I have a tip on out of control wedding expenses for anyone facing those bills with their children in the near future. We gave our daughter (who never had to budget anything...daddy was always there!) a number. The number was what we were willing to pay for everything associated with the wedding. If she went over, she had to pay. If she went under, she got the balance in cash. It worked like a charm; she decided what her priorities were, compared vendors, pricing, made some of her own decorations, opted for a less expensive dress than the Vera Wang number in the catalog, decided that some of the high school friends that she hadn't seen in 5 years really didn't need to eat and drink at our expense, etc. It not only taught her the value of money (finally), she made realistic decisions without my intervention, ended up getting a nice sum back, and we didn't have one argument in the planning process. The whole experience was delightful!