A successful marriage is the result of several factors, including love, respect, and compatibility. If you want to make your marriage financially stronger as the wedding season approaches, have a look at these suggestions:
It is a good idea to understand your partner’s financial situation even before getting married. “It’s crucial to understand how the other half manages money before getting married. Learn about their finances and spending patterns. It’s possible that one is a huge spender while the other is a saver.
Tips for Saving Money on Your Dream Wedding
- Set a Budget
It is crucial to establish a budget and to follow it. It informs you of your current financial situation and your spending habits. You will never be able to take charge of your finances if you can’t create a budget. Therefore, create a budget and be sure to follow it.
- Open a Savings Account
Start a savings strategy as soon as you are able to avoid taking on debt to pay for your wedding. If both you and your fiancé start setting money aside on a regular basis into a designated savings account, you could find that money starts to accumulate rapidly.
- Cut Your Guest List
Given that you don’t want to offend anyone, this advice can be the most challenging to follow. Cutting one employee, though, might result in savings of hundreds of dollars. If you reduce a guest list from over a hundred to a few dozen, just think of the money you may save.
- Don’t Invest Irrationally
Make sure you take the time to understand where your money is going before making any investments. Do not make an investment just because it is a popular stock or because of the excitement around cryptocurrencies. Only invest in something after spending time learning about it and determining whether you enjoy it.
- Request favours from Friends
What serve as friends? This is the period when you can most effectively utilise your knowledgeable pals’ assistance. For instance, your friends are the ones who are most familiar with your musical preferences, and they may assist you with the music selection and perhaps serve as the event’s DJ. You’ll save a lot of your hard-earned money if you do this, I promise.
- Organizing Everything Beforehand
The cost of a wedding might involve a variety of items, such as gowns, bands, music, venues, food and beverages, photography, props, presents, moving into your new home, a honeymoon, future savings, furniture purchasing, and other expenditures
- Negotiate
Never forget that you are the one who controls the purse strings. Make those bridal shops, florists, caterers, limo services, and reception venues earn your business by making them compete with one another!
Planning a wedding: 10 Financial Mistakes to Avoid
1. Having trouble deciding on a Wedding Budget
This one may seem obvious, but not everyone does it especially after seeing how many couples spend more on their wedding than they had planned.
You need to perform some research on all the expenses related to organising your wedding, identify any areas where you might be able to cut costs, determine your existing financial condition, and eventually create an overall budget for your wedding.
Your first step is difficult to accomplish. Look, a lot of couples overspend on their wedding expenses. It’s normal. But the first step in avoiding any wedding budget errors is establishing a rough number that you are working with.
2. Lack of a prior Investing Strategy
You may organise your wedding finances by making wise investments in financial instruments like mutual funds and gold-based assets. Other high-return investments include some SIP plans that may provide returns of up to 28%. Investigating such worthwhile investment options in advance may be quite helpful for paying for wedding expenditures.
Find the best monthly investment plan that fits your financial needs in order to realise your ideal wedding without any hassles. To diversify your savings, it would be preferable to put a portion in gold bonds, a portion in SIPs and mutual funds.
3. Spending Excessively
The Mistake: We want our wedding day to be unforgettable and special. Something that is cherished and long-discussed by our visitors. But one of the biggest errors that newlyweds make is going into debt for their wedding or using retirement funds to pay for it.
4. Not Sharing Financial Responsibility
Did you and your spouse decide to divide the cost of the wedding? That’s wonderful information. But have you discovered how to do this in real-time? During this period, it’s crucial to be clear about financial obligations. You must talk about sharing all costs from the beginning and set up clear parameters for cost-covering. Making a wedding happen and handling the associated money may become quite stressful if this is not done.
It is advisable to make a detailed budget and discuss it with everyone who will be paying for the wedding. You may also create an excel document with a list of the costs and, after it is created, add the relevant names to it.
5. Not Keeping Track of Your Spending
At the absolute least, create a basic spreadsheet to monitor your budget before you spend a dime on your dream wedding.
Keeping track can prevent a tonne of difficulties and potential fights in the future, and you don’t even need to be extremely financially astute to pull this off! You may download a few useful wedding budget planning worksheets for free from our internet search results. One of our favourites will be linked below
6. Last-Minute Bookings
The vendors you were looking forward to hiring may not be available on your wedding day at such short notice if your wedding is just around the corner and you have not finalised things like wedding decor, caterers, florists, etc. Worse yet, you may have to pay double or triple the prices for not booking these services in advance.
The earlier you make your reservations when it comes to organising your wedding, whether it’s for the location, the caterer, or even your vacation, the better. When you reserve in advance, there is a good possibility that you may receive discounted pricing. In this manner, you will also have the time to conduct your research and, if necessary, cooperate with other sellers. Request price quotes from your various vendor alternatives, then pick the one that best suits your requirements and meets your budget.
