# Best way to budget for a wedding?



## Sinead1975 (24 Jan 2007)

Hi there

this is my first post so please bear with me! 
We're hoping to get married some time in the summer of 2008, and I'd like advice about the best way to budget for it. I've been left money by a deceased parent to pay for some of it (about €12,000), hoping to put part of our SSIA in too (about €10,000 between the two of us) and then save a bit each month until The Big Day. So what's the best way to manage this cash? My first thought was to take out a credit card and lodge all the cash into it and hopefully never have to go into "credit" on it (this would be handy for tracking spending online, paying hotels, etc). But I'm open to other suggestions. Our overall budget for it will be about €25k
thanks!


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## polo9n (24 Jan 2007)

i think the method of payment isn't most important..
wat important is that u do up a budget plan on a spreadsheet..
otherwise 25K will be gone like a splash..
u can then adjust the spending in different area..
believe me the moeny is well worth spending...but be careful not to over budget....every tiny thing add up!

all the best on ur wedding!


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## Barley (24 Jan 2007)

We put our money into a joint account and used the cheque-book from it to pay for deposits etc. as we went along. You will need to use a fair bit of it in advance of the wedding to pay for invites, honeymoon etc. so being able to access it and pay for things like that by cheque is important. We just made sure that the account was not touched for anything non-wedding related. Difficult, but necessary! 

You could put it on a credit card if you think this would be best for you, but some suppliers may prefer to be paid in cash. Also, if you do pay by credit card for hotels etc., you can always set it up so that you can transfer money online from a current account to your credit card.


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## Barley (24 Jan 2007)

Yep, I definitely agree with polo - a budget spreadsheet is vital. Try to over-estimate the cost of things as well - it's nice to see the budget decrease rather than increase!


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## Sinead1975 (24 Jan 2007)

Thanks Polo9n for the advice
You're definitely right about how all the tiny things can add up and next thing you know you end up paying an extra €500 for chairs with bows as opposed to chairs without!! We do need to do up a budget and figure out what we're willing to compromise on but I know we're luckier than some - hopefully we won;t have to take out a loan to pay for it.
thanks again


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## Sinead1975 (24 Jan 2007)

Thanks to Barley too!!


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## polo9n (24 Jan 2007)

NO PROBLEM AT ALL, believe me planning for the wedding is one of the most nerve whacking thing on earth, there will be a lot of arguments between u guys! just be patient with it and its all worth it looking back 10 year on...with ur kids looking at the wedding pictures...
maybe worth while to take pictures of the whole wedding preparation..to the wedding day..good luck


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## ajapale (24 Jan 2007)

Ive come accross this site recently which is fun.

http://www.weddingsonline.ie/discussion/


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## Barley (24 Jan 2007)

polo9n said:


> maybe worth while to take pictures of the whole wedding preparation..to the wedding day..


 
Haha! So you can track when the grey hairs started to appear! Only kidding - it's great fun, really..........


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## polo9n (24 Jan 2007)

months of preparation...and all it takes one day..you are married before you know it!


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## Barley (24 Jan 2007)

Exactly. Being engaged is great fun, but the day goes by so quickly - scary really.

That said, I don't regret spending a fortune on it - was well worth it.


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## Sinead1975 (24 Jan 2007)

Hi ajapale

I've actually been browsing through the discussion board on weddingsonline.ie and i've had bouts of total panic about the discussions on the prices of priests (can be up to €600 apparently!!!). So I thought I'd dip my toes in with AskAboutMoney to get "sensible" advice on the budgeting side of things anyway! Don't know about taking photos during the countdown towards The Big Day - not sure if this would fit in with our budget!


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## Barley (24 Jan 2007)

For 25k you could get a really decent wedding Sinead. With that much money at your disposal, I wouldn't worry too much about affording it - you're in a way better position than most people with a year and a half to go - so enjoy!


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## liteweight (25 Jan 2007)

Sinead1975 said:


> Hi there
> 
> I've been left money by a deceased parent to pay for some of it (about €12,000),



Where do you have this money at the moment? Look up the best buys on this forum to see where you'd get the best return on this amount. Northern Rock or Rabo were best when last I looked.


