Creating a wedding budget and planning within it may seem overwhelming at first, especially in today’s current economic climate where dollars are already being stretched. Since wedding costs can add up quickly, it’s important to plan ahead and begin saving early on so you can spend more time looking forward to the big day and less time worrying about how to pay for it.

How to Create a Wedding Budget

Since every couple is unique, each wedding budget will be too. When creating a budget there are many factors to consider including your individual financial situation, like how much money you’re comfortable spending on the wedding, whether you’re funding the affair on your own or if you’ll have help from parents or relatives, as well as your short-term and long-term couple goals. While the wedding may be in the shorter-term, your longer-term goals may include saving for a honeymoon, a house, or a family. It’s always best to discuss your vision for the big day with your partner and align your goals.

Once you create the budget for your wedding, determine how long it will take you to save the money. For example, if your budget is $25,000 and you plan to get married in 12 months, you’ll need to save $2,083 a month or $480 a week. Assess the possibility, gauge what’s comfortable to set aside and determine if the arrangements or the wedding date should be adjusted. Our tips can help you get started.

3 Tips to Budget and Save for Your Wedding

Tip 1: Reduce unnecessary spend. Whether your budget is large, small, or somewhere in between, it’s always a good idea for you and your partner to cut back on excess spending and allocate the saved money to the wedding expenses. Assess your spending habits and separate wants from needs when making purchases, eliminate the wants, and save the rest. Cutting back in the short term will help increase the amount of money you save and stretch your budget. Skip take out and cook meals at home. Cancel or reduce unused subscriptions like fitness memberships and streaming or cable services.

Tip 2: Earn supplemental income. A part-time job doing something you love won’t feel like work and will add money to your wedding fund. Consider, selling unwanted items to earn cash by looking for items you no longer want, use, need, or even knew you had. Many free apps make it easy to sell lightly used apparel, sporting equipment, electronics, home goods and more. Simply take a photo of the item, write a description, set a price, and wait for it to be sold. Then ship to buyer and await your profits!

Tip 3: Set multiple budgets. Create and stick to a larger budget for the entire wedding by creating smaller, individual budgets for each item or service you plan to have. This will help avoid overspending on any single item or service while keeping the overall budget on track.

Jovia’s budgeting tool helps couples just like you define savings goals and set budgets for immediate needs and future aspirations. You can track your progress against your goal and decide if you need to change course along the way. Plus, manage and monitor all your accounts (yes, even those you have with other banks). Explore budgeting tools.

How to Plan a Wedding on a Small Budget?

Tip 1: Choose a day and date that’s off season. Wedding venues and vendors often offer steep discounts for affairs booked during the week or in winter months.

Whether you envision a large venue filled with many friends and family, an elegant dinner in a restaurant with a select group of guests or an intimate backyard affair, selecting the location first, will set the tone for all the other wedding planning arrangements you make.

Tip 2: Get detailed quotes in writing from each vendor to limit discrepancies later on.

As with most items and services individuals purchase, costs can vary, and weddings are no exception. Comparison shop for everything on your list. Select reputable vendors, ask for references and to see examples of their work. Inform them of your budget for their services and stick to it.

Tip 3: List all of the things you’d like to have at the wedding and prioritize them. High priority is where you spend, low priority is where you save.

For the low priority items on your list, consider a DIY project or engage the help of friends or family members that are creative or have a skill. In lieu of a wedding gift, they can help keep your costs down by making centerpieces, invitations, or taking photographs.

Where Will You Save the Money for Your Wedding?

When it comes to finding an account for this special savings fund, look for a high-interest rate, an account that compounds interest on a daily basis and one that keeps money liquid and insured. Accounts with no fees, and low or no minimums can help maximize your savings. If you are comfortable, consider opening a joint bank account with your partner. A joint bank account is an account owned by two or more individuals that have equal privileges to make transactions. The benefit of a joint bank account is that you both have access to the funds making it easy to deposit, withdraw, monitor balances, and save together for the big day.

At Jovia, you can open the account online or in a local branch and make a deposit the day you open the account. Ensure the account has online and mobile access which makes it easy to view and manage the account anytime, from wherever you are. You can set up alerts, deposit checks with mobile deposit, set-up recurring transfers to save more quickly, and you can even use digital wallet to securely make payments with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

You and your partner will need valid ID, date of birth, social security card or number and current home address when opening the account.

Ready to Open an Account Today?

Remember, this is a time to enjoy! Align your plans, create a realistic wedding budget, open a savings account and start saving today for your wedding and your future. You and your soon-to-be spouse will be glad you did!

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