| 20 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago Paying for your wedding day
|
(NECN) - All this week on Good Morning Live is Wedding Week.
It's no secret that one of the biggest worries of many grooms and brides to be, not to mention their families is figuring out how to pay for the big day.
Joining us now with a few planning tips is Barry Armstrong, financial advisor for Securities America.
According to TheKnot.com, the average cost of a wedding today is $22,000.00 A couple today needs to plan well in advance and the hardest aspect of this whole process is to set a budget and stick to it.
What is the first step after the budget has been set?
You will need to evaluate your priorities. Those priorities can include, but are not limited to, location, menu, flowers, open bar, and band.
Are destination weddings more or less expensive?
A common misconception is that a destination wedding is more expensive than a traditional cape cod wedding. You might want to consider a destination wedding to a place like Jamaica, or Mexico.
The resorts will give you a great price, and typically all of the food, and alcohol is included in the base price. Who can pass up an invitation to Jamaica in the cold month of January?
Is it rude to negotiate your terms and price?
It is not rude! To you this is a romantic day to remember for the rest of your life. To the vendor, this is just another business transaction. We recommend pushy mothers for this role, or perhaps your father if he happens to be
a lawyer.
What other cost cutting suggestions do you have?
You might want to consider a cocktail party accompanied by hearty Hors D`oeuvres. This avoids the costs associated with a 5 course sit down meal, and it keeps the crowd moving.
The other thing to consider is the type of bar you are going to provide. You can save money by having theme bars, and avoiding the top shelf liquors.
According to the wedding report the average cost of a wedding in this area is more than $76,000.00 The hardest part of this process is determining who is paying for what, and obviously setting a budget is the first step.
Now lets talk about some ideas to save costs when it comes to planning your wedding.
Try planning a Friday wedding. This could save you more than 20% compared to Saturdays and Sundays.
Serve beer, wine, and champagne only. Liquor costs more than $50 per bottle, and you pay for each different bottle that is opened. Be prepared a cost of an additional cost of at least $18 per head if you provide an open bar, not too mention a few unruly guests.
You might want to consider renting Cadillacs in place of limos. You get to keep the cadillacs for 24 hours, and the limos are only good for a few ours.
Wedding vendors such as photographers, bands, and caterers can be reserved well in advance, and this will save you money. The only danger here is that your deposit could be lost if they go out of business between the time you give them your deposit and the big date!
Backyard weddings are a blast. We went to one last summer in Connecticut, and the setting was beautiful. It saved a fortune compared to a big hotel, and fortunately we had great weather.
Don`t overestimate your guest count. If you reserve for 175, and only 150 show up, you still get to pay for the entire 175. Cutting back on the guest list is also a cost saving idea.
And a reminder to stay tune all week for more wedding tips.
Coming up later this morning, well be joined by Boston Weddings editor Donna Garlough with some wedding etiquette tips.
We are still looking for your wedding horror stories. You can email them to weddings@necn.com.
We'll read the best at the end of the week.
Play video