Why do people think it's necessary to have a big wedding when they cannot afford it?

floss2

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

why are you on mse!! our budget is £4k, n think will come in under that. 20k is a lot!

Maybe because they are saving £20k up by using the tips on here? And we don't know how long the savings plan is for.

MSE is not exclusive to those with little money, we are all as entitled as anyone else!

Toothfairy4

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

why are you on mse!! our budget is £4k, n think will come in under that. 20k is a lot!

That's a bit harsh... Just because she HAS 20k doesn't mean she can't find out ways to get bargains. And if they can afford it the IMO it's much better than the OPs friend who us doing it all on credit!

Bluefire

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

why are you on mse!! our budget is £4k, n think will come in under that. 20k is a lot!

I think MSE can be useful no matter what your budget is. It can help you with regards to saving money in the first place for your budget, and then help you get value for money with your purchases for the wedding itself. If you want to spend a large amount of money on your 'big day' then it can also help you find a way to do it without getting into too much debt. We have a budget available to us of 9.5K, which is more than I would have ever hoped to spend on our wedding were we paying for it ourselves. However I'm not excluding myself from the MSE forums because of it, at the end of the day if using MSE helps us save in some areas it means we can be more extravagant in others if we wish!

sammy_wheeler

Anyway- back to the post--
OP- are you going to the wedding?

DanielleNic87

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

Anyway- back to the post--
OP- are you going to the wedding?

Yes i am going to the wedding Sammy.

missknixon

I wouldn't be going! I would say that I don't want to be the one to make you bankrupt!

My cousin was given money from her parents and her MiL - they gave her £8k she still managed to rack up another £4k in debts on credit cards! She is still paying it (and a lot more than that in interest). We have saved up and have £4k - to me the bridal party having matching suits is not important and absolutely impossible - my dad is a big man my OH is tiny. We could only get one suit that they did in both sizes and it looked wrong! My OH and his best man are in black the dad's are in grey! Hoping it wont matter! Sorry went off point - what I meant was that there are different things that are important to different people!

lindens

I don't know much about being bankrupt, but don't they look into the ins and outs as to what you have spent the money on? And they can turn it down can't they?

Kittendreich

Each to their own. Lots of people buy lots of things they can't afford (cars, houses, holidays, clothes....& weddings) - it is just a case of not accepting that you have to live within your means. It is the whole problem about life today that has led to MSE being necessary!

I'd advise your friend to look on here and get tips about reducing her budget...but at the end of the day it is her life - if she wants many years of financial difficulty to pay for one day it is up to her (daft, but up to her!).

csh_2

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

why are you on mse!! our budget is £4k, n think will come in under that. 20k is a lot!

Being MSE isn't about having the cheapest of everything and spending the least, its about spending the money you do have wisely and getting the best deal for the things you want.

I'm spending around 7.5k and the day will have the look and feel of a 15k wedding. Now thats MSE. :money:

huzzer84

We are also having a wedding that is looking like coming in at about £20k. But we're fortunate / work hard enough as two decently paid professionals to be able to do that. I've also lived with my parents for a few extra years (to support mum through a divorce) so I have more savings, so as others have said, it's as much about what you can afford as what figure you're actually spending.

Whether you're spending £4k or £40k, what matters is that you have a great day. We're paying extra for a gorgeous venue and to be able to invite more people to celebrate with us, but you have to live within your means in everything you do, including your wedding.

And yes, it IS just a day, so we are only spending what we can afford, no point getting into debt that you can't comfortably afford to pay back (there's nothing wrong with debt managed in the right way, e.g. be MSE by borrowing against a mortgage rather than paying a higher rate on a standard bank loan).