			
				Sinead said:
			
		

> hoping to put part of our SSIA in too (about €10,000 between the two of us) and then save a bit each month until The Big Day. So what's the best way to manage this cash?



Once you've sorted out where to put the lump sum and your SSIAs, think about opening one of the Regular Saver accounts. They have an interest rate of approx. 6%. Let your money make money until you absolutely have to spend it.


			
				Sinead said:
			
		

> My first thought was to take out a credit card and lodge all the cash into it and hopefully never have to go into "credit" on it (this would be handy for tracking spending online, paying hotels, etc). But I'm open to other suggestions. Our overall budget for it will be about €25k
> thanks!



Very bad idea.....no interest. You can still pay by cc if you wish and transfer money from your bank as required. Definitely make your money work for you over the next year. Every little helps and it's surprising how many of the 'little things' can be managed on a monthly basis without touching savings! Negotiate everything. Congratulations...exciting times so enjoy!


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## uncorked (25 Jan 2007)

I have to agree with liteweight here. I wouldn't advise putting that amount of money on a credit card. AFAIK you would have no comeback with the bank if your card was used fraudulently. You would be srcewed. Also you would not make a cent in interest. 

Again Rabo Direct or Northern Rock to make some few cents in interest. 

Practically, a current account with a cheque book and laser card would be handy. Maybe you could do both and transfer money from Rabo Account to a Current account as you need it. I assume you would be able to do all this online.

PS Congratulations and enyoy


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## conor_mc (25 Jan 2007)

uncorked said:


> I have to agree with liteweight here. I wouldn't advise putting that amount of money on a credit card.


 
Alot of hotels won't accept cc as payment for the reception - cash, cheque or bank draft only, several days in advance etc, etc.

You probably won't be able to pay some other providers by CC, esp if you're trying to cut a deal with them. Church singers, smaller wedding-car companies, DJ's, maybe even your band - it's quite conceivable that none of these would accept a credit card anyway.


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## Thrifty1 (26 Jan 2007)

Congratulations Sinead, spreadsheet very good idea , there will be so much expenditure to keep track of.

We had a lump sum saved into a joint account and withdrew money from it to pay large expenses.

We transferred a sum from each of our "wages" accounts into this each week.

What we had left in our own accounts we tried to pay small expenses out of, deposits and such.

We found this great as these really add up but it meant we werent touching the wedding account all the time (i hope im making sense)


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## Thrifty1 (26 Jan 2007)

Sinead i just wanted to say about weddingsonline it is great for advice on money saving tips but some of the girls go overboard, some are spending up to €40,000 so dont panic.

You could spend €100k easily on a wedding if you went mad, be sensible and decide what you really can and cant do without and take it from there.


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## gearoidmm (26 Jan 2007)

Set up a joint account - 30 day notice with a good interest rate a year ago - so that we couldn't touch it.  Pay money into it regularly and now the wedding is essentially paid for..  and the interest will pay for the video guy!  Don't even think of putting it on a credit card


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## Barley (26 Jan 2007)

Sound advice there. Don't get too het up on what other people are spending on weddings Sinead - you have more than enough at your disposal to ensure you can afford the day that you want. So sit back and enjoy the run-up to it!


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## Elphaba (28 Jan 2007)

Best way to budget for a wedding?....dont get married!


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## Sinead1975 (29 Jan 2007)

Thanks to everyone for all the tips and advice. I think we'll forget about the credit card option, and may set up a Rabodirect account. Can I ask for a little bit more advice on this - would the Rabodirect Savings account option ([broken link removed]) be a better idea than the Rabodirect current account in our circumstances?


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## uncorked (29 Jan 2007)

AFAIK with RaboDirect I think you will have to open a current account and a savings account in order to avail of the savings account and its relatively good interest rate, but you should be keeping your money in the savings account for as long as possible. 

I'm open to clarification on this but this is my understanding of it.


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## liteweight (30 Jan 2007)

For your savings each month you should open up a Regular Saver Account with AIB (6%). Maximum allowed is initial 1k lump sum plus up to 300 euro per month. I'm sure there are other banks in the best buys forum giving a similar rate. The money already saved can be put into Rabo.


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