Photo by Tom Pumford on Unsplash
A little while back, the lovely Honeyfund asked me to contribute to their blog and I was thrilled to oblige. In fact, I went a little overboard and wrote not one, but two posts! So, when they reached out to feature a post on my blog, I was super excited to return the favour and without further ado, the below are what these wedding registry experts consider the best ways to save money when you’re planning your big day:
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Trade Show Success Requires Premeditation
Photo by Matt Chen on Unsplash
When it comes to weddings, having a little strategy can save you and your new spouse a lot of time, trouble, and aggravation. This is especially true if one of the two of you has a massive marital vision in mind. It’s good to have a pre-wedding checklist and a post-wedding check-list.
The key word here is: strategy. Look at what you want, and look at what you can afford. Remember, you’ve got to live with this person ostensibly for the rest of your life. You’re going to get wedding gifts and there will likely be some kind of dowry involved; but you’re going to spend some money on this most special of days.
Cutting costs makes a lot of sense. Look at invitations, look at catering, look at bar situations, entertainment, and the costs which define renting venues. If you’ve got a photographer and a videographer, you may want to consider consolidating these services into one individual. This can give you the same for half the cost, or maybe a little more.
Outdoor weddings can be cost-effective, but the weather can also come against you and prove difficult. Also, sometimes renting an outdoor space ends up increasing your wedding costs much more you may have expected or planned for.
Outside Funding Possibilities
Photo by Tom The Photographer on Unsplash
Then there are collateral funding options to consider. Sometimes a parent on either side of the new couple will help pay for the wedding. Sometimes parents on both sides will, sometimes neither will. But just because you can’t get enough money from your own pocket or that of involved elders doesn’t mean you can’t get the support you need.
It turns out that today you can get funded through the web. This is called crowdfunding, or crowd-gifting, and it is a means by which people online who have sympathy for newlyweds, or perhaps want to give them a better wedding than they themselves could afford, can help you out.
Also, friends, family, and other members of your local community could help; sites like Plumfund are ideal for weddings and offer top-tier crowdfunding services; according to the site: “Our proven crowd-gifting platform, based on honeyfund.com, makes giving and receiving simple and fun.”
Realistic Considerations
Photo by Petr Ovralov on Unsplash
Here’s the thing: in today’s economy, one of the two of you is going to likely have some debt. Both of you might. Doubling down through a ridiculously ostentatious ceremony is a recipe for fights.
Marriage is all about growth, and that means growing pains—you’re naturally going to have conflict. If you don’t, you’re not growing; and that’s not a healthy marriage. You get shin cramps when adolescence grows your body, and you get spats when life grows your marriage.
The point is, you don’t want to facilitate unnecessary squabbles. You’ll definitely get an opportunity to have them later on! And you’ll also have some of the most beautiful, life-changing experiences a human can have. So you’ve got a tightrope to walk; especially if you’re like most people and you aren’t made of money.
Still, if you put a little thought into it beforehand you can likely have exactly the wedding you want and not go into the red to get there.
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Thanks Honeyfund team, it’s been a pleasure! You can check out my guest posts – How to Make Your Dream Wedding a Reality Part One and Two on their lovely blog and whilst you’re there, I recommend reading some of their other posts, they are full of helpful tips and information.
If you have any other money saving hacks for planning a wedding, let me know in the comments!
xoxox
