How to Finance a Wedding: Top Tips
21.10.2019 by Jack H
The dress, the ring, the cake, the venue, the food; if there’s one thing for certain, it’s that weddings don’t come cheap. When you consider the fact that the average cost of such an event is a breathtaking £30,000, you’ll find it no surprise that most engaged couples budget for years in order to be able to afford their big day. It’s either that or start married life saddled with massive amounts of debt.
If you’ve currently got a wedding to plan and prepare for, you’ll know this plight all too well. There are a number of ways to alleviate the financial burden that you carry, though. Be sure to check out our top tips below, and you might just find a way to bring down your wedding bill.
Don’t rush
Rushing your wedding plans and settling on a date in the very near future will do nothing but unnecessarily stretch your financial capabilities. You’ll find yourself laden with a plethora of bills all at once, and it won’t be long before you realise that you cannot realistically pay them all off by the deadlines imposed on you to do so.
No matter how keen you might be to tie the knot, it is essential that you take a step back, take a deep breath, and act pragmatically. Quite simply, you must set the date of your wedding based solely on how much money you can save in that period of time. It could mean waiting years for your big day, but it’ll be better than rushing into things and finding yourself weighed down with debt for years to come after the event.
Be ruthless with the guest list
You’re excited to get married, and you want as many of your friends and family there to share your big day with you. This is understandable. What isn’t understandable or at all sensible, however, is spending thousands of pounds on people you haven’t spoken to in twenty years. Don’t be afraid to get a bit ruthless with the guest list, as that could help you to make a real saving when it comes to your wedding bill.
Here are a few things you need to do when sorting out your guest list:
- Work out how many people you can afford to invite based on the cost of just one guest.
- Start your list off with the people you really want there (and really couldn’t get away with not inviting).
- Take into account how much it is going to cost to feed each person you wish to invite. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself splashing out on hundreds of three-course meals, all at just under £100 a head.
Break from tradition
Traditional weddings are generally the ones that end up costing the aforementioned average price of £30,000. If this just isn’t a sum you can realistically afford to pay for your big day, then you might want to consider breaking from tradition and going down an alternative route.
One of the most cost-effective ways to break from tradition is to forgo the sit-down three-course meal. This kind of catering decision often becomes the priciest part of a wedding, so you might want to consider your other options. In this instance, it’s important to note that buffets don’t have to consist of cheese sandwiches and sausage rolls! You could serve up sharing platters or big pies, for example.
Ask for financial contributions instead of gifts
Ask yourself this: do you really want/need wedding gifts? If you’re moving into a new home with your loved one as soon as the two of you have tied the knot, granted, it might be a good idea to ask for basic home accessories and appliances. In any other instance, though, it is best to hold back on the present requests and ask for financial contributions instead.
When it comes to the amount of money other people are allowed to contribute to you, it’s important that ‘gift allowance’ regulations are adhered to. If these rules are ignored, your friends and family could find themselves in a bit of a sticky situation when it comes to inheritance tax law.
‘Gift allowance’ rules in the UK state:
- Parents can gift their children up to £5,000
- Grandparents can gift their grandchildren £2,500
- Other relatives and friends can gift £1,000
Types of loans
If none of the above advice seems to work for you, then you might very well find yourself having to go down the borrowing route. So long as you are able and willing to pay the money that you borrow back by the deadline imposed on you to do so, this is a safe way to go about financing your wedding. If you feel that you will not be able to meet the repayment figures or dates, however, then the act of taking out a loan should be one that you avoid. You don’t want to make married life harder than it needs to be for yourself by having loan sharks circling your home.
The different types of loans you could take out include:
Wedding loans
The most obvious of the bunch, wedding loans allow couples (younger ones, in particular) to borrow between £7,500 and £15,000.
Home equity loan
If you own your own home, then it might be a good idea to take out an equity loan on it. Be careful in this instance, though, as a failed payment could put you in serious danger of losing your home.
Taking out a loan against your life insurance
Held a life insurance policy for a number of years now and paid countless amounts of premiums into it? If so, then you have every right to take a loan out against your policy. Taking this action will, however, reduce the policy’s death benefit. In this instance, it’s important to sit down and weigh up all your options. Would you rather have the money now, or would you prefer to leave it behind when you’re gone?
Vehicle Equity Release
The new, safer and fairer alternative to logbook loans. Leveraging one of the biggest assets that people often own. Whenever you find yourself facing the task of financing your or perhaps a child’s wedding, be sure to remember all of the top tips listed above. Above all else, just remember to enjoy the big day, money troubles or not!
