QOTD: Wed 1/5/11....Money!!$$

Happy Hump Day!!

Today's question is about Money, Money,Money!!

Who is paying for your wedding?
is there anything special that you are doing for your wedding fund? and how are you coordinating your expenses?
And of course, please share any helpful tips or even websites that you can share with us that will help us!

FH and I are paying for the majority of the wedding ourselves but we are getting some help from our parents

I am TERRIBLE at budgeting... FH and I keep blowing our budget but I think we finally found a number that should work!

In an attempt to help myself budget I created an excel spreadsheet with
1. The name of each vendor
2. How much of a deposit I left
3. The date I paid each deposit
4. The next deposit amount
5. The date of my next deposit
6. The total amount remaining

Me and my FH are paying for the wedding ALL by ourselves! it is VERY stressful, but I am confident that we can do it....
We dont have anything extra that we are doing to save...just trying to be frugal when we can

I am also looking to hire vendors that are willing to work with my budget and still get what i want LOL

I will be DIY programs, DIY table numbers, maybe DIY invitations, and maybe DIY favors....i have to gather enough time to actually do all of this!! LOL I have also been trying to get ideas from websites, and other past brides--

Here are a couple of websites that I have found helpful...I have NOT personally ordered from them but they can def give you guys ideas!!

http://www.google.com/google-d-s/wedding/[/L]

www.tamisplace.com

www.weddingcuts.com

www.weddingfactorydirect.com

www.spreadshirt.com

www.wrapwithus.com

www.bluerainbowdesign.com



enjoy!!

We are paying for our wedding ourselves!!

We have each been saving a certain amount of money every week towards our 'wedding fund' and have a bank account with that money & our e-party money too!

When taxes come we will be putting that towards the wedding also

My dad and FIL are helping us both in big ways! We are trying to save and make the payments ourselves without having to ask my dad for the $ yet so come the day of the wedding we can just walk with the gift my dad gives us and use it as a down payment on a house!!!! I think the $$ is in a CD somewhere he said for the mean time which is A-OK with me! Hopefully we can walk with the interest as well!!

edited for spelling!!

FH and I are paying for our wedding. We are newly engaged and both own property which is kinda holding us back right now. I'm looking to sell my condo and move into his house so that I can just bank my checks!

Very much looking forward to our tax returns to give us a jump start!

I'm very fortunate because my parents are helping out with a large portion of the wedding. FH's parents are helping with what they can help with. FH and I are also paying.

We started a joint bank account a few years ago so we've been throwing money into that. We also put our change (and dollar bills) into a jar every day and deposit that into the account as well. I think we're also going to start saving $200/each a week because we'd like to eventually use it for a downpayment.

Good and important question!

1. My parents are paying for the RH but FH and I are paying for everything else. We haven't asked FIL's for money yet, bc they have given FH a lot to help out with over the years, but he thinks they'll do something bc FFIL paid for his step-daughters wedding...

2. I have my own wedding fund set up right now that I'm paying into, FH just started a new job and has not contributed yet, he's expecting to put in starting in March.

BUT we just set up the paperwork to start our own joint checking/savings account right now!

3. I set up a special spreadsheet for the budget. The first category is the big ticket items, photog, flowers, paper goods, etc.

Then I have a need to haves and those are the smaller expenses like gifts, unity candle, hair and makeup etc.

The next cat is the like to haves and this is all the extras, photo booth, etc. All the extra stuff that would be cut first if it comes down to it.

And then the last category is for me... the stuff that I'm paying for that won't come out of our combined budget but my own savings like the grooms cake, b pix, and a few other items.

FH and I are paying for the wedding. Apparently my parents may be giving us some money but I am not so sure that is going to happen.

We sat down with our budget and figured out how much money we need to say each week to have enough money, We opened up a joint account and keep that separate.

I created an excel spreadsheet. One page is for the budget, one page is for the vendors with their information, one page is for schedule of payments and the other page is the guest list and addresses.

I have found when you see it in front of you it helps stick to the budget. We tried to be realistic when it comes to the budget so that we do not blow it!

We are paying for it ALL... oh what fun!

We have been putting money away each month and really cutting back on anything we can...

I have an excel spreadsheet with (approx )costs of each vendor. I added up all the costs, subtracted what we have saved already and divided it by how many months until the wedding.

For example (I wish):

Wedding cost is $15,000 in total
Prior savings is $8,000
$15,000 - $8,000 = $7,000 left to save

$7,000/15months = $466 to save a month until the wedding day

My parents gave us a nice amount of money to use towards expenses...the rest we are paying for ourselves. It will probably end up being a 50/50 split. We created a budget and record everything in an excel spreadsheet. My FH and I are both super organized, dare i say completely anal and ocd about everything. We have lists that have lists that have lists!

