Financial Advice For The Newly Engaged

I love talking wedding. Even more so when is about ours. Being able to think back and reminisce about those good ol' days. The stressing. The planning. The nerves. The outcome. So there was no surprise to my participation on this article being written up to help out the newly engaged. Hey, any opportunity I get to talk wedding I will certainly take. 

And just to clarify, this post goes out not only to the newly engaged but to any couple out there planning a wedding. These tips are just some of the things that worked for us and we hope they work for others as well.

We got engage back in 2009 and right away we knew that it was going to be a long engagement because we wanted to be able to save enough money to pay for our wedding upfront and not have wedding debt after the wedding. Especially since we were paying for all of it ourselves. 

A few weeks later I started my research on wedding planning and we decided to have a destination wedding. At first because we thought it could save us money. Who were we kidding. Now there, don't get me wrong. You can plan a reasonable destination wedding. However, in our case, as the weeks and months went by the ideas and must haves increased as well as our budget and guest list. If it weren't for that our cost would have been more then half of what it actually cost. Although, I'd say we saved a lot for several reasons.

-We had a long enough engagement in order to be able to save money. 

-We did a lot of DIY projects which is very popular nowadays. I say if it looks easy enough to do yourself it probably is. You don't need to be super creative you just need an inspiration and your ideas.

-Make a budget. Stick to your budget. It's easier said then down but you will be glad you did after all is done and over with.

-Keep in mind the things you think are really important to have. Rank them from most to least that way if you need to cut back on certain things you know where to cut from. 

-Research Research Research. Don't just go with the first company you find for supplies. Do your research. You may find better companies with nicer supplies and better deals. 

-Try to minimize paying with credit cards. The bill will add up eventually and the closer you get to the wedding the more difficult it'll be to pay them off because you'll find other things you want for your wedding. Trust me! 

-Break up your shopping list into categories such as "expensive items, must have, small details etc." and plan for when to buy them. It'll hurt your pockets less and you have time to shop around.

I'm sure that there are plenty of more advice out there and some will work better for some couples then others. I hope ours can help you plan your dream wedding while not breaking the bank ;)

Thank you Jenny for considering us for some financial advice. Stay tuned for the article release later this month!