Planning a wedding isn't easy nor is it cheap. The year, the average wedding costs around $22,500. Almost half of this is spent just on the wedding, reception venue, and catering.
So, yes, weddings are expensive — but that doesn’t mean yours has to be! Below are some incredibly important steps to make your dream more affordable.
Cut back on your monthly expenses
Identify items in your monthly budget you can sacrifice a while. Saving as much as $20 a day will make a great addition to your wedding budget.
For example, if you need extra clothes, you can visit a local thrift shop or browse through an online second-hand seller's catalog. Make sure you're also finding low-cost alternatives for everything you buy. Coffee, for instance, can be brewed at home instead of ordering some from a Starbucks.
Plus, if there's anything you can do to cut your utility bills, such as unplugging your appliances to save electricity, make sure you take these incremental steps to save a little money here and there.
Take out a personal loan
The wedding may be expensive, but who said you had to pay for everything upfront? Applying for a personal loan can help you procure a controlled source of funds, with fixed payments that you can slowly payback over the course of 5 to 10 years. In fact, there’s actually a personal loan designed exactly for this purpose called a wedding loan, which will help you cover the majority of your expenses depending on how much you apply for. It can be used to cover anything from catering to other important things like flights.
Before applying for a wedding loan, compare different lenders by checking what terms and interest rates they offer. Some lenders even have additional fees you must be wary of, like processing fees, so be careful and do your due diligence.
Get a temporary side hustle
Another effective way to boost your wedding funds is by generating some additional income leading up to your wedding. And we are not talking a full-time job here! A full-time job will be difficult to make time for between your wedding planning hours and other responsibilities. It also might cause a lot of added stress. Instead, leverage your existing skills and get a fun yet lucrative side hustle you can do at home, like writing or online tutoring.
Of course, there are also hustles that don't need prior experience or knowledge in the field, just the right equipment, like dropshipping, which has become extremely popular over the last couple of years.
Ask your family and friends for help
There's nothing wrong with asking for help when you really need it.
Share with family and friends your wedding plans, and ask if they are willing to shoulder part of the expenses. Should they agree, ask them to specify the amount they can contribute, and let them know how you plan to spend it. This will let you see how much more you need while remaining transparent.
Moreover, their "help" doesn't even have to be monetary. Perhaps your cousin can bake a mean wedding cake, or your friends are talented musicians that can perform during the ceremony. Not only will they charge less than outside vendors, it's also a good opportunity to involve them in one of the most important chapters of your life, which they may be grateful for.
All in all, take advantage of the fact that your wedding is still a few months away, if not years, away. Once you've prepared all the funds and talent that you're going to need, your wedding plans can be executed with minimal fuss.
Article exclusively written for brilliantbridal.com
Author: Rosa Jimena