Sense to Save

Plan ahead for out-of-town weddings

M has two wedding-related questions for me. I’ll answer the first now, and the second one about wedding gifts in an upcoming post:

Do any of you budget for future weddings (friends’ weddings, not your own)? I’m specifically thinking about ones that will require air travel, hotel, etc. Any tips are appreciated.

Thanks for your questions! I’ll do my best to answer them, and I hope readers will add their own ideas in the comments section.

Not many of my friends or family members are getting married in the near future. The last wedding I attended (that wasn’t my own) was in December 2006. The next one for us is in May (in Florida!), and as of now, that’s the last one we’ll be attending for some time, as far as I can tell.

I’ve written about my Florida trip plans (see links below), and while it’s looking to be cheaper than I first thought, it’s still going to be quite expensive for us. In fact, it’s probably going to be around 1/3 of the cost of our own wedding!

I think in a few years, more of my friends will be getting married, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead for those happy times so they won’t have a negative effect on our budget. Once our emergency fund is completed, we’ll start a separate savings sub-account, where we can earmark money for gifts in general, and also wedding travel.

I don’t know how much we’ll put in the general gifts/wedding travel fund just yet, but I’m guessing it’ll be somewhere around $25-50 per month or so until we’re up to about $1,000. Since we don’t have single/engaged friends in Pittsburgh, we’ll have to travel to the next wedding we attend–whenever that is. Dunno for sure on that, though.

If you sense that you’ll be attending some weddings in the future, it’s a good idea to start saving. How much should you sock away? Consider some costs of standard items I’ve listed below. There’s lots of room to be frugal here, of course.

And, if you know you’ll need to travel to attend someone’s wedding, the sooner you can start planning, the better it will be on your budget.

Costs many wedding guests can expect Read more »

Reader question: Saving money on wedding rings

A question from a reader:

My question is if you could recommend frugal places or tips regarding ring buying. My fiancé and I both want simple white gold or platinum (him only) bands with no diamonds, no engraving. Thanks!

Thanks for the question!

I think my advice will be limited, so I really hope other readers will add their input.

Since you want something simple, I think you’ll easily be able to find something that suits you without costing a fortune.

Before you even set foot into a jewelry store, decide how much money you are comfortable spending on your wedding bands. If it’s $300 (or whatever) total, don’t let yourself exceed that.

Also, don’t forget to factor in sales tax. If you spent $300, that’s $21in sales tax at 7 percent, and $18 at 6 percent, for example.

I would suggest that both of you go to a brick & mortar jewelry store so that you and your fiance can determine your correct ring size. That should save resizing it in the future, hopefully.

And, if your fiance is anything like my husband, his wedding band is the first ring he’s ever worn. It’s a good idea for him (and you) to try on styles you like to see how it looks with your skintone, to make sure the size of the ring compared to the size of your hand looks good, and to make sure it’s comfortable.

At first, Shane was leaning toward a white gold ring, but changed his mind and decided he preferred yellow gold once he saw how it looked on him.

As for me, I’m a white gold-only gal.

Anyways… Read more »

Our wedding: The photography

Wedding photography can cost a fortune. I once had a summer job at a photography place. Wedding packages were in the 4-digit price range, and often didn’t include every photo taken. Yikes!

Having great wedding photos is crucial. In the whirlwind of the day, you probably won’t be able to take in all of the action going on around you. Hopefully, your photographer can capture most of it for you.

If you go with a regular photo studio, see if you can negotiate the package to fit your needs. Will they allow you to have all of the digital files of the photos so you can make your own prints?

If you go with a freelance photographer, be sure you’ve seen his or her work. If you don’t know the photographer well, ask for references.

And: Sign a contract.

If you live near a major university, check to see if the school has a photography department. Some budding photographers might want to build their wedding portfolio, and they’ll often be able to give you a great rate.

Or, seek photographers at the campus newspaper and yearbook.

Since I have a journalism background, I knew I wanted my wedding photography to be more photojournalistic in style.

Be sure to discuss the specific types of shots you want taken before the big day.

I hired an extremely talented photographer from the paper/yearbook. Everything went well, and a few days later, he gave me all of my photos, burned to DVDs.

As part of our agreement, I made my own prints.

I saved thousands of dollars for going this route. The photographer made some money and added to his portfolio, and I got a great deal on my photos.

Above is a photo that’s one of my favorites. My husband says it looks classic–like it could have been in a magazine in years past.

Check out my dad, wiping a tear from his eye with his handkerchief. We were about to go up the stairs leading to the church sanctuary.

I saw the photos immediately before this shot. They were average–Dad and I were talking, he started to reach for his handkerchief, I turned to look at the girls… and this image is priceless.

Great photography means anticipating the moment and being ready to capture it in a partial second.