The awful truth is that weddings will always be expensive. Even if you go for a simple wedding with only your closest friends and family as guests, you’d still shell out a couple of thousands of dollars for the permits, food, and dress. But what if your bride wants a particular kind of wedding? What if she has dreamed all her life to marry in a garden with some 100 guests in attendance? What if she is dreaming of a destination wedding? Surely, you want to give it a try, right?
Here’s a little nugget of truth: it doesn’t matter how grand the wedding is; if you are with the right person, even the parking lot will feel grand. That being said, there is also nothing wrong with trying to give your bride the wedding that you think she deserves. Talk to her about it. Find out what she wants and give it a shot anyway. Save up for it.
Not the Emergency Fund
Your emergency fund is not the savings account you need for your bride’s dream wedding. You need a separate one for that. Also, your bride won’t appreciate you using the emergency fund to pay off wedding suppliers. You never know when you might need that money a year or two into your marriage.
Open a Separate Account
So when’s the wedding? Whether it’s a few months or a year from now, it’s important to have a separate savings account for that. This way, you can deposit money into this account without being tempted to use the said money for your regular expenses. When you open a separate account for your wedding budget, make sure that it is for your wedding, and you will not use it for anything else.
Find Excess Money
Where can you get the excess money you need to save for your bride’s dream wedding? Are you expecting a windfall? Is there, perhaps, something you can do to save on your personal and business expenses? You can save your tax refund for your wedding if you don’t use it for anything else anyway.
Plus, you can hire a capital allowance company to look into your business and find out how you can save on taxes. The money you’re otherwise paying for business taxes can go to your wedding budget. Capital allowance refers to the depreciation of equipment in your store or office. Surely, you have some old equipment in your business that you can claim a capital allowance on. That will save a ton of cash.
Prioritize Budgeting for the Wedding
It is easy to say to save for the wedding, but it’s much harder to do it. Do not be tempted by anything else other than saving for your wedding. If there’s a new game console in the market, forget about it for now. Focus on saving for the dream wedding you want for your bride. Keep the wedding in mind every time there’s a temptation to buy a new pair of rubber shoes or a new computer game.
Another use of prioritization is to ask your bride to list down her needs and wants. Does she want more guests or a more expensive dress? Does she need to have an open bar for the wedding? Perhaps, controlling the flow of food and drinks is the key to a more cost-effective party. Or, you can eliminate having a live band for the wedding. Hiring a DJ, for example, may be more economical.
Find X-deals
What kind of business or work are you involved in? Do you specialize, for example, in web design? Can you use that as leverage to get that photographer your bride wants? You can offer the wedding supplier your own service or products in exchange for a discount. This happens all the time, and there is nothing unusual about negotiating with wedding suppliers. They might actually be surprised if you do not negotiate.
Get a Side Hustle
This is a no-brainer. The simple solution to saving for your bride’s dream wedding is to earn more. The more you earn, the more you can save. Of course, it is also not an easy solution seeing as that you might already be spending most of your hours on your regular work. You can try signing up as an Uber driver or doing some online work before bed.
There is always a way to afford the wedding your bride wants. And even if you cannot exactly afford it, it’s not the end of the world. Your bride will surely understand the practicality of not getting into debt because of a wedding.
