Can You Really Have A Beautiful Wedding on a Budget?

We’ve all heard of ordinary people spending $10,000, $20,000, or even $40,000 on a wedding and stars have been known to spend a million or more. But it doesn’t have to be like that.

When my long-term boyfriend proposed to me at the age of 25, everyone had a lot of questions: Are we ready? Can we really afford it? Money problems are one of the major reasons for arguments in a marriage so it is important to start off on the right foot.

So, for those young couples out there who are planning to get married, here are some tips for you to have a debt-free wedding without having to call for bankruptcy lawyers in the process.

Prepare Your Household Budget

Before you begin planning your wedding budget, first plan your household budget for after the marriage. Conceptualize your goals for the future, and what kind of savings you will need. Some questions my husband and I both came across when we planned our budget:

1) Do we plan to buy a car?

2) Or a house?

3) Or to have children?

4) Travel to other places?

Prepare Your Wedding Budget

Plan a practical budget for a wedding that will not hinder your long-term ambitions. Take into consideration both your incomes and savings, and any assistance from your respective families. Do not depend on a line of credit or on loans. And see to it that you accommodate possible unanticipated costs, because they will surely come.

 Prioritize your Fixed Costs

Having a friendly wedding is the most important part of setting up your budget.  As a couple, you have to decide on the things that cannot be absolutely compromised, and what are some of those that can be reduced.  For instance, my husband and I decided that having sufficient and quality food and beverages was important to us. So to solve this problem, we chose to have a minimal guest list. But if you have a lot of friends and a large family as well, you could decide to settle on less costly food selections. Discuss your plans privately, as a whole, before conferring the details with your respective families and friends. Do not let others manipulate your wedding for this can be a ground for soaring costs as you attempt to satisfy everyone’s tastes. Show them a unified front and you will not only experience a well-budgeted wedding, but also a wedding that perfectly fits both of you as a couple.

Cut your Expenses

As soon as your budget is fixed and the priorities are made, you can cut your expenses while realizing your dream. Take advantage and use your own talents, as well as those of your friends and family. Take these examples from our wedding:

• We cut the expense of the wedding hall by making use of my cousin’s wonderful backyard.
• Caterer’s cost was eliminated by everyone’s decision to contribute to the banquet, and to replace an expensive wedding cake, I baked my own wedding pies.
• We omitted the plan to hire a professional photographer and allowed our families and friends to do the photo capturing and mind you, our wedding photos look impressive.

If those proposals seem too drastic, there are other simpler ways you can add to your personal plan. A lot of brides handle parties with just snacks, asking friends to work on the invitations and even the bouquets.

The best advice I can give you, is to have fun and be open-minded. Don’t force traditions on yourself or be afraid to drop costly formalities if they are not really your style. Remember, the most essential element of the day is already there –and that is love.

By carefully planning your budget and looking for creative ways to cut expenses, you can achieve your dream wedding, totally debt-free. By identifying our financial objectives,  and then considering our desires for the wedding day and with the help of our friends and family, my husband and I really had the perfect wedding we dreamed of. We even had some extra money left, and we were able to save it for our future needs.

And if you are wondering what are we doing in the next two months… well, we have a new apartment (which we both love), and still have a balance in our savings account and a lot of wonderful memories!

See Also:

• How to Make a Romantic Dinner on a Budget
• High Performance Savings Accounts
• Add Flare to Your Wedding (On a Budget)
• Budgeting for Groceries
• Dinner Deals 101
• How to Start Your Credit History

Photo Credits: By Shelley Panzarella