

By deciding, as a team, what was the best experience for all involved, it made the stress less chaotic. They knew they wanted to spend less, and in the end, they had 65 friends and family members who flew to this small island nation. Her first tip for couples is to have an open, honest, and realistic conversation about the location, the size, and the nuts-and-bolts of the big day. But the choice wasn’t only up to her, but her future husband too. This made it an ideal spot for a destination celebration. Her dad was born and raised in this Central American country, but most of her family had never been.

Shana and Andrew decided to marry in Belize in 2017. Get on the same page about the size and location of the wedding.
#Wedding budget planning how to#
This is how you can select the highest quality and most cost-effective suppliers as you determine how to budget for your wedding. And when it comes to vendor prices, the more information you have, the better. Sarah, who works as an event planner, suggests using a budget tracker or Google spreadsheet to organize quotes, spending, and your budget. Fielding through options is how you arrive at the right fit is part of job searching and dating, as well as wedding planning. Do some comparison shopping.Ĭhances are high your soon-to-be-spouse wasn’t the very first person you dated, ever. “It's unlikely you'll get to have everything you want-but if you can, that's awesome, and you do you-so you should allocate a budget to what matters most, and forgo spending on things that you're not going to miss,” she adds. As Abby explains, when you continuously try to measure up, you lose sight of the fact that first and foremost, you’re marrying the love of your life, and secondly, that weddings are expensive and some couples don’t get to have one at all. Abby and Jack intend to wed in September 2021, and they’ve done all they can to be grateful for anything and everything they have. It’s helpful to see what others have pulled off, but it’s also important to not compare your budget to those featured on Instagram. While many have visions of what their celebration will look like, it’s not until it’s officially on the horizon that you make decisions. More so, we just wanted to know so we could take the next steps to book our date, venue, vendors, and so on.” Don’t get sucked into the cycle of comparison.įor many freshly engaged couples, browsing the web for inspiration is how the planning process begins. “We purely expressed our gratitude and then said there was no pressure on what their contributions amounted to. “An email format is always a good idea and allows time for them to think about it,” she shared. Though Sarah admits it felt strange to bring up money matters, she said it was an essential first step in planning. Because of this, the newlyweds were able to afford the honeymoon of their dreams in Mauritius.Įven with the generosity of her family members, they still needed to have a budget discussion. Sarah says they felt very grateful for contributions from her mother, father, and mother-in-law, which covered nearly all expenses for their big day. They said ‘I do’ in their home country of South Africa on September 29, 2018. Take, for instance, Sarah and her husband, David. Modern couples have challenged these customs, but some still decide to honor them. And if you want to get nit-picky about it, the bride’s family pays for the ceremony and the reception, while the groom’s parents fork over the change for the rehearsal dinner. Traditionally, parents pay for their children’s weddings. Have an open discussion with your family on their contributions. Here, real couples share how to navigate this conversation to figure out how to budget for a wedding and maintain the sanity of your relationship. And when you consider an expensive investment like a wedding, it’s bound to stir up mixed emotions and sometimes, heated disagreements. Many couples bicker about spending, savings and goals.

And part of a healthy marital dynamic is having open, candid discussions about both the good stuff, and the anxiety-inducing stuff, like how to budget for a wedding. You're excited about what the future holds, looking forward to spending their lives together, and of course, ready for a party. Getting engaged is an incredibly unique time for couples.
