Couples fight more about money than anything else, so why start marriage with debt on your backs? Careful attention to debt management before the wedding will pay off in the early years of your marriage, and help establish lifelong healthy spending habits.

There are so many options for today's weddings that costs can easily balloon out of control. Consumer credit counseling experts advise following a few key steps for managing debt when planning a wedding:

1. Look carefully at your finances. How much do you have in savings, and how much can you save each month before the wedding? For effective debt management, consider this the total budget amount you can spend on your wedding.
2. Ask each of your parents if they plan to contribute to your wedding, or if there are specific things they may be willing to pay for. Bear in mind that if they contribute financially, parents deserve to have input on how the money is spent.
3. If expenses threaten to expand past your budget, consumer debt counselors advise increasing income rather than taking on debt. Can you find temporary extra work? Are there duplicate household items you can sell in a yard sale or online?
4. If you will be able to pay it in full each month, consider opening a new credit card account just for the wedding that will earn you airline miles, cash back, or other incentives. It's a good way to accurately track wedding expenses, and can help pay for your honeymoon.

If you need help finding ways to set aside funds, consider meeting with a consumer debt counseling expert. Through a ClearPoint credit counseling session, their personal Financial Specialists focus on helping people maximize their budgeting and debt management skills to build savings and pay off debt.

Once you know the total amount you will spend on the wedding, it's time to create the budget. Here are some general spending guidelines:

For effective debt management, prioritize by choosing a few "most important" items. You may want to pay a premium for an amazing photographer, but are happy to bargain hunt on the dress. Cross off anything that you don't need. For example, if both the ceremony and reception are at one location, you might not need transportation.

If the numbers still aren't working, it can help to have them reviewed by an impartial expert. Consumer debt counselors at a nonprofit credit counseling agency such as ClearPoint Financial Solutions are experienced in structuring budgets to best manage debt. You may find it possible to have the wedding of your dreams without starting married life in debt.