Wedding tips

GETTING married and planning the wedding is an exciting time, but weddings can also be very costly. To make sure that you and your partner have the perfect wedding, without paying it off for years into your marriage, make sure that you plan your finances carefully.

“Having a beautiful wedding is important because those memories will last a lifetime. However, newly engaged couples need to take care not to break the bank. It’s amazing how planning can have a big and positive effect on your wedding budget,” says Eunice Sibiya – Head of Consumer Education at FNB.

Sibiya explains in four simple steps how to keep your wedding within a budget:

Set your budget, and do your research

Whether large or small, weddings require a lot of time, thought and attention to detail and mostly importantly, a water-tight budget.

You need to have financial discussions as soon as you start to plan. Will you and your partner be paying for the entire wedding, will family members help and if so, how much will they be able to afford?

“All these discussions need to happen as soon as possible so that you can determine your budget,” says Sibiya.

Once you have an understanding of how much you are going to spend you can start doing your research, and plan accordingly. A contingency amount that is accessible is great in case your costs exceed your initial budget.

Decide on three big things to spend on and stick to them

From the beginning you need to identify what is important to you as the bride, however, do not exceed your budget and enter your marriage on a negative balance.

“Every bride is different – so one bride might not be worried about having a fancy wedding dress, but she might want an extremely glamorous venue, whilst another one might want extravagant decor. The point is you need to assess your finances and settle for what you can afford without ‘breaking the bank’,” says Sibiya.

Always shop around for suppliers

Your suppliers can either make or break your wedding, so it is really important to shop around. A wedding planner for instance, will add their professionalism and make your event world class, however if you want to take on the wedding yourself, you will need to research vendors, set up meetings with them and compare prices.

“Without a wedding planner you have to be very careful with pricing because there are other factors that you need to consider when sourcing a service provider, for example: are they adequately experienced, will you be getting quality materials for your money and what else will be included in the package that you are paying for. All these factors will indicate whether you are receiving good value for money,” says Sibiya.

Tap into your network

Have a good look at your circle of friends to see how you can leverage off their skills or contacts. Services such as photography, wedding invitations, bridal make-up, DJ and entertainment, can definitely be assigned to your friends. It is easier to convince these people in your life to offer their services at a discount or as a gift to you.

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your network, you would be surprised at how people are willing to help and contribute their skills to your special day,” says Sibiya.

Arranging and planning for your wedding in a structured way will help you save where you can.

Being organised and booking things far in advance is one way to negotiate discounts and save money.

“Your wedding will only last for a few hours, but with attention to the details and good planning it is sure to be one of the best days of your life. What’s more important is to start your marriage on a financially secure footing; because the last thing you want is for your wedding to be a reminder of how you got yourself in debt,” concludes Sibiya.