- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Fortunately, my parents are paying for our wedding, but if we had to go out of pocket, we would either do something extremely small or just elope. I'm not trying to sound judgey here, but do you really want to start your marriage $20K in debt for a wedding?
The only reason I say this is FI's brother is getting married 2 months before us and they are doing exactly that - going into $30K debt, which they are putting on a credit card. We feel terrible for them and now see how it is causing them so much stress, but at this point its too late.
Here is a different idea for you - are you or your FI maxing out your 401K? If so, its possible with some 401K structures (Fidelity typically offers this) to take out a no interest loan. Basically, you would be pulling tax free dollars out of your 401K (not the best idea, but at least you won't pay interest) and then you set up a plan to pay yourself back out of each paycheck. That would be an option to take out a loan, but do so without it appearing on your credit report and also not put you in real debt since technically you are borrowing from yourselves. If something happened and you couldn't pay it back, you would only owe the taxes on it since it was tax free money.
I really feel for you if you go this route, but make sure its something you BOTH really want. We've seen this tear couples apart when its too late to turn back in terms of their own $$ spent on a wedding.
I wish you luck though!
Basically we are spending our savings my fiance is still in school and works part time. I work full time and I just picked up another job working prn. So that we will still have money in savings after the wedding I started a new savings account I still put money away each pay but just half as much as before.
My folks are giving us roughly $10 gran. We estimate that our wedding will cost around 30 gran. We decided to live on one pay check and put away the other for wedding expenses. If things get really stressful or tight, I plan to borrow a little bit of money from my 401 k...again this is last resort. We plan not to charge on credit cards and will attempt to pay everything on cash.
We have a $5k budget (seems like a drop in the bucket compared to you girls). I'm trying to get a job as I've been unemployed since Dec '08. We're living with FIL's to save money and FI is just going to hand over a couple paychecks (or parts of several) to pay for everything. If I can get a job then I'll pay a lot toward it and put some away for the college course I want to take. My dad is giving us $2k this weekend and some is going to be paid from that. It will be replaced though so that we can use it for the honeymoon.
We're paying for our wedding too. (Actually, I'm the one paying for everything.) Luckily, I finished making payments on my car 4 months after we got engaged, so that all goes into savings. I have also gotten a raise since we got engaged - that goes into savings as well. I also took a second job waiting tables on Saturdays, in addition to my full time M-F job. I put almost all of my tax money into savings too. So all of this, combined with a 17 month engagement, has allowed me to pay for everything. And so far nothing has gone on a credit card!
We're paying for our wedding also. We have each been saving $50/week since Feb. 2009 and this week we bumped it up to $70/week and then in January we'll bump it up to $100/week. That'll give us just over $14,000 plus a few things we've already paid for deposit on my dress and the photog.
We're definately cutting back but its not been too bad. We have it all set up online so it automatically comes out on fridays and that helps us not skip any payments.
Since we are paying for most of the wedding we are going to have a 1 1/2 long engagement! We decided to do it this way because the area we live in is sooo expensive! We figured if we have that long to save we should be able to have enough for everything we want-within reason of course!
FI and I actually opened an ING account and have an automatic withdrawal from our accounts. We treat it as it's another bill. We learned to live on a lot less and make lunches every day and not go out as much. It's good because as soon as we get married and have a house we are going to have to live like this anyway.
our wedding will be approximately $30,000-$35,000 including our honeymoon.
FI did a really good job saving and has already put down $20,000 on our first home (we moved in last august)
AND he also paid off my engagement ring and band within a month of purchasing it.
FILs are paying for flowers ($1700), photog ($2500), shower ($1500), rehearsal dinner ($1500)
Total – 7200
My parents are paying for 60% of the reception ($9000), half of my dress ($600), ceremony ($200)
Total – 9800
FI and Iare paying for 40% of the reception ($7500), honeymoon ($5000), limo ($600), dress ($600), cake ($500), hair & makeup ($800), misc. items ($200)
Total – 15200
We are very fortunate to have our parents helping us and that we both (timing-wise) have good jobs that help us to pay our bills and still put money towards the wedding every month. Between the little boost ahead with my tax returns, i've been able to pay for things as they come up with my paychecks. FI and I both don't go shopping anymore for leisure, we pack our lunches every day, and we try not to eat out more a couple of times a month. We watch dvd's at home instead of going to the movies and we cut coupons and stock up on groceries when we can :)
FI definitely laid the foundation to being able to have my dream wedding a long time ago! :D
We are also very lucky to have our parents helping. Our total budget is somewhere around $45,000.
