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How will I save for a wedding???

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Hi Guys,

So I recently popped the question to my girlfriend and we are both very excited about tieing the knot, but cant really see how we'll manage to save for the big day!
To give you a better picture, she is fortunate enough to have only a student loan floating over her head, but I have about £10,000 spread across various low/zero interest cards and loans (about £1500 left of the loan) that I am slowly paying off.
My big question is this - should I be concentrating all of my money on paying off my debt, or trying to put some into an ISA for the wedding?
I am under the impression that I would be better off working my way out of debt, but then how will I ever manage to get money together for one of the biggest days of our lives????

Any help or guidance would be much appreciated!!!
«1

Comments

  • Well, weddings don't have to be expensive! Ours cost £200 10 years ago (when we were skint) ... but on our 10th anniversary, we had a massive blowout (when we weren't skint)!!

    Ask yourself what is it you want from the wedding and woirk out your budget first.

    Oh by the way - Premier Inn are offering this for £199:

    Click:
    With the average wedding now costing a staggering £21,000*, Brits could be mistaken for thinking that their big day needs a big budget to go with a bang. The UK’s biggest budget hotel chain Premier Inn is launching a wedding package for just £199, giving brides and grooms a day to remember – without the hefty price tag.

    The great value £199 deal from Premier Inn is a limited offer for couples who are strapped for cash but want a special and affordable wedding day.






    The wedding package is being offered at five Premier Inn locations across the UK and will include:

    - Wedding outfits for the couple (suit/dress)
    - Confetti for guests
    - A buffet reception for up to 20 guests
    - Wedding cake
    - Best man’s speech template
    - A Premier Inn Honeymoon – two night’s stay for the couple including dinner, bed and breakfast, rose petals for the bed, sparkling wine, strawberries and chocolates, spa hamper and nightwear

    It's not personal, It's strictly business.
  • Id get yourself over to the wedding forum and everyone there will be more then happy to share their wisdom.

    Currently helping my sister plan her wedding, cost £300!
    Debt free since July 2013! Woo hoo! The bank actually laughed when I said I have come in to cancel my overdraft.
  • Thanks for the help, but I'm afraid neither the Bride to be or myself want to scrimp on this. We do want to get some money together. We both have big families, and whilst we want to save money where possible (i.e. no sit down meal and pulling favours wherever we can), we still want the big party and nice surroundings to celebrate our marraige. My real question is should i pay off the debts, or try to save at the same time(thus slowing the time in which I repay the debts)?
  • p00hsticks
    p00hsticks Posts: 14,414 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    My real question is should i pay off the debts, or try to save at the same time(thus slowing the time in which I repay the debts)?

    At its most simple, if the interest you are getting charged on the debts is higher than the interest you would receive by putting the money into savings account, the most cost-effective option is to pay off your debt first.
  • globalds
    globalds Posts: 9,431 Forumite
    can you increase your income ?
  • GillsMan7
    GillsMan7 Posts: 246 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    You don't have to spend silly amounts. You can spend as little or as much as you want. We spent £6K on ours (including the honeymoon in Dubai) which is obviously a lot of money but waaaay under the national average. We could easily have spent significantly less.

    You don't have to pay for everything either. Those that matter to you won't worry about paying for their own food if you can't afford it. Anyone that grumbles probably shouldn't be at the wedding anyway as they clearly don't care about you.

    It's not very MSE, but you could always pay off your debts, then put the expensive things on a new credit card for the wedding. My wedding was largely paid for on credit card; I don't advise it, but it is an option.
  • malik999
    malik999 Posts: 376 Forumite
    >My big question is this - should I be concentrating all of my money on paying off my debt, or trying to put some into an ISA for the wedding?

    Its more down to your time line really.
    Personally if i was in your shoes i would have a long engagement and concentrate on clearing my debts. Why you would want to start you married life bringing both your current debts and then adding more debt from a wedding makes no sense to me. Then again you might be keen on getting married as soon as possible in which case the answer to your question is both, pay debt and save, because you need money for both.
  • Castleman
    Castleman Posts: 365 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Thanks for the help, but I'm afraid neither the Bride to be or myself want to scrimp on this... we still want the big party and nice surroundings to celebrate our marraige. ...

    This might be why you have £10k's worth of debts, because you won't scrimp on things? I can see why you wouldn't want to scrimp on your wedding, but do you have this attitude with other things (tv, sky, latest phone, food etc etc?) as sacrifices do have to be made to get out of debt/make good savings.

    Without having to be cheap, you can consider options (e.g. pubs that do free buffets if you have 40+ people buying drinks etc) that make it more affordable. Remember people want to be there because of you, not because of the venue etc!
  • missile
    missile Posts: 11,763 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I think you need to take a reality check, you are £11,500 in debt............... How much do you have left at the end of each month?
    "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
    Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:
  • ERICS_MUM
    ERICS_MUM Posts: 3,579 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    There are some ifs and buts to this question.

    Do you live together now, will you need to change your "accommodation" once you are married ? How old are you both ? How long do you think it would take you to re-pay your debts if you really worked at it (i.e. instead of saving the money in a deposit account). When do you plan to get married ? Would both sets of parents be contributing to the wedding costs ?
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