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Credit Wise Unbridled Spending: How to Have a Beautiful Wedding without Going Broke
I
have stood face to face with a real monster and I gave it a blender. I am not
talking about Big Foot or Nessy. Nope, I have met Bridezilla and I was seriously
afraid. You may have met her, too. Unfortunately, there is more than one. What
is truly scary is that you never know if your normally sweet best friend or
beautiful daughter may have a Bridezilla lurking inside her, just waiting to be
unleashed. More...
You know the type--the bride who has to have every single detail of her special day exactly how she has envisioned it since she was a little tot with a tea towel clipped to her head. The one who will destroy anyone who dares to disturb her vision of her perfect wedding day. Yes, to Bridezilla, the wedding is the most important thing she has ever done and may ever do. She will spare no expense, even if it means that her parents or her fiancé have to get a second mortgage to pay for it. I read recently in Newsweek
that the average wedding costs around $30,000. If you put that into perspective,
it is roughly the same price as a really nice new car or 1 year at Harvard. It
is 3/4 of the amount that the average American makes in an entire year. Since
the average wedding and reception lasts about 4 hours, that equates to about
$125.00 per minute. No wonder Bridezilla is a little testy! I am not trying to make light
of the importance of a wedding. It truly is one of the most important decisions
you will make in your lifetime. However, it is important to remember that the
cost of the wedding is in no way related to the happiness of the marriage. I
have attended gorgeous weddings with impeccable details, a stunning bride,
gourmet food, and a total price tag totaling more than my entire college
education. The wedding was perfect but the marriage lasted 8 months.
Unfortunately, many couples spend more time planning the 4-hour wedding and
reception than they do preparing for their marriage. If you have unlimited funds
and want a lavish wedding that celebrities would envy, that is your decision.
However, most brides aren’t that lucky. The good news is that you can still
have a beautiful, meaningful wedding without going broke. Keep in mind that the
event is supposed to be about celebrating your love for each other, not how much
you spend. Here are some tips to think about when planning your special day.
The most important thing to remember when planning a wedding is that the day should be about the two of you and your love for each other. Even if tradition and etiquette are very important to you, there are still plenty of ways to make it special without a lot of expense. Don’t get sucked in to the wedding marketing hype perpetuated by a multibillion dollar industry. It is perfectly acceptable to have a wedding without every single latest wedding trend. Things like hand-calligraphy invitations, napkins, décor or favors are items that most people won’t even notice. The things that people remember most about my wedding are that my 6-year-old son gave me away and that my groom sang to me. Both of those may have been free but the memories are priceless to me.
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Copyright © 2007 by Jennifer Wallis. All rights reserved. Want more money-saving tips? Get a FREE Subscription to our monthly newsletter!
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