My father is paying for catering and venue - about $25k
FI's mom + step-dad are paying for alcohol and all pre- and post-wedding events $5k
We are footing the bill for the rest - about $15k give or take.
It's been tough, but we were doing really well - we were saving $1500+ a month and were on track to pay everything with cash and owe nothing, but my commissions went down the toilet and FI was miserable at his job and had to leave and is making less than half of his previous salary now. (This happened about a month ago). It's been a really stressful time since then and has totally thrown our plan out of whack. We are now $6k short and I don't know where that money's going to come from. :-/
We are paying for the wedding ourselves and are trying to keep it under $15K. I am DIY alot of things hoping to save some money and since we are having the reception at a family ranch, we don't have venue costs, whih helps alot.
I am a big shopaholic but I find that now when I am tempted to buy something I usually think, nah, those dollars could go towards the wedding! We are also saving our tax refund for wedding expenses.
We are eating out less, cooking all our meals for the week on Sunday afternoon so we have no excuse to eat out, I'm only going to Starbucks twice a week (on the days I start work super early) and we have added several more egg meals a week! Good luck saving!
FI and I are just working on saving more and spending less. Our budget is much smaller than some of the other gals on here, but we are also planning a more intimate affair of 125 people. Our geographic location probably also plays into cost as well. I've learned so far in the process I am a minimalist and therefore a lot of the design and creativity that I am coming up with is beautiful in its own way without being over bearing or excessive. Luckily, my parents are helping with the food/hall. - And my job offers a lot of overtime right now and also monthly incentives that really really boost up the bank account. I cannot fathom putting this wedding on credit. Credit would just put us into trouble that we don't need soon after marriage. (Much like the rest of the country is already dealing with!) Especially since the fun will be for 1-3 days and the debt will linger for years...
Well, I've managed to save up 5k by moving in with the parents and putting the money I used to spend on rent in the stock market.
I know, that's not a sexy answer, but it works. I do NOT have a high-paying job, so rent was pretty much sinking me every month.
My parents will be paying for most of the wedding and reception, but my fiancee and I need to pay for my dress, honeymoon, rings...etc.
First off, we're paying cash for everything. We are not putting one single thing on a credit card. If we can't pay cash for it, we're not getting it. Because we refuse to go into debt for the wedding.
Our budget is around $15k. His family is going to contribute some (I'm not sure how much yet) and my mom is contributing just a little bit.
As far as how we save for our part, we opened a wedding-only savings account. I contribute a lot more to it than the boy does, simply because I make more than he does. I also make money from my fashion blog that goes directly to the wedding fund. That's been really helpful; I was able to save up $6k in just a few months from blog money alone.
We are working from a base of $15K that is in savings for big ticket items (venue, ceremony, reception, rentals, catering, florist). That is made up of money from various work bonuses and money from my dad.
Other small things (invitations, favors, misc paper products, decor) are being bought as we go along and I find good deals. I'll tally up the cost for all this stuff when its all said and done.
I've also got small amounts of money coming out of my check and going into a wedding savings account. This is the "do not touch until its an emergency" money for unexpected things that come up at the last minute.
Our total budget including wedding bands, rehearsal dinner, and honeymoon is 19k. My parents are kicking in 7k, his mom is giving us 1k, and we're doing 11k. Our money comes from our tax returns + 800/mo we put in savings. We just have it coming out automatically so its not even an option to not do it.
Our wedding is going to be very simple, it will probably be only $25K.
My fiance and I made huge sacrifices. We cut off our cable, lessened the amount of times we eat out, I haven't been to the hair salon in months (usually I go every three or four months... it has been eight), I also haven't bought new clothes in months. We also decreased the amount of gifts we give to others, which we discovered after totalling everything, we were spending hundreds of dollars on gifts every month. My fiance has a HUGE family and there's always a birthday, baptism, graduation, house warming, anniversary, etc. that we have to attend. We were being bled dry from all those gift-required events.
