Where do I get Money for a wedding?

Question

My Fiance and I are planning a wedding for next year prolly in March. Noone is going to help us with the wedding cost but ourselves. What do people normally do? Do they get a loan from the bank, do they wait and save up the money? I do not want a cheesy wedding at all. I have no clue about weddings. I have yet to be invited to one so I have no idea even where to start. We are looking to spend about 5000.00 on our wedding but I dunno if that can be done without being cheesy. And also, a March wedding? I mean that was when we first got togeather...Should we pick that Month when we got togeather or should we pick any Month I mean how do people choose. I need so much help and so little budget! Please help

Answer 1

First of all - Why the rush?
2nd - 5000 - is plenty, if you get creative and think outside the box
3rd - how is this guy going to take care of you? Doesn't that include helping you plan? Not only for this wedding, but for your future. What about a small intamate wedding and a down payment on a house? 5000 can get you a lot -

DO NOT go into debt to have a wedding. It is hard enough to deal with the stress of being married, you don't need any extra financial pressure.

Remember - you'll have kids eventually, and you need to create a home with happy parents to raise them in.

So, all that said, The nicest wedding I went to was an early afternoon tea - the old ladies from the church all donated tea sets, they served finger sandwhiches and tea, there was a string quartet, and a beautiful cake.

We did our wedding for about 5k, we used a family member's backyard and borrowed tables and chairs from the church, ordered tri - tips and all the family pitched in with the side dishes.
We had a friend run the stereo system(DJ) and we did buy a cake and a good photographer. But the cake came from a pro who baked out of her house. (Less$$)

You'll do fine once you get started. GEt some planning books from the library and start searching the net. YOu'll do fine. Just remember - a wedding is suppossed to be a recognition of the committment you are making. Don't let it turn into just another party. If that's all you want, throw a huge party for eachother and save the legality of it for later. If you are ready to be with this guy through forever, then plann your wedding from the standpoint of how you wnat to live your life after the wedding. That'll help put everything in perspective.

Answer 2

Yes, often people go into debt to pay for their wedding. Keep in mind that any budget you set, you will go over, so if you say $5,000 count on $7,000 at least. Figure out if the wedding is really worth it to you to start your married life in debt. It really IS worth it for some people, but others do it for the wrong reasons (not thinking, going with the "tradition", because of the family pressures, to keep up with the Joneses, etc). Your wedding can be as cheap or as expensive as you'd like, and it need not be "cheesy" either way. How to pick a date? Well, I've always wanted to get married on my parents' anniversary, to honor their marriage - but it never quite worked out this way; my former spouse and I got married on my mom's b-day (August), and my current marriage was at a big outdoor event, so we had to do it the weekend of the event, in September. I think, you should pick a date/month that is relevant to you; if it's March - then let it be March, nothing's wrong with it! Unless upon further investigation you will find it somehow problematic - but I don't know why it would be.

Surf the web for wedding advice. I heard that theknot.com was a good site to get you started. Talk to your fiancé and throw some ideas around; what would you like to have at your wedding? How many people, rent/buy a dress, indoor/outdoor, church/secular, where to hold the reception, hosted/no host bar, DJ, dancing? Things will take shape as you think about them/research them more. I would start by making a guest list - a long version and a short version (must haves), and go from there. Anywhere you call for a quote, first thing they're gonna ask you, how many guests. So, it's a good place to start for now.

Answer 3

You do it the old fashioned way...you earn it, then you save it. I would NOT reccommend borrowing it, starting your marriage off in debt is NOT a good thing. Save your debt for the things that cannot be avoided, a home mortgage and car payments. There are great websites that can help you with your wedding plans, theknot.com is probably one of the best and has the most information on it. As far as when you should get married, that's an entirely personal decision. My hubby and I picked our wedding date by knowing the month we wanted, then we stuck a calendar up on the wall and I threw a dart at it (blindfolded). Whatever Saturday the dart hit closest to was when we'd get married. We picked our location the same way, only my hubby threw that dart. We'll celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary on Jan 16, so it obviously worked for us! :-) Congrats and good luck!

Answer 4

You pick what month you want. Find a hall that has the day you choose in that month available.
You save up the money, use credit cards or get a loan from the bank. With 5000 you won't have to have a cheezy wedding. I spent less than 3000 on mine and it was perfect.

Answer 5

Personally I am getting married in 3 months, we see no reason to spends big $$$ for a few hours of enjoyment. We are just having a small wedding for family only. The important part of a wedding is what is in your heart, not how much you spend on the wedding itself.

Answer 6

Most people either wait and save up money, or they plan a simple, smaller wedding with the money that they have to spent.

Some people do take out a loan. I think this is silly, personally. How much money you spend on your wedding doesn't make your marriage any more meaningful.

Answer 7

Have an evening Wedding by Candlelight.
Then
have a cake and Ice cream reception.
Cut way down on your guest list.
Go to the library to look for books on wedding planning.
Make your own music mix CDs and don't hire a DJ.
Google budget wedding and read read read !!
Good luck!

Answer 8

Usually they will take out a loan or save up...if you don't have the money, then postpone the wedding. There is no reason to go into debt and have to deal with bills right after getting married.

Answer 9

I think if you cannot afford a wedding, you probably cannot afford to get married. One should have his or her finances in order before taking that step. I think it would be a bad idea to go into a marriage in debt. Financial stress is one of the leading causes of divorce, so starting out in the hole might portend a bad future for your marriage.
I think you can do a wedding on $5000 if you are willing to bargain shop and cater your own reception. You could rent a hall somewhere and either provide your own food from a deli or have a restaurant cater, which is a lot cheaper than having a catering company handle everything. You could enlist friends and family to decorate the place and clean up.

Answer 10

Cheapest months to get married are Nov.- Feb. Halls are cheaper then. Churches already have floral arrangments during holiday seasons which helps cut down on costs. Save as much as you can, buy things along the way, make the bouquets and decorations yourself......there are tons of ways to make it go on a tight budget but you have to have the willpower to stick to the budget!