Ahhh your wedding day. The biggest day of your life. Let us paint the picture, shall we?
You and your partner are standing face to face, gazing into each other’s glistening eyes, hands entwined with your diamond and gold wedding rings catching the summer sunlight.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife”.
You kiss for the first time as a married couple, the orchestra starts playing, a thousand and one white doves are released behind the altar. You turn to face the hundreds upon hundreds of guests. You begin down the red carpet as your adoring guests throw dozens of roses at your feet. Your glamorous Rolls Royce awaits to take you to the fairy tale castle for the reception.
“Wait, Rolls Royce? fairy tale castle?” Yup, that’s right, you’re dreaming!
This is your day, you deserve it to be everything you ever wanted….within reason and within reality, of course. When working with your friends at Visia, we ensure to meet a happy middle ground that ticks the dream checklist, but also is achievable!
Here are some of our top tips on being financially ready for your wedding day:
Do a budget and stick to it
Weddings are expensive, there’s no doubt about it. Unless you’re eloping or popping down the registrar, you can be sure it’s going to cost a pretty penny. How much of one, is up to you and your budgeting skills. Sit down with your partner and work out how much you want/can spend. Factor in if you’re parents, or relatives are willing to help and get a number set in stone.
Once you have a budget you believe is manageable, you can start the fun stuff like guest lists and location scouting. But please, a couple words of advice: just stick to it! It will be very easy to overspend as you’re faced with tough choices like cutting guest lists or maybe getting prawns instead of lobster. Stay strong.
What’s this actually going to cost you?
Let’s say you’re an average kinda person, average height, average income, average amount of friends, average amount of family and average tastes in food and drinks. How much is an average wedding? Well, according the stats… the average wedding in Australia costs between 50-70 thousand dollars!
Let’s just put that into perspective. That’s a deposit on a first home or an extravagant dream holiday that lasts months, not one day. Or maybe the start of a decent investment portfolio or a brand-new dream car.
Take a hard look at your priorities in life. And if having an amazing wedding is still on top, go for it.
Partners in crime
You and your partner are making a huge commitment to each other. It’s also now time to make a financial commitment. Ask, yourselves how you want to manage your money. Are you merging your finances? Have you already done it? Getting married can bring some good financial benefits and you have a better chance of reaching financial freedom by working together than on your own.
What’s the plan when the wedding bells stop ringing?
Waking up on your wedding day, you’re likely a little hungover, a little tired, totally in love and a lot out of pocket. It’s over, finally. All that stress, planning and money is gone. Hopefully it was all you hoped for, as all you have now is the totally amazing insta pics, memories and some gifts. Oh, and a loving partner for life. But, it’s time to move forward. Well, after the honeymoon at least.
You’ve nailed the love game, now it’s time to hammer home the finance game. At Visia, we can help you and your new life partner achieve your financial goals in life. For every stage of life, a trusted financial adviser is here to navigate you through it. Chat to us today.
Kora Drage is an Authorised Representative of Financial Wisdom Limited ABN 70 006 646 108, AFSL 231138. The information contained in this article may contain general advice. It does not take into account your financial circumstances and objectives. You should consider talking to a financial adviser and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making a financial decision. Any views and opinions provided in this article may not reflect the views and opinions of Financial Wisdom Limited.
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