5 minute read
PERSONAL FINANCE
Say “Yes” TO THE BUDGET
HOW TO SAVE AND SPEND FOR YOUR WEDDING
BY SAM SCHIPANI
Iwas never one of those little girls with a vision board full of cut outs from Bride’s magazine with my perfect dress, hairstyle, floral arrangements and venue for my future different budget, but no matter what I believe you can still have the wedding of your dreams just by shifting your thinking and getting creative.” wedding. I was too preoccupied creating prehistoric zoos with my dinosaur figurines or contemplating the best hot glued arrangement of fake flowers on my sun hat to make me look like a proper late 19th-century socialite à la “Hello, Dolly!”
You’d think given the latter musical obsession that I would have had some matrimonial foresight, but alas.
When I got engaged a few months ago (thank you), I immediately wished I had a decades-old wedding binder — and maybe a bridal piggy bank, too.
The logistical nightmare of planning a wedding is overwhelming on its own, but the cost is what has me weak in the knees. According to the wedding planning website The Knot, the average cost of a wedding in Maine is $33,500, which is embarrassingly close to my annual salary.
But Catherine Gross, a wedding photographer based in Vassalboro, said that a budget shouldn’t stop me from having the Big Day of my dreams.
“Getting married is an investment,” Gross said. “Planning a wedding on a budget is subjective because everyone has a Gross said to create your dream wedding with everything you want and price it out. Let your imagination run wild — a ceremony at Acadia National Park with a Valentino dress and tux, catered by Erin French, that ends with a tasteful fireworks display as Brandi Carlisle croons in the background. Just as an example. Then, it is time to get real with what you can afford as a couple — but that doesn’t mean you can’t splurge on the elements that really matter to you. Kristina Slocum, owner and planner at Purple Orchid Weddings and Events, said that she asks her clients what the most important parts of their wedding are to them. “Is it the food, the experience, the photos, the design?” Slocum said. “From there we can allocate how much should be spent in each category. Budgets for food, flowers, photos change with every client.” Slocum said that having an idea of the number of guests you plan to invite early on will help formulate that target number. “The venue, food and booze [are] typically your largest expenses,” Slocum said. “Make sure your venue can hold the size
of wedding you anticipate and make sure your budget can feed everyone.”
Insider knowledge can help with the budgeting process, too. Slocum said that hiring a planner is a great way to help manage your budget and understand the usual costs of things in the wedding industry from the get-go, so you have realistic expectations about what things will cost.
“Sticker shock is not a fun feeling,” Slocum said. “We have seen in every sector prices and services go up in price in the last two years. I don’t expect that to change.”
Discussing a wedding budget can be emotional for couples, but it is important to be open and honest about your finances and goals for the future.
“If after the wedding, the next goal is to buy a house, discuss how not just the wedding budget should be handled, but also future life goals that can also be worth saving for,” Slocum said.
Given that Alex and I have been shopping for a house for the past year (that’s a whole other column), we’ll probably skip pyrotechnics at our nuptials.
Once you have an idea of how much you might want to spend, Mackenzie Arsenault, managing director and financial planner at Cornerstone Financial Planning in Portland, recommends assessing what is currently available to spend on the wedding. One of the biggest mistakes that she sees couples make is not being on the same page with how much they want to spend and where the money is coming from — and making sure there is a buffer to that number.
“Have you already set aside funds specially for the wedding, are you expecting any financial gifts from family for the wedding, and if so, have you confirmed those amounts,” Arsenault said. “Another mistake is not leaving a big enough buffer for incidental expenses like postage or wedding party gifts. There can be a lot of smaller items that get overlooked in the planning and can end up adding up.”
Look at what you have saved already. Then consider how much time you have to get your target budget together, Gross said.
“If what you want is higher than what you can afford, maybe think about scheduling your date out later to make sure you get your once in a lifetime fairytale moment,” Gross said. “The best tip for saving money for a wedding is to give yourself enough time to save the money.”
Slocum uses a spreadsheet with her clients to track spending and make sure they don’t breach their budget in each of their categories. Having a separate account specifically for your wedding that you put money into weekly or monthly can also help you reach your goals, or use an app on your phone to track your spending like Wedding Happy, Track My Spend or Pocketbook.
“When setting a budget, it is really important not to stray from what you have allocated in every aspect of the wedding,” Slocum said. “If in every area, you are constantly going over what you have allowed, your wedding will be over budget.”
There are little ways you can save money here and there, too. Booking in the off-season between November and April, or during the week or on a Friday instead of a Saturday can be a cost saver, Gross said. Using silk flowers instead of cut flowers (they photograph beautifully, Gross said) is another option as is getting creative with DIY centerpieces and invitations.
My future mother-in-law has already offered to help make and send invitations, and I wanted to thrift my wedding dress anyway.
For Alex and I, the most important parts of our wedding are making sure that all of our friends and family can attend and have a good time. Delicious food would be a plus, too — call me, Erin French.
