OUR Wedding and Finances, the obvious truth!

Hi friends! It’s been a while since I have share with all of you here on Saving For Hope. The reason for that is that I been a bit busy pre-planning my wedding. Yes!!! You heard right, wedding. My gorgeous fiancée and I are getting ready to tie the knot. As we get ready for that special day, I’ll like to share a few tips that I have learned so far.

After all the excitement of sharing the great news with your loved ones and the hype of the moment cools down, true wedding planning begins. The very first thing that my fiancée and I talked about once we sat down was THE NUMBER. “What’s the number?” You may ask. THE NUMBER is the ultimate amount that you two, as a couple, are willing to spend on your wedding. Before going to see venues, wedding dresses, or decorations it is very important to settle down on a specific number. Click To Tweet Do not go shopping for anything for the wedding until you both agree on that number. Choosing a number before going shopping allows you to have a clear mind. Weddings are special, but they are also expensive. You don’t want wedding venues and wedding cake makers to be dictating how much you should be spending on your wedding. Understanding the number gives you leverage in all pre-visits and conversations that entails wedding prices and bargain. Knowing the number enables you in a lot of decision making that would primarily benefit you and your future spouse.

FURNITURE is another hot topic among newlyweds. Since you two are planning on living together, it is more than likely that the furniture that both of you own will change (fellas, most likely it would be yours.) These changes are normal and common. One of the things that my fiancée and I have planned is a garage sale. We are combining most of our furniture and selling it before our wedding. All the money gained from this garage sale will go towards wedding expenses. Not only will this help us raise money for our wedding, but it will clear our new house from things that we don’t need and open space for new furniture as newlyweds.

In this process, I have realized that weddings are expensive. It is ridiculous the amount of money that couples must spend for an event that will only last a total of 5 hours. Click To Tweet While all the focus goes to plan the big day, many forget about the event that happens afterwards, the honeymoon. Couples not only forget to budget for their honeymoon but underestimate its expenses. It is recommended for the honeymoon to be included in THE NUMBER that I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Including the honeymoon will ensure you and your future spouse a well-deserved restful time with each other. Since my fiancée and I have no need for furniture, we will not be registering for gifts, but instead, we will be doing a HONEYMOON REGISTRY. There are many apps and websites that can help you with this. Some of the apps lets you set a minimum amount to give. This is an easy way to have your friends give you cash and help you out with the wedding. We are currently using Newlywed Fund.

What I have also seen helpful is SET YOUR OWN PRICES. Base your prices of services on your standards and not on the average of the current market. Wedding services should be approached like an auction, but one that truly benefits you both. Don’t concentrate too much on the average cost of things, but instead ask yourself how much you and your future spouse would be willing to spend on a given service. Who cares if the average cost of a DJ is $2,000? If you are not willing to pay that much, then don’t. Just because everyone is spending $2,000 on a DJ, doesn’t mean that you need to do the same thing. Without looking at the market, come up with a price that you and your future spouse are willing to pay and work with that price. This also applies for cakes and venues. Find what you want at the price that you want. In other words, not only you should get the wedding of your dreams, but you should also get it at the price that you dreamed of.

Friends, I hope these small tips help you in your endeavors. They are not perfect, but so far, they have helped my fiancée and I find our way in the pre-planning phase of our wedding. All journeys are different so please comment and share what helped you plan your wedding. What suggestions would you share with others to encourage on planning one of their most important days of their lives? If you were to change something during your pre-planning phase of your wedding, what would it be? Enjoy!

Read Part II of this post HERE.

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Santos A. O’Neill, a contributor to this blog, is a senior educator and post-graduate student that works with teens and young adults as they equip to go to college. He also works as a high school teacher and an athletic coach.

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