It’s NOT all about the perfect wedding
Too many work through a wanna-have list – a film star dress, flowing champagne, platinum rings, a five-star honeymoon. Only then, they ask how they'll pay for it.One disgruntled father told us: "I asked my daughter what her budget was. She asked me, 'Dad, how can I work out my budget until I know what I want?'"
So, instead, ask "what can we afford to spend on our wedding?" Then work out how to have the best do possible within that budget. A picnic in a park with close friends can be just as magical as a blingy bash for 300. Use our free budget planner to help.
Don't let the wedding ruin your marriage
Before we get too far into this, and you skip straight to this guide's bargain-grabbing section, it really is worth pausing to think about the financial effect of your celebration.As Martin says, "While a wedding is a wonderful dream day, it's important to remember one of the biggest causes of divorce is debt and financial worries.
"If the cost of your wedding leaves you financially crippled and in debt for most of your married life, it's a pointless waste."
Don't let the bank steal your wedding cash
Setting off’ means banks can swipe big money from our accounts without permission. So if you've a loan or credit card debts, be very careful about other people, such as your parents, giving you cash to fund your wedding.
This outrageous law lets banks grab cash from your account to repay debts without permission and without telling you. See the Setting Off guide for the full legal info.
Get max interest on your wedding savings
If you're saving up to get hitched or perhaps your parents have given a contribution, ensure you maximise the interest.
The best bet's an easy-access account, which means you can easily withdraw the cash when needed. Yet many people avoid cash ISAs, wrongly thinking their money is locked in.
Every UK citizen over 16 gets a cash ISA allowance, which lets them save £5,640 safe from the taxman. Use that up first to max your rate.
You can withdraw it anytime (provided it's easy-access), you just can’t then return it – not a problem if you're spending it anyway. For example, imagine you put £4,640 in this year’s cash ISA, leaving room for £1,000. If you then withdrew £2,000, that’s irrelevant – you can still only put another £1,000 in.
For a full updated list of best buys, see Top Cash Isas and Top Savings.
Play the wedding prioritisation game
Once you know your budget, the aim’s to work out how much you can actually afford to spend on different areas and prioritise what’s important. Write down all the things you need to spend cash on a different piece of card – from cakes to cars, rings to registry office fees.Discuss what’s most important to both of you. You may fancy a funky themed wedding cake, but would you prefer a honeymoon abroad? Or a professional photographer? Remember, venue costs are likely to be about one third to half of your budget.
Being aware of how you can trade one item for another helps you see how far your budgeted cash will go. If it doesn't go as far as you want, you need to change your list - but not your budget.
The end result may be that you can't afford the wedding you wanted. But, more importantly, it means you won't spend what you can't afford.
