It’s question we hate to ask but you don’t want to be stuck with expensive bills after your wedding fumbling to see if there’s any help. Get it figured out beforehand!
One of the most awkward parts of wedding planning can be figuring out who is paying for what. In a lot of ways it can seem really silly that anybody but you and your partner would be paying for what is essentially a celebration of your love and commitment to each other but weddings are also family affairs and so your family may be willing to or even eager to help you with the expenses. Traditionally your parents or other family have planned for or even set aside some savings for your wedding but in this modern age you may not want them to or you may not have the means. All rules are out the window so don’t feel as though your family has to pay for the wedding or that your partner’s family has to contribute in certain traditional or symbolic ways. Without any guidance from the past though how do you decide who will pay for what and whether or not you are willing to accept the help?
Neither one of your families has to pay for anything but if they want to how do you decide who will pay for what, what you will accept and how it all breaks down? Well with careful planning, a lot of forethought and many, many open conversations. Most of this should probably happen before you even set a date or start thinking about venues because you want to have your finances in order before finalizing any details. If you have to rescind save-the-date cards or lose a down payment on a venue then these mistakes can get costly and take away from the wedding you want to have.
Sit down with a pencil, sheaves of paper and a calculator. Set aside a day or two for some extensive planning. You’re going to need a lot of lists and a lot of time to think about the kind of questions you want to ask but the more prepared you are the easier these conversations will be to have. They can get high-stakes or emotionally easily because of the nature of issue but if you return to hard facts and approach it with a practical attitude it will go much more smoothly.
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