Having a wedding is an expense that not everyone can afford, although the lucky ones are often unprepared for the costs that await them.
From the top of my head I could already think of various costs; wedding cars, wedding dress, accommodation, reception, church and other garments, etc.
The fact is that a wedding is going to cost you a bomb, and preparing to bear such painful expenses in exchange for a special day is not exactly motivating, however, your future wife will surely thank you very much.
To be prepared…
Considering the average wedding costs around £20,000, it won’t exactly be cheap, so before you rush into your wedding it’s worth pausing and thinking about the financial costs of your celebration. After all, you don’t want the cost of your wedding swallowing up your wallet and leaving you in financial difficulty for the rest of your days, that would be a waste.
Going into debt is a no no
If possible, avoid borrowing money altogether because you don’t want to start your married life in debt or have to pay off loans that could have been avoided.
Know your budget, spend it wisely
Once you’ve identified your budget, the goal is to figure out all of your wedding costs and what you can actually spend without running into a financial crisis. First, needs must be met; trainers, rings, cakes, etc. Also discuss between you and your fiancée and agree on what you want and what would be ideal. Keeping in mind that the cost of a venue can take a big chunk out of your budget, if not half, so make sure you choose your location wisely.
Discipline your expenses
When shopping for items for your wedding, you need to be disciplined in your spending, after all, it’s no good buying a £500 cake that guests can’t eat. Before investing in expensive products, they should ask themselves if it will be reused or if it can be found for another purpose, apart from this, is it worth the expense or could the money be better spent? (eg would it be worth paying £500 for the £500 cake?) And finally, is there a cheaper alternative? You should always shop around and pay as little as possible for something, as this is a great way to cut costs or stay within your budget.
Sometimes we all have to make sacrifices
While most people will have to cut back on their budget to ensure it is affordable, additional sacrifices still need to be made, such as lowering the costs of regular expenses. If your wedding date is a year away, you can find out how to save costs by breaking them down. That is, if you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, try cutting down to 15 or even 10 cigarettes a day and you’ll save half the cost.
(20 cigarettes = an average of £7.00, halved = £3.50, £3.50×365 = £1277.5) You can save over a thousand pounds in the space of a year without having to give up anything who enjoys
The end result may be that you have not succeeded in having the wedding of your dreams, however, this means that your budget will remain intact and you will not spend more than is affordable.