All these little things do add up and we found that sacrificing these allowed us to put money away for our wedding. We're also lucky because his parents and my parents are assisting us with the cost, so we don't have to dip into our savings.
we are paying for the wedding too. except...my father is paying for the venue and FI father is paying for the catering (supposivly...he has been flaky so we will see).
we are very fortunate to both have great jobs with decent pay. we have been able to save enough money for a 20% down on the house and also to pay for the wedding. we are so very fortunate and are very grateful for our situation. but this is not all due to luck and has not come easily. we both worked two jobs while getting our bachelors and got tons of experience to make us more marketable. we also dont eat out (with the exception of the occassionaly lunch or dinenr date), we discuss every purchase with eachother, if we dont have the cash for it we dont buy it (with the exception of our house of course); we are very frugal people. one more thing that has been a big saver for us is not buying any morning coffee! FI does not drink coffee and we have a coffee fee at work. $3 a month for all the coffee you desire! huge savings there!
I wish you ladies all the luck!
oh yeah...we are keeping everything under $5,000 excluding our honeymoon :D
well.. FHs savings are being put towards paying for the reception and the DJ, so he has been saving for that and he has saved past what was the minimum which is great, so wedding stuff is a little less stressful knowing that the reception is actually covered.
I pay for any decorations,(all DIY) paper goods(all DIY), photographer (family friend who used to be professional photographer) and videographer (close friend who usually charges the arm and a leg for his services has given the price 1/4 of what he usually charges) so those things have been a relief. I try and do it every fortnight i.e pay off one thing in full or deposit. Mostly my bank account is pretty low.. all the time, I cover rent and bills 50/50 with FH and FH likes to pay for dinner if we go out or he thinks I need something. i.e me actually getting my haircut, couldnt afford it, he paid for it.
Im cutting back on things like that.. i used to go every six weeks to get my haircut.. I dont now.. once every 10 weeks sometimes longer, less money on clothes (reformed shopaholic) no shoe shopping whatsover.. no takeaway lunch if im running late for a meeting. Simple things. Also shopping on discount days and we only buy sale items when food shopping. Sounds crazy but it has shaved an estimate of 45.00 a week, which adds up in the end!
Also, maybe this is silly, but I forbid myself to go to Sephora or Ulta for six months while I was savings. When I looked at my receipts, I realized I was spending RIDICULOUS amounts of money on make-up items that I don't need.
I now only buy mascara and make up at Target.
When I move in w/T June 1st, I'll be saving quite a bit. Over 3k a month. So that will go to our wedding plans until August and we'll be done :)
wow @ambereyes, you cut out cable! that's super impressive! i could never survive without it :(
I paid my credit card debt and a small personal loan off with my tax return this year and I'm using all of the payments I was making on those things to save for our wedding. I also cut my gym membership and run outside and utilize our free fitness center at our apartment complex. We eat out a lot less and I don't get my hair or nails done except on a rare occasion. I plan on putting my bonus and any merit increases towards wedding and then my tax return from next spring as well.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Lyndzo | 46 |
| funkymunky85 | 26 |
| AshleyR83 | 24 |
| rebwana | 24 |
| mypinkshoes | 23 |
| his chippymunk | 23 |
| Ms. Salamander | 23 |
| Brielle | 22 |
| beargoose | 22 |
| kat2014 | 22 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| fivemonthsnotice | 3 |
| eagle | 2 |
| ama0219 | 1 |
| StrwbryBlnde | 1 |
| kate02121 | 1 |
| KT808 | 1 |
| sienna76 | 1 |
| LammChop | 1 |
| canadianplum | 1 |
| Angelz_love | 1 |
Hi Bees,
I was just wondering how some of you are paying for the wedding. After an original budget of $20,000, I think it will likely be double that. I am the only one paying for this wedding because my fiance is saving for our second home. I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all the bills and the wedding expenses. Are you guys giving up Starbucks or making other sacrifices to pay for the wedding?