Wedding in 2014 and other big expenses!

Randvegeta

Okay, so my fiancee and I are getting married on June 14th 2014. But in addition to the wedding, we have a number of large expenses which is making planning a little difficult.

So here's the situation.

We just bought a house on a mortgage. Deposit made and monthly installments are easily covered. However it is not in livable condition and we need to renovate it first.

Renovation costs estimated to be between £20,000 and £25,000

We are getting married in June. Estimated cost (excluding external contributions) is £10,000.

We also plan on going for a big honeymoon. Also at a cost of £10,000. We will be going immediately after the wedding!

So in total we are looking at £40 - £45K.

At the moment we have about £18,000 saved for these expenses and by June 1st, we will have saved another £22,000. This means by the wedding date, we should have the lower end of our estimated bugdet for everything!

The problem is, as we don't have the money NOW, and all of these need paying for, what is the estimated time funds are needed for each? I'm mainly concerned about the wedding.

We could for example, spend all the current £18,000 on the much needed renovation so we can move into our new house ASAP. But then we wont have anything left for paying for wedding expenses. How much time before the wedding date is typically required before bills and stuff need to be paid? I know deposits for certain services, such as venue and catering are generally expected but what is the typical deposit amount and when is that typically required?

My fiancee is handling most of the wedding details. My job is simply to manage the money!

We have a bit of balancing act to play as we NEED to move into our new house by the end of the year or we will have to keep renting our current apartment. But the new house doesn't need to be 'finished'. Only livable. But of course we would prefer to be more comfortable in our own home but NOT at the expense of our wedding.

Any ideas welcome. Thanks!

Trixsie1989

Hiya, we've been told that all of the money needs to be paid for the wedding at the very latest 6 weeks before and the honeymoon at least 14 weeks before. Could you not split your savings and do £9k off each?would you be able to live in your house then? Xxx

split_second

individual suppliers vary, our venue wants final numbers and money 2 weeks before, most other things are 4-6 weeks before.

speak to them and see what they say, my main problem has been that my bank blocks my card every time i spend a lot in one go so i got a 0% purchases credit card incase they start playing silly again

Randvegeta

Trixsie1989 wrote: »

Hiya, we've been told that all of the money needs to be paid for the wedding at the very latest 6 weeks before and the honeymoon at least 14 weeks before. Could you not split your savings and do £9k off each?would you be able to live in your house then? Xxx

Hi Trixsie. It would be possible to do the house in stages. Right now, it is an office so its not that it's in poor condition, it just doesn't have a kitchen or a real bathroom. We plan on knocking down a lot of walls.. I suppose we could technically move in with the walls, floor and bathroom done, and get the kitchen and furniture later on.

If it is 6 weeks before the wedding that's not a big deal as we will basically have almost everything we need by June 1st any way. 14 weeks before the honey moon is more difficult though. That would mean March... I know it's possible to book everything last minute, but of course you may not get the best deals last minute..

individual suppliers vary, our venue wants final numbers and money 2 weeks before, most other things are 4-6 weeks before.

speak to them and see what they say, my main problem has been that my bank blocks my card every time i spend a lot in one go so i got a 0% purchases credit card incase they start playing silly again

Thanks for the input Split! I don't expect to have problems with my cards. Sadly not able to get any 0% credit cards (that would be handy!) but if push comes to shove, I could use my Visa or Amex and just suck up the interest for a few months.

Will keep in mind a 6 week period for 'advance' payment. Obviously not an exact time frame so will have to try and contact all suppliers individually. Just trying to get a feel for what people typically get.

floss2

Could I make a small suggestion? That maybe you consider scaling doww some of your plans until you are able to pay for them? I appreciate you need to sort out your living accomodation, but why not think about changing other plans such as putting back the wedding for a year, or having your big honeymoon for your first anniversary.

neon_dannii

floss2 wrote: »

Could I make a small suggestion? That maybe you consider scaling doww some of your plans until you are able to pay for them? I appreciate you need to sort out your living accomodation, but why not think about changing other plans such as putting back the wedding for a year, or having your big honeymoon for your first anniversary.

This. I don't think you have the funds to go on a £10k honeymoon!! Postponing this would make more sense as the other costs are more important!

Randvegeta

floss2 wrote: »

Could I make a small suggestion? That maybe you consider scaling doww some of your plans until you are able to pay for them? I appreciate you need to sort out your living accomodation, but why not think about changing other plans such as putting back the wedding for a year, or having your big honeymoon for your first anniversary.

Thanks for the input but we have our hear set on the plans as is.

1.) House is purchased and if we do not get the work it needs done, then we will be paying extra for rent. Technically it is an option, but not one that I am keen on given it means wasting money on rent!

2.) Wedding date already set with venue already booked. People have already started to make plans so unwilling to change this.

3.) The honeymoon may technically be postponed. We arn't going to postpone it a whole year of course! We wanted to go on that traditional, honey moon straight after marriage thing, and the timing is perfect (June wedding!).

This. I don't think you have the funds to go on a £10k honeymoon!! Postponing this would make more sense as the other costs are more important!

Of course I kind of agree. However the OH really has her heart set on going STRAIGHT away. We aren't doing any of this on debt and apart from the mortgage, we have no debt of any kind, and by my estimations, we should have enough saved up to pay for everything by the wedding date any way. Push comes to shove we can put it on our credit card for a month or two and just suck up the interest. Or we could sell some of our investments... But I'm trying to get everything into the cash that will be available and pay for things as it comes in. I think it should be possible but requires some planning.

floss2

Randvegeta wrote: »

....3.) The honeymoon may technically be postponed. We arn't going to postpone it a whole year of course! We wanted to go on that traditional, honey moon straight after marriage thing, and the timing is perfect (June wedding!).



Of course I kind of agree. However the OH really has her heart set on going STRAIGHT away. We aren't doing any of this on debt and apart from the mortgage, we have no debt of any kind, and by my estimations, we should have enough saved up to pay for everything by the wedding date any way. Push comes to shove we can put it on our credit card for a month or two and just suck up the interest. Or we could sell some of our investments... But I'm trying to get everything into the cash that will be available and pay for things as it comes in. I think it should be possible but requires some planning.

Why not? Lots of people have a few days away immediately after and then do the big honeymoon a year later. I certainly did, as did quite a few other posters.

If you really honestly will have the cash to pay, but not always at the right time, then put the venue onto a credit card (which also covers you for any problems) and pay your cash off your c/c bill.

Randvegeta

floss2 wrote: »

Why not? Lots of people have a few days away immediately after and then do the big honeymoon a year later. I certainly did, as did quite a few other posters.

If you really honestly will have the cash to pay, but not always at the right time, then put the venue onto a credit card (which also covers you for any problems) and pay your cash off your c/c bill.

Been working the numbers and found that indeed I could probably cover a good chunk of the bill with my credit card and pay minimal interest freeing up some cash and having it all paid off by July!

Thanks for the info guys!