7. Making rash decisions on the Wedding Planning
The hasty decisions that couples make regarding specific aspects of their wedding day contribute to some of the monetary blunders we see them making. Consideration should be given to any major purchases you make on your special day, such as your wedding gown, cake, decorations, musicians, live band, location, and other big-ticket things.
Refrain from being pressured into purchasing something you do not require or want. Making sure you and the other person are on the same page now will save money in the long run than changing your mind later. When making purchases for your wedding, it’s crucial to wait until you are very certain that you want them.
8. Buying Things rather than Renting
Spending all of your funds on your wedding setup rather than just renting the items you’ll need once is a certain way to have buyer’s remorse and develop a hoarding issue after the wedding.
The best course of action is to buy and keep some of the most sentimental or significant objects. However, what in the world are you going to do with 70 candlesticks, vases, or tablecloths after your wedding?
Yes, you could venture into the depths of Facebook Marketplace and try your luck, but it would be worth you simply to start off by saving a little more cash and avoiding these wedding budget blunders.
9. Ignoring the fact that the Wedding is about you
The Error: Everyone wants their special day to be free of family disputes, but keep in mind that your wedding should reflect you. Any suggestion, no matter how well-intentioned, might make you feel compelled to change the event in a way that doesn’t feel appropriate.
10. Lack of A Clearly Defined Contract For Wedding Vendors
When couples try to save money by employing friends or relatives to provide wedding services on their big day, this frequently occurs.
You could receive a discounted rate on services or perhaps be given anything for free as a wedding gift in an effort to attain “mates rates.” While this can be acceptable, a lack of a contract could lead to future problems and possibly cost you money.
Even if it might seem little, you should be certain of the details of the agreement your provider made on the spot and have a written record of it.
5 Stunning Indian Destination Wedding Locations
1. Jaipur
The “pink city” of Jaipur is an ultimate destination for those who want to get married amidst sheer royalty. The city ranges from authentic ornate palaces like Raj Palace, Rambagh Palace, and Jai Mahal Palace – to stunning old mansions. For people seeking less expensive options, Jaipur features lots of old mansions to be ideal for it. Alsisar Haveli and Mandawa Haveli are some of the greatest choices and if you want your wedding in a heritage venue, Samode Palace is a place for you.
Some of the most popular wedding locations in Jaipur are: Taj Jai Mahal Palace, Pride Amber Vilas Resort, Chomu Palace, Fairmont Jaipur, Samode Palace, Oberoi Rajvilas Palace, Rambagh Palace and Alsisar Haveli
2. Jodhpur
The “Blue City” of Jodhpur is home to a number of graceful palaces, magnificent forts and breathtaking temples and offers a picture-perfect and awe-inspiring setting for a royal wedding. The historical splendor, delicate art-crafts and folk music make the atmosphere of the city actually romantic and vivacious. For your fairytale wedding in India, it is an ideal place to get married in a royal way. Experience the charm of the bygone era of Rajasthan and take the oath of lifetime togetherness.
Some of the best wedding venues in Jodhpur are: Umaid Bhawan Palace, The Balsamand Lake, The Taj Hari Mahal and Ajit Bhawan, which are known for exemplifying the local flavors and culture of the state.
3. Kerala
This ultimate serene and charming destination holds an appeal for being a perfect wedding venue. The concept of destination wedding in Kerala is not so appealing for many people. However, the pleasant weather of the state makes it one of the best places for destination weddings in India. Located along the banks of a lake or palm-fringed canal, Kerala features a number of resorts organizing special weddings in a traditional style. Leela in Kovalam and Varkala are the main scenic spots for a beach wedding.
Some of the most beautiful places for weddings in Kerala are: Kumarakom Lake Resort, The Leela, Kadavu Resort, Indriya Beach Resort, Lake Palace Resort, The Raviz and more.
4. Agra
Your wedding can be nowhere more beautiful than Agra – a place that is known for being home to the monument of love. Taj Mahal depicts an evergreen impression of love. Along with the rich Mughal culture, Agra offers a pristine atmosphere all around on your wedding. It is undoubtedly one of the most stunning wedding destinations in India. Under the dark blanket of twinkling stars at the night and with an array of Mughal cuisines, your day becomes a wonderful experience.
Some of the best destination wedding venues in Agra are: Courtyard Agra, The Orchid Farm, ITC Mughal, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Mansingh Palace, The Oberoi Amarvilas and many others.
5. Amritsar
The beautiful city of Amritsar is one of the top wedding destinations in India for people seeking to have a temple wedding. The craze of a temple wedding in India is growing and has become a major pick for many couples. When tradition meets trends, it creates a beautiful fusion of peace and happiness. Along with devotion, you also add the lip-smacking Punjabi tadka to your wedding. Your wedding day is surely going to be an experience in Amritsar.
Top wedding locations in Amritsar are: Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Hyatt, The Greens Resort, Hotel Ramada, Radisson Blu and many others.