Love is in the air! With Valentine’s Day approaching and spring time not far off, weddings become top of mind for many. A wedding is a wonderful expression of love between two people, and along with this expression can come great expense. Here are three practical ways to make sure your wedding stays free from financial stresses!
What is your must-have?
No matter where you are in the planning process, you and your partner must sit down and discuss what is important for your big day. Is it the DJ? The flowers? The band? The venue? List out two or three things each which you cannot imagine your wedding without. Once you know what is essential, deciding what is non-essential will not be as difficult.
Create a Spending Plan!
As fun as it sounds, one of the most important steps to creating a financially stress-free wedding is making a plan. Once you have decided what must be at your wedding, determine how much you plan to spend. If parents or other family members plan to contribute to your wedding financially, find out while you are creating a budget and not after you have paid for the wedding. This prevents division and confusion. Money can be contentious, and it may be difficult to discuss but you will not regret clearly outlining expectations for everyone.
Don’t do it alone!
There are a plethora of online tools, articles and resources for you. Research approximate costs when creating your budget, ask tons of questions and make the planning process a blast! Google has a great budget planning tool here: http://ow.ly/ITIWO and websites like Pinterest are great for do-it-yourself wedding ideas! https://www.pinterest.com/categories/weddings/. Researching costs will allow your spending plan to be realistic- don’t underestimate the costs of photographers and flowers. Spending plans don’t stop from spending, but rather spend on the important.
Wedding planning is notoriously stressful but if you research while making your spending plan, the financial stress can be eliminated. One less thing to think about as you celebrate this new and exciting journey!