Congratulations! You’re engaged! You have been in love and you’re ready to start planning a wedding. Happily ever after isn’t always easy. With all the excitement of planning a wedding, there is also a factor of stress. A wedding isn’t cheap, but it will indeed be worth it. As you begin planning, it is essential to discuss a budget and how the two of you will prioritize your finances for the wedding (and the rest of your life).
There are pressing financial questions that should not be overlooked. Don’t be afraid to open up communication regarding finances with your soon-to-be husband or wife.
Total Wedding Budget
You cannot start planning without discussing a wedding budget. First off, if you’re receiving any support from family members, it will be a good time to ask pressing questions. Try not to be anxious about asking and approach the conversation in the right manner. Once you get an understanding of how much they are helping you, it will be easier to budget.
Next, you will want to calculate both of your savings for the wedding. Hopefully, you had some time to save after the engagement. Give yourself plenty of time to save before having the wedding, that way you are not stressing out about finances at the very last minute.
During your engagement try to save on daily expenses like eating out or purchasing fewer clothes. Some other ways to reduce spending include canceling memberships or reducing retirement contributions. You could pick up a side hustle or work a few more overtime hours at your job to help save! If you have investments in the stock market or other savings, you’re willing to dip out, now is the time to think about those things.
Lastly, consider other expenses you will need to think about once you’re newly married. If you want to have kids right after getting married, then that’s something you will want to think about. If you plan on buying a home soon or a new car, that can be another factor for financial planning. If any of these are the case, you will not want your savings to be completely depleted.
Track Your Spending
It is helpful to decide what your most valuable and important expense will be. Some brides must have the perfect wedding dress and are willing to spend less on food or other aspects of their big day. Once you have an idea of your budget and biggest expenses, you can start to decide where you want to allocate the rest of your funds. I suggest you create a wedding planning checklist so you have all the categories of your wedding right in front of you. Stay organized and begin planning your wedding with a checklist, which will also help you stay organized with your money.
As you’re creating a budget you may not have exact numbers, but estimating figures is also okay. Create a budget template in excel or keep track of everything in one place. If you have a wedding planner, hopefully, they can give you accurate estimates of each thing you need for your wedding day. Once something is bought, write the exact price on your budget list.
Thinking About A Prenup
Does this word intimidate you?! Well, it doesn’t need to. It is best to be prepared for the wedding day instead of being caught off-guard later on. The purpose of a prenup is to create an agreement in the case of a divorce or death with either person. This decision-making process isn’t always rainbows and butterflies like picking a dress might be, but it is important to be proactive about it so you are not left scrambling in the event something happens.
Think about a prenup as a “just in case” solution. Hopefully, you won’t have to ever use it, but in the case that you do, you’ll be grateful you decided to have one done.
Wedding Day
By financially preparing for your wedding day, you are setting yourselves up for success. If you complete these steps, you will not regret it. In fact, finances are important throughout a marriage– especially if kids are going to be in the picture later on. If everything is planned out ahead of time, you can genuinely enjoy your big day without any additional financial burdens on your shoulders!
Nickida
Nickida is a first-generation Trinidadian American wife and mother of four. She enjoys sharing recipes from her childhood growing up in Trinidad with her readers. Nickida has a son with Autism and shares posts around traveling with a child with special needs to help other families like her own. She loves television, movies and is a true 80's baby.
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