(WTNH) — Tying the knot is exciting — but very expensive. We’re Stretching Your Dollar with moves you can make to keep the price tag on your special day low.

It’s no easy task planning a wedding. There’s a guest list, the entertainment, and of course, the giant price tag.

Bridgelight Financial’s Bill Leavitt said the price of a wedding has only gone up with inflation impact food costs, noting that the average couple in Connecticut is paying $39,000 for a wedding.

Leavitt said having a budget and a plan in place to pay for it is so important.

“We’re seeing people turn to debt to be able to get through their wedding and about 25% of them are putting that on their credit cards,” Leavitt said.

Putting all that money on credit cards can be a slippery slope with interest rates so high right now. He suggested you do everything you can to only spend what you have — and be creative with cutting costs.

“You can look at different venues, consider the list that you have, maybe trim that a little bit,” Leavitt said. “Maybe sometimes look at other times of the week to have a wedding because they can be less expensive than your Saturday.”

The most important tip? Communicate your finances and come up with a plan you both can get behind. After all, it’s the start of the rest of your life, and you don’t want to begin in debt you can’t get out of.

Remember, in some cases, this is your first test of managing money together. It can jumpstart how you plan the rest of your life: following a budget and a planning together, while communicating goals along the way.