Weddings and Marriage: How to Get the Money Right!

5 Wed­ding Plan­ning Tips — save money on your big day

1. Reuse flo­ral pieces: Using flow­ers for your cer­e­mony dec­o­ra­tions? Think about designs that will eas­ily trans­late from cer­e­mony to recep­tion to cut back on flo­ral costs. Many pieces that you have for the cer­e­mony can eas­ily be used into the recep­tion décor, such as your brides­maids’ bou­quets and aisle flowers.

2. Try DIY: The pos­si­bil­i­ties for DIY projects for your wed­ding are end­less. From invi­ta­tions, to pro­grams, to iPod playlists, think about what you can do your­selves before you shell out dough. If you’re not as crafty, enlist the help of a few fam­ily mem­bers or brides­maids to help with you get the projects done well ahead of the big day!

3. Keep the guest list small: Ulti­mately, the biggest costs of the day will go to food and drink, and that price tag can rise very quickly with a lot of guests. Work with every­one involved in your wed­ding, includ­ing par­ents, to limit your guest list to a size you can afford with­out stress.

4. Be flex­i­ble with your date: Depend­ing on your loca­tion, many venues offer off-season rates at a less expen­sive price than dur­ing the pop­u­lar sum­mer months. Also con­sider get­ting mar­ried on a Fri­day or Thurs­day. It may not be as con­ve­nient for guests, but if it keeps your bud­get in check, it could be well worth it.

5. Go green: One great way to save money is to cut out paper goods from your wed­ding, includ­ing send­ing e-mail invi­ta­tions or save the dates, and lim­it­ing the amount of items printed for your day. You’ll help the planet too! [What do you think? — Claire x]

5 Pre-Wedding Money Dis­cus­sion Tips — it pays to think ahead

1. Go through your money his­tory: It may not be the most pleas­ant of con­ver­sa­tions, but make sure to walk your part­ner through your past finan­cial his­tory, includ­ing your debts, credit score and any issues you’ve had. It’s dif­fi­cult to build a finan­cial future together with­out talk­ing about your past first.

2. Dis­cuss your habits: In most cou­ples, dif­fer­ences exist between each partner’s every­day money habits. Do you go out to lunch every day? Do your splurge on vin­tage records? Where does your pay­check go in a given week? Ask your­selves these ques­tions before you head down the aisle to bet­ter under­stand your partner’s atti­tudes toward money.

3. Look into the future: When cou­ples have com­mon finan­cial goals, it can strengthen and help their union grow. Make sure to talk about what you’d like to achieve finan­cially in the next five, ten or even 20 years. Com­mu­ni­cate with one another what your hopes are for your time together down the road.

4. Stay hon­est: Avoid hid­ing pur­chases or other money issues from your part­ner. Cul­ti­vate a trust­ing, mutu­ally respect­ful finan­cial rela­tion­ship by being open and hon­est about what you buy and how much you spend.

5. Prac­tice makes per­fect: If you’re not sure how to go about shar­ing your finances, give it a whirl before the wed­ding. Prac­tice shar­ing a cur­rent account or a credit card for a few weeks and see how you do. See what issues come up and how you work them out. Then, if and when you do merge your money for the long term, you’ll have a good idea of how it will work best for you as a couple.

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These tips were com­piled by Save.co.uk. Plan­ning a wed­ding can be hard work, and every added detail equates to another expense. Save.co.uk has put together 5 tips on how to save some pen­nies with­out com­pro­mis­ing on the big day, and 5 more tips to help cou­ples nav­i­gate the poten­tial night­mare of joint finances after the con­fetti has settled.

Save is the ulti­mate voucher des­ti­na­tion offer­ing UK con­sumers the biggest and best sav­ings of any online voucher site.