Wedding Financing?

[NeverlandClub23]

I'm not engaged yet but I wanted to get an idea of how other people are able to finance their weddings. I wanted to start saving now as it costs alot to get married and have a big wedding. Do you save, take out loans, or do relatives help out? I'm thinking a few of our relatives may help but if they don't I'm not sure how we're going to be able to afford a wedding for all of our family and friends to attend and still be the wedding of our dreams (as dbf has already said eloping or a small wedding is out of the question, I could careless as long as he's there and my parents are too but I want it to be what he wants as well). I hope this question isn't inappropriate and doesn't offend anyone. I would love to have a Disney wedding but the only thing I would be able to afford is an Intimate, so that's out as we have a list of at least fifty people who "have" to be there. Thanks for any help or tips!!

 

[sarah_n_brian2006]

Honestly, I started a thread about financing, and got alot of comments on how financing is bad. Our parents are helping us with half of the wedding. We are taking out a loan for the wedding and plan on using the gift money to pay it off. As we are planning on possibly buying a house at the end of this year or middle of next (and in South Florida it's not inexpensive). So we want to get the wedding over and done with. Plus we're not savers. So we figured having a bill saying to pay on the wedding in small lumps is easier than saving thousands of dollars for a payment. Good luck, just remember, everyone will put their honest opinions on here. Take from it, don't let it get to you (as people on here do get passionate on their opinion on financing). Have fun!

 

[sarah_n_brian2006]

Also, to save money I am having an Epcot wedding, it's 9 am (which makes the minimum per person on food $75 virsus the $100 dinner). The locations are beautiful enough that no pew decor is fine. We have chosen the Living Seas for the reception so that the only decor I need is a small centerpiece, the linens are perfect for the site. We have decided on a Monday, so people can hang out after and then head home in the evening. They could have a weekend to spend there only taking one day off. Therefore we need a minimum of $10k. $10k on a wedding nowadays is nothing and we're planning a wonderful wedding that will fit perfectly in that budget. Just let the DFTW people know your budget and ability and they can still make it beautiful with that!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

hi there! we paid cash for everything! it was the only way to do it for us!! we wanted to come out ahead and not behind in any way!!!

Just so you know you can't always depend on the gift money, believe me, we didn't get anywhere near what we paid, but everyone still had a BLAST!!!!!!

As far as big weddings, we had soo many people on our guest list and then nowhere near the people that said YES came! we had less than half of the invited!! so don't always base your #'s on people that are saying yes right now we even had people that said yes up until the DAY OF THE WEDDING that didn't show up!!! oh well, it was still GREAT!!!

And then as far as relatives, we had our ILFH (in laws from H*ll) promise to pay for the liquor and close to the wedding, they decided not to! ughh...we didn't depend on anyone and then came out having the greatest time and in NO debt at all!!! AWESOME way to start your lives together \

HTH!!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I am hoping more people don't show up than actually do, when the time comes . Also, I'm hoping with most of our relatives living in VA and NC that if we got married in Disney some people wouldn't be able to come. That sounds so bad! I am starting to save now but I know I don't want to wait more than a year after I'm engaged to get married so if that happens sometime this year then I only have a year to figure out how to pay for all of it. I'm also hoping that once I take him to WDW for the first time maybe he'll want to get married in Disney too (no matter who can come or who can't ).

Sarah_n_brian2006: We're also looking into getting a house soon after we get married so I don't want to go too crazy with a huge blow-out wedding and then have a mortgage, utilities, etc. to follow right behind it.

I really don't want to rely on anyone offering to help pay for our wedding as I don't want to let too many people to try and get their hands in the "decision making pool" or being a big disaster if they don't come through. If they do that's great, but for us to be able to do what we can afford would be wonderful. Which right now would be a wedding in my backyard with beany weenies for an entree . But I'm sure everything will work out when the time comes.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[princessblueeyzes]

Hi we are saving and paying for our wedding cash as I don't want to depend on anyone to pay for the wedding but us, even though my mom and dad are more than willing to help pay for it. I don't want to put anyone into a financial stress and due to the fact that DF and I are both college students too and working full time all we can afford is an intimate wedding. With that said, I am planning on having a celebration when we get back home for the people who were not invited to the vow part. To save money, I'll probably have it in our backyard as we have 1 acre behind the house. Try and save as much as you can for your wedding and if you do decide to take out a loan, just be sure that it is what you want to do. Either way you'll have a lovely day no matter what.

BTW DF and I priced weddings in Vegas, and in our home town and a WDW intimate wedding was about the same as what we would be charged for 100 plus people.