Wedding on a Budget

Every couple wants to have the wedding of their dreams. However, everyone knows that wedding can we quite expensive. “A survey published on ABC News shows that the average wedding budget is $27,021 and has grown since 2008” (Kim). In my opinion I think that is a ridiculous number and I could never afford it with my income. The idea of a wedding is to carry you into a happy marriage, not putting yourself in debt. However, couples do not have the break the bank to have a meaningful, beautiful day. The first thing when planning is to have a check list with a set budget to stick with. When it comes to financing a wedding you should figure out how much you need to spend to get what you want and what you can afford to have. Setting expectations accordingly is a building block to budgeting the wedding.  Some of these expectations should include the guest list, dress, reception, music, flowers, food, and drinks.

Traditionally the bride’s family pays for the reception or majority of the cost and the groom’s family pays for the rehearsal dinner and honeymoon. Now day’s times have changed. In today’s society more couples are paying for their own weddings. “It is most common these days for both families and the bride and groom to share expenses” (Who). The bride’s and groom’s family should have a discussion to decide the cost of what they can help to afford according to their financial situation. For myself, I have step one done. I have sat down with my groom and we've discussed the reception site and made general decisions about the theme, day of week, time of day, etc. Then we talked to both sides of the family separately and discussed how they can help, if they could. Thankfully my parents are paying for my venue as a wedding gift, and my groom’s side is paying for the rehearsal dinner and providing the music/ DJ. Asking family or loved ones to help pay different cost for a wedding as a gift helps tremendously. Once I figured out how much each side of the families, including myself can pitch in, I know what kind of wedding to begin planning.

A cheap wedding does not mean you have to make compromises. It is about doing more with less, for example there are plenty ideas out there for do it yourself invitations, decorations, or even favors. The list goes on and on. I have been surfing pintrest and found cheap and easy projects for my wedding that would look gorgeous. Using your creativity and imagination while working around the wedding budget can benefit on spending more on the most important elements of the wedding than the tiny details you can do yourself for a cheap price. Jean and Amanda Gengler wrote an article about a young Texas couple who wanted a wedding of their dreams but in this case pushed themselves $30,000 in debt. “They charged more than $30,000 on their credit cards to pay for the event, adding mightily to the school and car loans they already have” (Gengler). Yes a wedding is an emotional milestone and you deserve get everything you want at your wedding but I believe that this couple could have been smarter about their decisions or gone about them differently by choosing the cheaper napkins, table cloths, center pieces, whatever it may have been because they clearly broke their budget if they are in deep debt. I agree with Ms. Preli when she mentions “I think that’s a direct reflection of the economy, but that does not mean weddings have to look or feel cheap. People are looking for creative ways to save, because they still want to have a special wedding, and you can” (Zhang) and that is exactly what I am focusing on for my planning.

References

Chatzky, J., & Gengler, A. (2005). The Blowout. Academic Search Complete, 34(5), 124-129. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=3&sid=4cef8287-e687-4c12-8d6e-9add52eeeac4%40sessionmgr15&hid=19&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=16795025

Kim, S. (2012, March 23). U.S. Couples Spent Average of $27,000 on Weddings in 2011.ABCNews. Retrieved January 22, 2013, from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/top-expensive-areas-married/story?id=15980519

Who Pays for a Wedding These Days? (n.d.). Kids Fitness & Nutrition | Kids & Sports- FamilyEducation.com. Retrieved January 22, 2013, from http://life.familyeducation.com/weddings/personal-finance/47218.html

Zhang, J. (2009). I Do...for Less. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203353904574145520680497830.html