Financing a Wedding
October 13th, 2006 @ 5:30 pm by Mrs. Plum
How did you pay for your wedding?
So far, my Fiance and I have been paying straight cash for everything or charging it (for protection purposes) and then immediately paying it off. We are planning and paying for not one, but two weddings with two different sets of vendors. However, it’s been a bit frustrating for me because I am not used to living check to check.
All of my vendors have approximately the same payment schedule so every couple of weeks, the next installment of several hundreds to thousands of dollars is due - an extreme source of stress. In December/January, my venue’s second payment, my final gown payment (when the dress comes in), and my photographer’s second installments are all due - this comes to around $8k in payments at once. Wouldn’t that freak you out as well?
I’m one of those people who feels uncomfortable leaving a revolving balance on my credit card month to month. My Fiance tells me I’m weird. 
However, most of my stress has come from the inability to make a decision on the vendors that are left. No doubt - booking the reception/ceremony venue was the most stressful/difficult part of the entire process. Thank goodness that part is over!
After being frustrated with working so hard and then having all of that money fly immediately out of my pocket and towards the black hole that is our wedding, I decided to take out a personal loan for the wedding.
It ended up not being as scary as it initially sounded.
I always thought loans were for people who were in debt, but that’s not always true. It builds up credit, gives you some breathing room and allows you to spend on other things - it’s been a major stress reliever for me. I definitely recommend it if you have carefully budgeted out your wedding, and know you can afford it, but just need some breathing room.
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17 Responses to “Financing a Wedding”
We are also working on keeping costs of day to day living down.. even eating Healthy choice and Lean Gourmet which is actually pretty good and helps keep the diet balanced.
I opened a Discover card last year, and they’ve offered me a 3.9% rate up til March 2007. You also get 5% back which I just put towards the balanced. I can relate to Miss Plum in worrying about wedding costs.. Sometimes it’s pretty frustrating.. at the end I have to keep the end goal in mind 
Where did you get your personal loan?
Not carrying a ccard balance isn’t weird, it’s financially responsible!! Go you. Loan repayment rates are FAR lower than credit card interest rates.
i always clear my balance at the end of the month. i hate carrying a balance so you’re not weird. you’re very smart.
while i’m not engaged, i know me and my bf will be getting married sometime in the future so i decided to start saving for any future wedding and house payments. i opened an ing account at the beginning of the year and while i haven’t been actively putting money aside like i should [aside from my automatic monthly deposits] it’s nice to know that i’ll have some cash to contribute when it is time to start planning for real.
All I will say is ING rocks. The interest rate on their saving accounts are phenominal. The only downside is it takes few days to cash it out and so, you need to schedule any withdrawal in advance.
You’re not weird Miss Plum. I don’t like to carry balances on my credit cards either. I just get too paranoid about not being able to pay off the debt. Plus, I think APR rates are a waste of money, but that’s just me. I’m glad you are able to pay off the wedding (even if it’s just barely). Maybe there could be a “Reader Buzz” on this topic, I’d like to know how other couples pay for their wedding. I’m not close to getting married yet but I always fear I’ll never get married ’cause I won’t ever have enough money saved! =(
I don’t carryover balances on my credit cards either. Everything for the wedding came from me, my parents or the hubby himself. Before the wedding I stopped shopping (as in buying non-essential stuff) for about a year. And no trips, cut back on eating out, movies etc etc. Yes indeed, we led a boring life!=P
My Fi and I are paying for our destination wedding in Hawaii. We both started our own savings account at least a year ago and are using the money to pay for anything wedding related. We are still adding money in every month and hopefully we’ll have enough.
Miss Plum, its great that you don’t want to carry a balance. That’s smart and I try to do the same. Good luck with everything.
We’ve opened cc’s that have zero percent for one year. After the one year rolls around we will be using our cash from relatives to pay off the debt. In my family we always give cash wedding gifts bc we know how expensive it can be. Most of it will be paying itself and any extra payments will be made by us. I’ve had an ING account for two years now and it’s a great. I’ve earned more there in one year than I have earned in 3 years that I’ve had my bofa account. My fi and I also have other basket funds that we put money into like IRA, Money market, leisure, checking, savings just so to be safe. I know it seems a lot but your investing in your family’s future. Putting a little away each month in diff accounts I worth it in the end.
