedding catering. Most will charge you a small fee for the space but you won't have to pay for utensils, flatware or glasses. Another way to cut wedding catering costs is to have a limited bar and no cocktail hour. If you are having the reception in a restaurant that serves alcohol you can stipulate that guests are free to purchase their own beverages. Everything that you can do to save a buck is going to be needed. The Bridal Association of America says that the average cost for wedding catering with all the frills is almost $13,000 and this is in the smaller towns and suburbs, it can be much more in large cities.

Get more tips about how to save on wedding catering costs at iwedplanner. They are experts when it comes to wedding planning and they also have wonderful wedding planning tools including a budget calculator to help you keep track of it all.