Finance Archives | Wedding ETC

In Advice

Saying “I do” doesn’t have to mean saying “I do” to debt

July 25, 2022 No Comments

The first year of marriage is always marital bliss, especially when you have heaps of debt behind your name. While there’s nothing wrong with dreaming up the perfect wedding – bells and whistles included – walking down the aisle doesn’t have to mean walking straight into wedding debt.

Overspending on your wedding day may just cancel out the marital bliss everyone enthusiastically talks about. According to a 2019 study by LendingTre e concluded that 45% of newlyweds between the ages of 18 and 53 went into debt to pay for the wedding. And with many South African couples paying between R80 000 – R120 000, as per Standard Bank, it’s no surprise why.

While getting married can be an expensive business, sometimes it helps to stop and think before making a big purchase on Kim Kardashian-esque flower wall.

Trade debt for memories

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the tasks and balance sheets of planning a wedding, but it’s important to remember why everyone is really attending your wedding – love. The food, DJ, wedding photographer, and signature drink are just the cherry on top of your love and commitment cake, and it’s important to keep this at the centre of your planning.

Get on the same page

According to the same 2019 study, nearly 76% of newlyweds who reported they went into debt also stated they argued over wedding-related expenses. The remedy? Bridal couples need to get on the same page when determining what they’re spending their hard-earned cash on. Creating a wedding budget and discussing expense details are two ways for avid debt collectors. If you’re looking to splurge on an open bar, make sure you’re both comfortable with how long it will be “open,” what liquor will be available, and what the total will come to.

Stick to your boundaries

We’ve all heard the phrase: “keeping up with the Joneses,” but sometimes it’s okay to watch them cruise on by. Planning a wedding can feel overwhelming which can easily lead to bridal couples listening to the opinions of others. A great way to avoid being swayed by friends and family members and what they’d like to see at your wedding is by writing down a list of wedding priorities that are important to you and your partner. Consider what is “worth-it” and what is “non-negotiable,” this will provide you with a better foundation with which to smile and say “no, thank you.”

Feature Image: Pinterest

In Finance

Bride scams wedding guests

November 5, 2019 No Comments

One thrifty bride-to-be took all her would-be wedding guests for a ride.

Apparently, she and her husband opted for a crowd-funded wedding, then cancelled the wedding after receiving over USD 30 000 (over R440 000!) and pocketed the money. Friends and family alike were outraged, and understandably so.

According to Digg, the would-be bride posted a message to a Facebook group to say that the wedding has been canelled for now, but did not provide concrete reasons why. Screenshots from her Facebook message were posted to Reddit. In the meantime, the couple plan to use the money for a “honeymoon”, after which they will supposedly reschedule the wedding. Here’s the best part: They said they will re-open the fund once the wedding had been rescheduled to welcome any further donations.

Some guests, who have already gotten leave for the supposed wedding, were very upset and called the bride “greedy”. She responded by saying she felt attacked, and that since they donated the money as a gift, it doesn’t matter how she spends it.

This after loved ones selflessly donated hard earned money for what they believed was a worthy cause. Beware ladies and gents. No good deed goes unpunished.

Image: Unsplash

In Finance

Cape Town couple spend R6 000 on wedding

October 7, 2019 No Comments

When you think “wedding day”, you probably think big. Big excitement, big ceremony, and definitely big bank account.

This couple decided to switch things up, opting for a small, lower-than-usual budget wedding ceremony and saving their money for the honeymoon and a car instead.

Wongalethu and Honey Vakala said this is the best decision they have ever made. “My family had big plans, my mom invited all of her friends, colleagues and some of the community members and even booked the wedding venue. I had to stand up for my wife and show her that the man she is marrying has a backbone. I cancelled all the plans my mother had for my wedding day and she didn’t take it well,” Wongalethu told Drum.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, though. It also meant that they could not invite a number of people that they really wanted to share their day with, including marital counsellors, some relatives, colleagues and close friends. “We don’t have any regrets on how everything turned out however, we regret not inviting the people who we really wanted to be there,” he said.

They managed to save money through people in their community offering to make various contributions, which made the day extra special to them. “A friend of ours in Long street offered to tailor make our wedding attire which was such a blessing,” he added.

The couple got married on Heritage Day,September 24 in a small church in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth, where they are from. The wedding cost them R6 000 and they have no regrets.

They used the rest of their money to put a deposit on their brand-new car and went on a lovely island honeymoon in Thailand.

Picture: Facebook/Wongalethu Vakala

In Advice

Setting a wedding budget and actually sticking to it

July 16, 2019 No Comments

Whether you are paying for the wedding yourselves or your parents are contributing, you will need to calculate how much money you have to spend. Once you have this figure, immediately set aside 5-10% of that for contingency.

Establishing and sticking to your budget is the best gift you can give yourself as a couple. In order to do this, you have to ensure that all your planning is documented. But before you start crunching numbers, think about the overall feeling you want your wedding to have as this will affect how you spend within your budget.

Do your research on vendors and get estimates on how much each thing will cost. This will include everything from venue to flowers to the dress and so on. Then get quotes from vendors and write it all down next to estimated costs.

Now that you know what kind of wedding you would like to have and how much money you have to spend, put together a rough guest list. The number of guests determines your venue, food and alcohol.

These are generally the largest expenses and a wise rule to follow is to allocate 40% of your budget to these three things.

It is time to discuss your non-negotiables with your partner (try to keep it down to three). These are things that you have always dreamed of having at your wedding and are willing to spend the money needed in order to achieve them. Research vendors and get quotes so that you can allocate it to the budget and then see how much is left to spend on the rest of the wedding. If you are already over budget based on your list, or close to the end of your budget, have a look at your priorities again and see what you can reduce.

Now that you’ve got all your quotes and guest list numbers, you can create the spreadsheet. You can get a template online or create your own but try to keep it as simple as possible. Put your overall sum in the top corner somewhere and then create these tabs: estimated, modified and actual.

Your estimated tab will be amounts that you have found based on research.

Modified will have real quotes from vendors.

Actual will be the final amount that you end up paying.

Time for a reality check – does your budget allow you to achieve what you want? If not, you may have to adjust your budget if that is an option or adjust your expectations.

Steps to take in order to ensure you stick to your budget:

Figure out how much you have to spend.
Research vendors and get quotes before settling on your budget.
Write a list including all researched costs and quotes from vendors.
Write down your proposed guest list
Create the spreadsheet and input all the relevant information.

Image: Unsplash