How are you going to afford your wedding?
By peregra
@peregra (57)
United States
June 19, 2007 2:58pm CST
Last November, my fiance (boyfriend at the time) proposed to me. We didn't have a ring because we couldn't afford it at the time, and still can't. For Christmas though, his mother gave us her a necklace with a diamond on it so that we could use it for the ring. Then his dad gave him his original wedding ring so that we could use it for his ring. So eventually, after we have money to do this (which has to wait until we pay off most of our debts) we will have rings.
But then comes the cost of the marriage. I've been watching our finances very carefully lately, and it looks like we won't be able to afford the costs of a wedding until October of 2008. While it's exciting to plan a wedding, it's also stressful. I work a full time job, as does he, but we have so much debt to pay off that it won't even be paid off by the end of this year.
We have found a few things to help. He's in a band, and their photographer is glad to do our wedding photos for free, so that's really nice. His father may help us, but he may not, so who knows?
In the meantime, I'm trying to earn whatever extra money I can to help pay off the debts quicker, like on here. Any other ways that you guys know of to earn money online without paying anything first? I'd be glad to use you as a referral. I'm not very interested in paid to read, or paid to click sites. I like mylot because I'm not limited on how much I can make per day, the payout isn't a two month wait amount, and it's something I can actually do. If you know any other ways similar or any other ideas, please let me know. I'd really like to pay off most of our debt by the end of this year, but we have other financial goals, such as we have to move in September when our lease is up here, so we're saving a certain amount to go towards moving.
Any help is much appreciated!
2 people like this
4 responses
@GloomCookieLex (6073)
• United States
19 Jun 07
I have been working on trying to plan/finance a wedding myself. We got engaged in May of '06(I got a ring, but he didn't know what an engagement ring was, so we sorted that out only just recently)and our date is set of May of '08. I have had to downsize from my "dream" a LOT. I have some severe health problems and can't seem to find a job that I'm physically capable of performing, so it seems like I'm going to have to study craft-making and frugal living and let my mom and fiance try to pay for it on the cheap.
If you want, you can e-mail me or whatever so we can exchange ideas and advice. Or you can join a website for brides. Those girls are REALLY helpful. I suggest www.brides.com and www.weddingsolutions.com
Good luck!
@peregra (57)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Thanks so much! I'll request you as a friend in a few and we can exchange ideas. I've been to a few sites, but haven't put as much time as I'd like into it yet. I'm thinking after I take care of some debts I'll really be able to figure things out as far as what we're able to do. It gets me so excited to talk about it! Congratulations on getting married! Do you do a lot online to earn money? I guess that's another aspect that I'm interested in, because in general, if I'm not at work, I'm at home online. If you are, maybe we can trade referrals for our programs haha. Anyway, I'll add you now!
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
19 Jun 07
We will be very practical. We don't want or need anything big, it will be a very small celebration adjusted to the budget we already have. We don't need some big overblown affair for our wedding, just something small and sentimental.
@peregra (57)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Well, I'd like to keep my wedding fairly small and simple, and I really probably won't have many guests on the bride's side. Most of this, though, is because I've only lived in this city for about 3 1/2 years, and don't have childhood friends like he has. He has a large group of friends. Also, his band is pretty well-known in this state, so there's his band and record label to invite. I don't mind this, as most of them are like family to me by now anyway.
I don't mind who's going to be there so much. I don't want a huge wedding. I think around 100-150 people is going to be a realistic estimate, and I may actually be filling half of that, who knows.
Part of who we are, especially him, is very goofy, and very bold. For instance, I don't have many (or any?) friends that are female, so my matron of honor will be my sister, but my bridesmaids will probably include a mixture of his mom (who is probably my best friend besides him), coworkers, and guys that I'm friends with. I've heard of it being done, and I know it's rare, but I think it'll be great. I don't want people that I barely know or that aren't special to me sharing those moments closest.
Anyway, I'm glad you're able to decide what you want and afford it. Kudos to you for recognizing how you want things to be and going after it!
@breepeace (3014)
• Canada
28 Jun 07
Some cost cutting ideas:
-Hold it in a family or friend's backyard, so you save on venue costs, you may have to cut down your guest list but it will be a lot more intimate
-Have a barbeque instead of a big dinner, asks friends and family to make salads or to help pay for food (failing that angle, have a BBQ for your rehearsal dinner instead)
-You've got the photographer angle all figured out :)
-If you or someone you know is into crafts and/or gardening, pick flowers for the bouquets that are seasonal when you will be getting married and make your own bouquets and centrepieces. If you don't know any gardeners, look into artificial flowers or plants, there are some really nice ones that you can buy at bargain shops and dollar stores! Dollar stores are also great for candles, decorations and candle holders for centrepieces! If you want flowers, look into potted plants done up with some tulle or ribbons, they are often cheaper than cut flowers!
-Get a friend to make the cake (or do cupcakes instead!). If you want a cake, ask around to see if anyone kept their cake top, or look into alternative decorations!
-Look at consignment shops for your dress. Often you can find a great deal that may only require a few small alterations to make it your dream dress.. especially if you're close to a seamstress.
-Only have one attendant on each side.. one bridesmaid means there's only one dress to buy, and one groomsman means there's only that tux to rent. If you're choosing to pick up the costs of these, then you can pick up a nice bridesmaid's dress in a color you like and then plan the wedding colors around it, since traditionally, it's the only outfit in the wedding party with any color.
@squaretile (3778)
• Singapore
29 Jun 07
hi there, first of all, start responding to many many discussions. this will help your earnings go up. and you're right, mylot has no daily earning limit and i came across this member who had only joined for like a week but has about a thousand posts. he spends 12 hours in mylot daily. not saying you should do that, but it's a viable source of income if you respond often and participate well.
it's so sweet of your fiance's parents to help you with the rings at least. and sweet of him to want to treat you like a princess and fulfill at least some of your girly wedding dreams, we all have them!
for one, i think you should try to work as much as you can, earn as much from mylot as you can, perhaps he could take on some temp job when his band is having a break. then based on what you can save, budget the wedding carefully. some aspects that you've always wanted will just have to give. I had a wedding recently and those wedding industry folks can be sharks! they will harp on the 'once in a lifetime' thing and try to persuade you to overspend.
so be very disciplined spend within your means, and don't get into more debt. credit card debt is the worst. it has the highest interest rates.
check out some forum sites, like what the other mylotter recommended. some people spent a bomb on their wedding and are trying to sell things they didn't use, or things that are almost brand new and only once used. you could get things at half price at that rate.
all the best, and hoping you have a lovely one!
