A wedding symbolizes the timeless commitment between a husband and wife. It’s incredibly easy in this meaningful and emotional context to allow money to become a non-issue. Lavish expenditure at weddings, as with other critical rites of passage, is still incredibly common. However, it’s no longer necessary to disregard finances when a wedding is concerned.
Former financial planner Nicole Seghetti notes that whenever she met with recently married couples, no one ever mentioned that they felt they had spent too little on their special day. Instead, she frequently met newlyweds who felt that they had perhaps overspent on the occasion. Bolstering the argument for a cost-conscious wedding, Ron Lieber of the New York Times recently noted how heavily financial problems contribute to divorce (which ends 45% of marriages in the United States).
Despite Seghetti’s warning of financial remorse, a 2014 survey by TheKnot.com reveals that couples are spending more on their weddings than ever. The site surveyed 13,000 brides who were married in 2013. The average cost of their weddings was $30,000. The costliest weddings took place in Manhattan, with an average cost of $87,000; while the most affordable place to exchange vows was Idaho, with an average of $16,000.
Although those price tags may already seem high, they don’t even include the honeymoon. The average honeymoon cost, according to the Condé Nast Bridal Infobank, is $5111.
Five reasons to save money on your wedding
Creating a new life with your soulmate may seem like the perfect reason to spend with a sense of overabundance. However, it’s actually the perfect reason to save money on your wedding, as expressed by Seghetti. She frames the cost savings in terms of other places the money could go, suggesting that couples shave $16,000 off their extravagant budgets. Here are reasons to save:
1. You and your spouse want to buy a house.
Typically a new home requires 1/5 of the cost upfront, so the $16,000 you save on your wedding will cover half of a $160,000 home’s down payment. It’s wise to buy now while mortgage rates are relatively low. According to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed mortgages are just over 4%, compared to hovering around 6% in 2005 and 8% in 2000.
2. You want to get rid of your debt.
NerdWallet notes that among those with credit card debt, the average amount owed is over $14,000, with an average interest rate upward of 12%. The credit cards could be zeroed out by removing that money from the wedding budget.
3. You want to see new places.
If you like to travel, the money you save could pay for each of four $4000 trips. Think of it like this: by spending less on the wedding, you get four additional honeymoons to revitalize your marriage and celebrate throughout the decade following the event.
4. You want to start a college fund for future children.
College is becoming more expensive, so it’s best to get a jumpstart and avoid being caught off guard in a couple decades. If you invest the money in a fund that generates 7% interest each year, you would have almost $70,000 by the time your first child graduates from high school.
5. You want to retire at 60, not 70.
Similar to the school fund, you could alternately invest the money for your later years. Over the course of three decades, again using that 7% interest figure, your wedding savings would grow to over $120,000.
Five ways to save
Are you convinced? Again primarily from Seghetti’s analysis and with average costs from The Knot, here are five ways to practically reduce your wedding costs.
1. Save on refreshments.
Usually a wedding includes a fancy dinner (average cost – $66 per person). Consider replacing the meal with hors d’oeuvres and drinks. You may want to shift the time of the ceremony and reception so that your guests don’t feel they are going hungry. Rather than offering a full bar, exclusively serve beer and wine so that you can get a better volume discount. Finally, rather than buying a huge cake (cost – $546), downsize it and serve your guests from a sheet cake located in the kitchen.
2. Do it yourself.
Weddings are big money, so many different professionals supply various services in preparation and throughout the ceremony. These roles represent ways to cut costs. Take over the wedding planner (cost – $1874) and florist (cost – $2069) positions. Clearly you will have more work to do, especially organizationally, but think of your future plans. You can reduce your costs by getting a large amount of a single flower that grows in your area. You can also use a site such as FreshRoses.com, which provides wholesale pricing.
3. Choose a diamond alternative.
Diamonds used to be the rule for engagement and wedding rings. The fact is, the rings (cost – $5598) represent an exorbitant expense for the average couple. Still, assuming the diamond to be a necessity, our online sales of cubic zirconia (CZ) rings for proposals and weddings initially surprised us. Now we know that, if a stone is of high enough quality – Russian Formula, hand-cut, and hand-polished – brides often prefer CZ to the high expense of a real diamond.
Planning your wedding
When you think about your wedding, remember that it doesn’t need to be a $30,000 affair. Whether you want to save for your retirement, pay off your debt, or take vacations to revitalize your partnership, look for ways to cut your costs and focus on the clear brilliance of your love connection.
By Kent Roberts