This past week we set up a joint checking/savings account. I was really excited (I know...totally corny). We are each trying to contribute a set amount of money from our paycheck into the account every week.

Because my parents are providing me with so much my mom has tried to have her hand in all the planning. I LOVE my mom to death but it has gotten somewhat out of hand. I've had to have a few talks with her to explain that we beyond appreciate her contributions and we want her involved but she has to remember that it is our wedding...not hers. I feel awful every time i try to talk to her about this-i know she is just excited. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this in the best/nicest way possible?

Good question!! Money is my biggest stress factor and the main reason we haven't booked anything yet. My parents are paying for the rh and will possibly help out with some of the other vendors but right now fh and I plan on paying for vendors like photo dj flowers ourselves. We have a savings account but would really rather use it for a because that is more important to us than a wedding. Fh's parents said they will be giving us money as a gift at the wedding because they would rather see us put it towards a house than the wedding. I've taken a break from wedding planning because we have not been able to come to terms with a budget yet and we were both getting stressed out.hopefully things will come together soon.

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Posted by Linds78

My parents gave us a nice amount of money to use towards expenses...the rest we are paying for ourselves. It will probably end up being a 50/50 split. We created a budget and record everything in an excel spreadsheet. My FH and I are both super organized, dare i say completely anal and ocd about everything. We have lists that have lists that have lists!

This past week we set up a joint checking/savings account. I was really excited (I know...totally corny). We are each trying to contribute a set amount of money from our paycheck into the account every week.

Because my parents are providing me with so much my mom has tried to have her hand in all the planning. I LOVE my mom to death but it has gotten somewhat out of hand. I've had to have a few talks with her to explain that we beyond appreciate her contributions and we want her involved but she has to remember that it is our wedding...not hers. I feel awful every time i try to talk to her about this-i know she is just excited. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this in the best/nicest way possible?

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omg I totally understand... we just sent in the paperwork to set up the joint account and I was like aw its another step closer!

I am paying for everything by myself except my dress. My mom said she would pay for that, but of course there is a budget (thank you mom!) Since I still live at home I have saved all of my budget and thank goodness I did because FH is still in school/paying loans and now I can start saving for everything we need after the wedding like a place to live

We did the joint account too and it was so exciting!

We are very lucky and a lot of people are contributing so we will only wind up paying for about 40-50% of the wedding ourselves. We could have made it work if we had to do it on our own but I probably would have had less people coming and in turn would have had to book a different venue.

awww!! you are such a sweetie!! i cant believe you are doing it all by yourself! you go girl!!

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Posted by CaseyCase

Good question!! Money is my biggest stress factor and the main reason we haven't booked anything yet. My parents are paying for the rh and will possibly help out with some of the other vendors but right now fh and I plan on paying for vendors like photo dj flowers ourselves. We have a savings account but would really rather use it for a because that is more important to us than a wedding. Fh's parents said they will be giving us money as a gift at the wedding because they would rather see us put it towards a house than the wedding. I've taken a break from wedding planning because we have not been able to come to terms with a budget yet and we were both getting stressed out.hopefully things will come together soon.

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Everything will work itself out, plus you still have plenty of time to get everything you want and need for the wedding. I agree with you on the home part (whatever type of home, apt or house). The reception part is nothing compared to the home you make with your new husband and new life together.

FH and I are paying for our wedding ourselves. I have an equal amount going into 1 fund (wedding) and to another fund (house), then I have all my other money in checking to pay for bills, entertainment, etc.

I calculated how much money we had, how much time we had, and how much we would need (realistically) for the wedding. So far, with the help of a million websites and just overall being cool headed about everything, I have been able to stay on target. We are scheduled to save what we need... and we can adjust if we decide that we'll be inviting even more people than we are already.


I would say to just figure out the entire budget and look around.. be realistic. I know I have champagne taste with a beer pocketbook, but that's why I've made some sacrifices for what I want. Some things that have helped:

1. Wedding is peak season, but it's a Thursday.
2. We went to a showcase and we are saving money on our DJ because we won something.
3. I picked up DIY invitations from Party City on clearance for about $.75 a box (of 25... Wilton ones with pockets. Black and white)
4. My dresses are from the FIlene's Running of the Brides in Boston.

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Posted by bella_bride

We are paying for it ALL... oh what fun!

We have been putting money away each month and really cutting back on anything we can...

I have an excel spreadsheet with (approx )costs of each vendor. I added up all the costs, subtracted what we have saved already and divided it by how many months until the wedding.

For example (I wish):

Wedding cost is $15,000 in total
Prior savings is $8,000
$15,000 - $8,000 = $7,000 left to save

$7,000/15months = $466 to save a month until the wedding day

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You and I have a lot in common! Paying for the wedding ourselves AND doing a budget analysis. You have an excel spreadsheet, don't you?