After two marriages and attending numerous weddings, I have learned a few things about making sure that your wedding day is a sunny day.
When I was much younger, I attended a VERY lavish wedding. I’ll always remember it because no detail was forgotten. Money was not a concern because her parents had money trees growing in the backyard that rained down cash daily. That type of wedding where there is a never ending supply of money doesn’t happen for the average person unless they save money for years and years.
For a long time I have been saving “ideas” for a happy and beautiful wedding for my daughter. Alyssa still doesn’t know I have been doing this for her Because she was so young when I started collecting everything. Now that she’s more in the marriage age range, I’m glad that I got it all together.
However…It takes more than just collected ideas to make the wedding day happen. All that stuff costs money!
15 Ways To Prepare Financially For A Sunny Wedding Day With SunTrust
There are many ways that you can financially prepare for a wedding day that is happy and free from money worries. With some forethought and planning, you will feel relaxed, optimistic, and confident, because you have control of your money.
Here are some ways that you can prepare financially for the wedding of your dreams:
- Have a great bank – SunTrust has a Personal Banking Resource Center that you can refer to from the privacy of your own home. It is packed with information to help you financially plan your wedding.
- Put the money in a separate account – Use this Sunny Day Fund calculator to figure out how much money you need to save each month to have the type of wedding you want.
- List – Make a list with four columns for the “Must Have” and “Just Want To Have” items and activities with their associated costs for your wedding. This list can be tweaked until you have it just right!
- Choose the day – What day do you want to be married? Some days are more expensive than others. Take that into account when you choose the day.
- Location – One of the first things you must decide is where you will have the wedding. Close to home? Another country? Exotic location? Everything else will center around the location.
- Wedding ceremony – What venue do you need to rent for the wedding? Church? Hotel? Boat? Restaurant?
- Fly or Drive – Whether you fly or drive, book the airline tickets or book the car rental. Both are heavy expenses if you are not going to have the wedding close to home or if you are going out of town for the honeymoon.
- Hotel – If you are leaving town for the sunny wedding day, book the hotel. Talk to the Director of Sales and have a group wedding block in place. If the there are enough guests who will be needing overnight accommodations, the hotel will give you a discounted group rate for all the rooms.
- The Dress – Every woman wants to feel special on her wedding day, so decide how much you are willing to spend on a wedding dress. Are you going to make it yourself? Hire a designer? Order a pre-made dress online? Do you want a dress that can be transformed into another dress for other occasions after the wedding? Are you going to save it for your daughter? All of the answers to these questions will help you decide how much you are willing to spend on the wedding dress.
- Everyone else’s clothes – Tuxedo for the groom? Bridesmaids dresses? Are there going to be lots of people who need specific clothing in the bridal party? Are you paying for these clothes? Of course, you will pay for the groom, but what about the bridesmaids, best men, and Maid of Honor? Decisions, decisions!
- Who will marry you? – Someone has to seal the deal on your sunny wedding day! Make sure that you book them early. Sometimes there are prerequisites for church weddings by pastors.
- Decorations – There are so many choices for how to decorate for your wedding. The number one tip is to make sure that it is YOU. If you don’t like the beach, don’t get married on a beach. If you aren’t formal or religious, skip being married in a church. The day is all about you, so make sure your decorations reflect your tastes.
- Food – Appetizers, a meal, alcoholic beverages? Unless you’re not having food, don’t forget the cost for food especially if you’re serving alcoholic beverages. Choose a food budget and stick to it. Don’t write the budget when you’re hungry!
- Favors/Gifts – Most of the time the guests at a wedding are given a favor or small gift to take with them as a thank you for sharing your happy, sunny, bright wedding day. Make sure the gift reflects you and your decorations.
- The Unexpected – At the last minute things happen. Make sure you have enough money to accommodate for the unexpected expenses. The sooner you start saving for your wedding day, the more fun, exciting and peaceful the experience will be for you.
I was very young when I married the first time. We got engaged and were married in five months. Not much time to save for a wedding.
The second marriage was a quiet ceremony…we eloped on a Friday afternoon and got married by the Justice of the Peace downtown. Obviously that didn’t require much saving.
As far as I know, Alyssa isn’t getting married anytime in the near future, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t save money for the big day. If she follows in her mother’s footsteps, from engagement to wedding day will be a very short blur!
Hopefully, above all else, Alyssa will be loved and feel like a princess on her wedding day…because she is a princess!
Do you need to save money for a wedding or just for everyday life events? A great resource is an e-Newsletter called Shine. It will help Alyssa, me and you manage money better so that we can focus on the happiness in each day instead of the stress of not having enough money saved to enjoy the special events in life.
Sunny Days start here. At SunTrust, we have the tools and resources to help you achieve your sunny day. Start here to find out how we can help you enjoy the things that matter most to you.
At SunTrust Bank their purpose is lighting the way to financial well-being. When you feel confident about your money, you can save for your goals and spend knowingly on what matters most to you. They know we all live for the sunny days and want to you help you live yours.
Subscribe to the Shine newsletter and receive inspiration and advice twice a month to help you live for a sunny day.
Visit the SunTrust resource center anytime for help achieving your financial goals.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of SunTrust Bank. The opinions and text are all mine.