I would suggest an E-Savings account at Citibank. It gives you 5% interest with no minimum requirements. You can deposit and withdraw money at any Citibank branch too!
We are also living off of one income alone - mine. Plus some student loans that my fiance has while in law school. Sometimes the topic comes up about why he doesn’t work - well, if you were in law school you’d have an idea. Also, if you made it onto the Law Review at your school you’d have an even better idea. It’s insane how many hours a week he works on school related responsibilities. Thankfully, this semester the firm that hired him for next year is having him do some writing for them. That’s wedding money in the bank! It’s a huge relief, even though in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t seem like much, because living paycheck to paycheck for three full years is extremely draining in every possible way.
I had no idea what an expensive endeavor planning a wedding would become. I knew it would cost a lot, but we’re looking at $25K - which is more than I spent on yearly college tuition. Our parents have been instrumental in helping us secure vendors. They’ve really come to our aid and without us even asking for it. In the end it will be ok because our income is on the verge of tripling, but right now - it’s very tough going.
I have always been a saver. So I started estimating my wedding budget before our engagement. By the way having a small wedding (40-50) and cutting out the B-list guests really eases the budget. This allows me to hire quality vendors that my heart feels “right”. Unfortunately a lot of the decisions are intuitive so it’s hard to stick to a budget. Like many brides I useded an internet budget calculator, which is based on your budget and determines how much to spend between different vendors. But I have only taken the budget as a guideline, as to how much I can spend “max” on each item. So far I’m under the estimated budget, which is good, and therefore able to indulge and go over the limit set for certain things, (such as a dream team for hair and makeup, yes priorities ladies)
I just got married in August, it was a small wedding 200 guests, my parents footed the whole bill but I don’t think we ended up paying over 7,000 for the whole thing..
200 guests is small lol?
Mine must be tini tiny then with just 110.
ryc: lol 200 guests is definitely not small by any means - we’re having 100 guests at the Friday’s wedding and around 300 on Saturday’ s wedding reception 
I went to a few weddings over the past while and the trend is now smaller ones. Cheaper halls rented and a small family gathering. We’re talking forty people and it was STILL a great event. This thing you’re doing, it’s wonderful but if you aren’t enjoying the results then what’s the point? As long as you know WHO the wedding is for and WHY you want it the size you have it and feel GOOD about all that…you’ll have a wonderful one. Big or small. It all boils down to you and him.
Hey Miss Plum. My FI and I did something similar in terms of taking out a personal loan… except that we did a home equity loan, which is in theory, the same thing, since we did it to pay off wedding costs and give us some breathing room instead of having to live paycheck to paycheck. Good luck to everyone who’s saving for their wedding!
Mrs. Plum, Dallas
Age and Occupation in 06: 22, Accountant by day/Floral and Event Designer by night and weekends
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Security Admin
Engagement Date: December 31, 2004
Wedding Date: June 29, 2007
Venue: Marie Gabrielle Restaurant and Gardens
About Me: I have been engaged for about two years now - yes, a long engagement, because my fiance and I wanted to wait until I graduated college, which I did this past summer! He proposed after dating just two months - crazy, I know, but 2 years later, here we are, still crazy in love :-). We are having not one, but TWO weddings and TWO receptions in one weekend - American-style and Vietnamese-style - in Dallas, Texas, where I was born and raised!
We’re living off of one income.
We put the majority of my check into ING savings.
Which had a 4.95 interest rate when we opened it.
We also opened up a Amex Blue card with 9 percent APR. I marked in my google calendar when 0 percent ends. I’ll then close that card and open another.
Each vendor that we pay the deposit for we
either use that credit card or move money from ING into my checking and write a check.
Also were not eating our or basically doing anything till the wedding.
No vacations, no presents etc.