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We didn't have a budget. We have planned and decided on everything all along the way. So, I kept track of every single thing we spent, I guess as a reference. So far, I'm shocked not at how much it's costing in the end but by how I managed to afford that. Hahahaha - so maybe it's a trophy.
Every time I purchase something, I write it down in an excel spreadsheet- date, where it was purchased, what it was purchased for, and who paid for it. It's a bit more type-A than my scatterbrained self is used to, but it's imperative for us to stay on budget.
I keep track of every cent, and I keep every receipt so that I can go back afterwards and have a rundown of everything we got and how it was used and how much it cost.
My name is Layla, and I'm obsessively organized.
I'm not getting married until May, but I am tracking our expenses on weddingwire. I have not tracked every penny - like wedding magazines (about $40-$50) or little purchases at Michael's to test out DIY stuff (maybe $30-$40) but everything else is being tracked.
I would love to say that we tracked every penny, and we were both pretty good about keeping track of our expenses. But when it came down to it, I KNOW there were small things we bought for the wedding that didn't get inserted into our spreadsheet, but added up over time. So we have a very solid idea of what we spent, but we know the amount is off by $300, give or take. We definitely didn't calculate tips into the budget, either, which I wish we had. That was a fun surprise a few days before the wedding! Yikes.
I used the Martha Stewart website for my budget and have kept track of the estimated budget for each item and then wrote what I actually paid for it. So far, so good- but the major spending hasn't been done yet! I'm afraid that toward the end I'm going to end up saying "Screw it" and just throw all the receipts out the window. Then again, I have days when my priority is having money after the wedding, and days when the wedding is number one.
I fall into your category, LatteLove! Though, I do plan to sit down and figure out how much was spent....I just haven't done it yet. I'm sure it will be nauseating b/c I stopped caring at the end (as did my parents, I think...!)
We had a general idea of what we wanted to spend, but I think it will be about $20G over... we think. We are just going through each thing as they come up and my dad decides if the price makes sense and he is comfortable with it.
Because we planned our wedding for 23 months, we signed a lot of contracts early - so I knew what our expenses were EXACTLY leading up to the wedding. I just used a binder to keep track of all my contracts, deposits made and money due. Our bar was based on consumption, so that was the only mystery expense that we didn't know going into our wedding day.
In the end I know how much every purchase was for our wedding except for some small ancillary purchases made during the last 3 days before the wedding.
P.S. SOmetimes I wish I didn't know 
Oh yeah, I kept track of every little cent, in an Excel file. I just kept a running paper tally, then updated my spreadsheet every couple/few weeks. After the wedding, I added in all the last-minute expenses, just to see where we ended up. It was fun! (But I'm crazy like that.)
My father and mother were generous and each gave us a check at the beginning of planning, out of which I came up with our main budget, but I wanted to keep track of how much my husband and I spent, over and above this amount.
I have a very type A personality as well, and have tracked everything in an excel spreadsheet, which breaks down our wedding into each category, and then lists the budgeted amouts and the actual amounts. I think it hleps me to see what I'm spending, and am there more careful in other areas if we have to go over in one. It helps me feel in control of the planning and finances.
Although we're not budget crazy, we are keeping close tabs on what we're spending. I think we do so more to stay organized than anything.
FI is an engineer, and loves number crunching, so pretty much the day after we got engaged her had the Excel spreadsheet up and running :)
We are keeping track of our spending really well - we are actually under budget right now, hurray!
Now that I said that, some huge expense is liable to come bite me in the butt, lol!
I'm keeping track of expenses in Quicken. The biggest expenses are easy, it's the little things here and there that I have to go back and separate out. I've got until August to keep this up, and while I do have a "spending plan" for the wedding, I'm not sure I want to know the final number!
I went ahead and put penny, but some things I'm sure were a little off...when I had amounts, I put them in excel down to the penny & others I had to estimate, I think I got *really close! The last month we didn't ignore our budget, but we probably didn't adjust every final figure...I'd be really surprised if we were off by more then $100 though for a $15K budget.... I <3 Excel ;)
I've kept track of all the big things - the major vendors, mostly because I had to make multiple payments over time and know exactly when and how much to pay. But I haven't kept as close of an eye on the small stuff. When I talk about my budget, it usually only includes the big stuff (flowers, caterer, cake, etc.) and not things like BM gifts, small favors I bought, etc.
My mom keeps a spreadsheet on Google Docs and puts every little thing on there!
We kept track of all our expenses. It's nice to know, you know? That way we have a better sense of how much things cost and if we want to do something similar in the future what it will look like.
I have a rough idea... but only for the actual wedding day. We budgeted for things for that day. Reception, ceremony, favors, etc.
Invites, postage, attire, honeymoon, rings, hotel, immigration, etc is all being purchased outside of our budget. Yeah... I kind of don't want to know the final tally. Recessionista my @ss. :(
We used iDo from elm software. It's actually a database software based on MS Access, but iDo gives it a more user friendly interface. We tracked nearly everything, but left out odds and ends from Michael's and maybe some postage didn't make it in there...
I tracked every expense related to the wedding in Excel. It was really important for us to stay on budget, so we really had to hardline everything. I added everything in as we went and then finalized it all afterwards.
I have a bunch of receipts that i've been 'telling' myself to write down somewhere. I think I'm within my budget. I had some really good deals with my dress and the photographer and the flowers. Maybe reading this post, will get me to track all of those receipts down and start recording them.
We are spending close to a downpayment on a house. For an event that costly every penny needs to be tracked!
We're spending an amount worth a small car. How do you stay on budget if you don't track it?
My mom keeps the main budget and I am sure it's to the penny (accountant/OCD). I have a spreadsheet tracking what we have spent so far out of our own money. I am genuinely curious what it will all add up to in the end.
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I found that as time got closer to the wedding, I worried less about the cost, and got lazy with how much I was spending on little things for our wedding. To this day I (self-proclaimed budgeteer!) haven't dared to find all my wedding receipts and add up my totals. I had a very clear budget when I started the process, but it got redious and overwhelming to track how much i spent on each project, how much in tips, etc.
So I'm curious, did you keep close track of your wedding spending? After the wedding, do you know how much you spent, or is it just a rough estimate?
Do you want to know?