How to Save for Your Wedding

When you think of the many things you must put in place to have the wedding of your dreams, you may consider eloping with your lover—especially with the current slow economy.

Don’t overthink this anyways! You can have an amazing wedding without breaking the bank by saving for it.  

However, saving for your wedding is not as simple as it sounds— it takes proper planning and discipline to be able to meet your target.

In the following, we’ll be sharing with you some tips to help you save for your wedding. These tips have worked for many couples and we believe they will work for you too. Here, you have them…

Create a Budget

Creating a wedding budget always tops the list whenever you think of your wedding finances. Nothing works well if you do not have an explicit wedding budget for all activities that will take place on your wedding day. 

Often you might exceed your budget slightly, but if you do not have a budget in the first place, you will spend way more than you envision.

One thing to note is that your wedding budget works effectively if it is workable and realistic. Ensure you know the costs of things before setting your budget so that you do not go overboard with the cost when planning. 

A budget has to involve both parties for it to be done right. Both of you need to come together and decide the type of wedding you want. 

Do you want an elaborate wedding involving almost everyone you know? Or is it a destination wedding with only a few of your families and friends? The kind of wedding you both want will determine your budget. 

You should also consider your guest list and the activities you want to engage in. All these will determine the budget to set. 

But much more than what you and your sweetheart want, you both have to consider your incomes. You can not simply base your budget on what you want and then ignore what you have. Think of how much each party can spare in the space of the preparation time. 

Then, you can move to make a per-person figure per guest. This will make the budget more realistic.

Also, remember to calculate those little expenses. The little expenses often get overlooked and eventually become huge when put together, thereby making you shoot over your budget. That being said and settled, you can move to the next step. 

Creating a Savings Plan

Now that your budget is set, it is time to break it down into a suitable saving plan. This is why it is essential to determine your income, as you can not save above what you have or can afford. 

Creating a savings plan is quite simple. Let the budget be (X). First, calculate how many months you have before the wedding(X). Divide the amount in the budget by the number of months you have till your wedding. (X/Y)

If you have contributions from people (Z), you can subtract it and your existing savings from your budget before dividing the amount by the number of months. (X-Z)

The total monthly savings will be (X-Z)/Y.

Once you know how much you have left to save, you can decide how to save it. The savings plan should be weekly or monthly according to when each party receives their income. 

Ensure the savings plan is realistic. It is considered realistic if you can consistently and conveniently hit monthly savings. If not, you might have to cut down on your budget or delay your wedding to a further time. 

Decide on a Savings Platform

When creating your savings plans, you should not overlook the question of where. Where and how you save is essential when saving. 

First, you must ensure that where you save is safe and reliable. It also has to be out of reach from your and your spouse’s daily spending; otherwise, you will unintentionally spend the savings. 

It is best to keep the savings in a separate savings account or money market account. For easy accessibility, you can consider a joint checking account.

Start Saving Immediately

What is the use of making all these plans if you will not take action immediately? Know this; the earlier you start to save, the more manageable your savings plans will be. 

Once you have a savings plan and an account to save the money, start without further delay. 

If you can, it is best to automate the savings so that you can start immediately and continue consistently. 

It is better to have enough money above the set budget than falling short of the budget. 

P. S. Also, remember that you will need money for the honeymoon as well, so if it is not part of the budget, add it. 

Save Consistently

This is the biggest step to meeting your target. Saving from an early time only works if you save consistently. 

As said before, it is best to opt for an automatic savings plan, but if you do not get that, you can look for another way to ensure it remains consistent. 

If your savings is not automated, you can set a recurring alarm or reminder to always remind you to save at the chosen time. 

Once you see the reminder, do not procrastinate and transfer immediately. You can also tell the bank to automatically transfer the specified amount each month if that is an option. 

Cut Down Your Expenses to Save More

Savings can be tricky sometimes. Even though you can conveniently afford the specified savings amount, you might still need to cut down on some expenses in case of emergencies. 

If you do not have extra money after saving this month, you might find it difficult to save the coming month.  

So, look for expenses you can do without for some time and cut them off your budget. It will not be easy, so you will have to make sacrifices. 

If you only cut down on little expenses, it might turn out the same, so look for the big expenses to put away. You can do without some subscriptions, eating out, and shopping sprees. 

You might have to postpone your honeymoon or temporarily reduce your retirement savings until after your wedding. 

As you go on in the planning, you might also have to cut down on some expenses in your wedding budget. You can also try some DIY and ask your friends to help out with their crafts to save costs. 

Save The Extra Cash

You are on a savings spree, meaning that for every extra cash you find, a certain percentage of it should go into your savings account. 

When you save every time you get extra cash, you might meet your target earlier than set and even have the cash to spare after all your wedding expenses have been paid. 

Then, you can use the extra to get yourselves a wedding gift or use the rest to start your married life. 

Look Out For Deals, Sales, and Discounts

While saving for the wedding, you should also look for ways to cut costs, and one of the best ways is to look for the best deals. You do not have to wait until the last minute to pay for everything, especially if you find a more suitable deal. 

If there is a discount sale on the flowers you want to use for the gifts you are getting for your guest, buy and keep them and ensure they will be in the best state until your wedding. If a designer is doing a trunk show, it is a perfect time to get clothes from them because it will be at a lower price.

The tricky part is ensuring that the item is still in the best condition on your D-day, especially if the sales deal happens months before your wedding. 

Some of the best items to buy beforehand are the wedding gown, veil, accessories, and gifts.

Pay Early

Even if you do not find deals, you should endeavor to pay your vendors early and also buy some items months before D-day. This will help you save costs in case of a price increase later. 

Also, some vendors charge less if you pay early enough; this can be the same for the hotel, venue, and other things you want to rent. 

However, for this to be a perfect option, you should be sure about your plans and have no intentions to change them. Because once you pay a vendor or buy some items, you will have to go out of your budget if you change your mind. 

If you save two years before the wedding day, you can start buying items and paying vendors a year to the day. This will ensure you are still in trend, and you are not likely to change your mind again. 

P.S.  Ensure the savings account is flexible, and you can withdraw as much as you want without any penalties. 

Conclusion

Saving for your wedding requires discipline and following the right steps. If you do not plan adequately, you will find yourself six months away from the day with only a small percentage of the budget. 

Make a reasonable budget,  create a savings plan, automate it if you can, ensure the savings are consistent, and save from any extra cash you get. With these, you will have enough or more for your wedding day.