Planning a wedding on a budget
The hardest thing about planning a wedding is staying within your budget and keeping costs under control. A lucky few have families that offer to pay for the wedding. Some people decide to take out loans, open new credit cards and choose to save.
For people with bad credit, taking out loans or opening new lines of credit maybe be close to impossible. Why start your new life together deep in debt? Remember more people divorce over money problems then they do over infidelity!
However, there are many tips and tricks you can use to ensure that you don’t go overboard. Most of these tricks will also help make your wedding more meaningful and unique.
#1. Open a savings account.
As soon as my cousin and her fiance got engaged, they opened up a wedding savings account. They did some research online to get an idea how much the wedding would cost them. Then they created a budget. Both of them pledged a certain amount from each pay check and 2.5 years later they were married! Their wedding and honeymoon were paid for in cash!
#2. Shop around.
After you plan your budget, shop around for vendors that will work within it while also giving you what you want. Stick with those vendors. The internet has made it possible to get a good idea on the cost of things. Write it down or bookmark sites with great prices. If you can’t find similar pricing locally, you may want to just order it online.
#3. Ask for discounts.
Be bold. Don’t be afraid to ask for discounts and other considerations from vendors. My mother will walk into Walmart and ask for money off a a shirt with a lose button! AND GET SOMETHING TAKEN OFF THE PRICE! Most vendors will accommodate you. So be bold and know that it will get easier to do with each vendor you talk to!
#4. Keep track of the little things.
Planning a wedding can be very expensive. One thing that can shoot your budget in the foot is not considering the small stuff. The small costs can add up to an enormous bill at the end, so keep a close eye on those small expenditures. Check the size and weight of your invitations to make sure that they won’t cost extra postage (things like decorative bows and beads can add up to a lot of extra money spent on stamps).
#5. For Chronic over spenders.
Consider not just creating your wedding budget but putting it on a debit card. Most of these can be loaded using the internet. So if your budget for flowers is $4000, load $4000 into the card. Knowing you only have that money on your debit card will definitely curb the tendency to over spend.
#6. Expect the unexpected.
Set aside around $1,000 of your budget for last-minute changes and other unexpected developments. Only use this fund if absolutely necessary. If you end up not using it, then you have an extra $1,000 to spend.
#7. Prioritize.
If you start approaching the high end of your budget, take a close look at your spending and rank all items according to priority. You can remove unnecessary things from your list and spend the money on other priorities instead.
#8. When all else fails, do it yourself.
There are easy DIY wedding projects that you, your friends and family can do at a much lower cost. You can make your own invitations, favors, guestbook, even the cake. Use websites like Pinterest for inspiration and take charge of your wedding! For my cousin’s wedding, the families got together and we created the table centerpieces. Not only did they save a lot of money, but it was a great chance to meet his side of the family and get to know them.
#9. Remember what your wedding day is really about.
Weddings are important events and most people want to have the fairy tale perfect day. But if you can’t afford the perfect wedding cake, an enormous handmade bouquet or a $4000 dress, your wedding can still be perfect. Your wedding is about starting a new life with someone you love. That’s one thing that no amount of money can buy.
I’m one of those people that can handle a smaller wedding with less of the extravagance. If I can save money and have less and still have a good time, I wouldn’t mind a wedding like that at all. I prefer easier to stressful after all, and to me a dream wedding is just having family, some fun music and my man, and that’s all I really need.
It’s hard to decide when it comes to a wedding budget. You should have seen my wife when she did our wedding. We had a budget and she wanted everything. Well I told her she could have some things and get rid of some other stuff, she didn’t like that one bit, but when on a budget it’s not easy. But, we had an awesome wedding and she loved it.
Perfect timing. I’ve been looking for some ways of planning a wedding on a budget and thanks to you guys I have an idea at least. My husband and I are finally tying the knot and I want a extravagant wedding, but I know that I wont be able to afford the best of the best just yet. I know I will have to budget some things and all that, so some things I just wont be able to do.
Also, I do have a savings that I set up since high school for a future wedding, I know, lame, but it comes in handy. I did spend some money from it a while back, but it happens.
It’s easy to understand how careful budgeting can improve a financial situation, and we all know that fewer financial problems mean less stress. We know that always being practical, careful and responsible can be overwhelming.
Carol and Karin, I know you can have your dream wedding and you will be the happiest bride in the whole world. 🙂 Best wishes in advanced!
Shelly