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Is The Economy Raining on Your Wedding Day?
In these hard economic times, everyone seems to be getting more and more frugal. If you find yourself engaged, you may be rethinking whether or not the marriage you always dreamed of is even a possibility with the economy in shambles.
If you don’t want the gloomy economy to rain on your wedding day, there are still options to tying the knot without giving up your dream I do’s. You first will need to come to terms with what your actual budget will be. Don’t inflate it or plan to fall back on spare finances to get a larger budget on paper. Thinking you can use credit cards to fund certain must haves will only seriously add to your financial stresses. Since money matters are well documented as the primary cause of marital stress and divorce, why start out with debt hanging your head from the beginning? Adding to your debt and potentially ruining your credit will only make the economy troubles compounded for you and the person you want to spend your life and retirement with. Being realistic about what you can really afford is truly the only way to go about planning a wedding in a harsh economic climate.
If there are certain aspects of the big day you just can not compromise on despite your financial outlook, narrow down the must haves. You can discipline yourself enough to pick two or three things regarding your wedding that you are willing to splurge on and find a way to cheaply outsource the rest. This may spark your creative side. If you absolutely have to have the most expensive dress you tried on, skimp on the veil, shoes or jewelry. There are plenty of ways to do this without looking cheap. You can find a friend who is capable of creating a veil for you or go with the classic ring of flowers. Ask a friend or family member to lend you their prized or classic jewelry for the ceremony. Finding a cheap pair of shoes is easy enough to do when you realize most people will never notice your shoes anyway. Go for in season cheaper flowers rather than elaborate ones which will die off in the same amount of time.
There are other cost effective ways to go about getting married during a tough economy. Find duality where it is. Rent a function hall for the reception that can double as the ceremony location. Look into your pool of friends and work associates, especially higher ups, for wonderfully large homes where you could host the event. You can negotiate a small fee and actually rent a home for the ceremony and reception. When you find a place which can double as both you also will save on decorations. Use the same décor for both the ceremony and reception. Asking someone to donate the use of their classic car for the wedding party rather than paying for limos will also alleviate financial stress. Tapping into the hidden talents of your friends as far as food, favors, or decorating ideas is also a creative way to get the expensive looking wedding you can’t afford.
If you don’t want to postpone the big day due to the economy, ask for the financial help you really need. Instead of guest buying individual gifts for you, ask your friends to pool their gift money together to pay for the wine or ask family to pool together to pay for the hotel stay. Asking for one group to pay for the photographer or wedding cake will help you check things off your budget list. This might seem tasteless to some who adhere to strict rules of etiquette; but done in a dignified and organized way, it can lift a real burden off your shoulders. Having one part of your wedding paid for rather than ten toasters to return is much more appealing to any wedding couple in good economic times or bad times.
