FINDING THE CASH

An average spend of £18,500 on a Wedding may sound like a lot (and believe us it is), but with regards obtaining the money, it need not all come from your savings account.

Other potential sources of capital exist and you should be aware of them and their good points and bad points before setting your actual budget.

Essentially, funding for your wedding comes from four sources:

-          Current Savings

-          Potential Savings

-          Contributions

-          Alternative funding

Let’s look at each one in turn.

Current Savings:  This figure should reflect the amount of money have you got saved up which you don’t need to keep for anything else. It is important that you take the time to think about what potential events are likely to occur between today and your Wedding day that may eat into your savings. A new house with all its furnishings and décor, a new arrival on the horizon and all those baby essentials you need to buy, a big holiday to somewhere exotic and its subsequent spending money are just some examples of major events that can eat into your savings and must be taken into account at this stage. As soon as you are able to work out this value, you have made the first step in working out how much is available to spend on your Big Day.

Potential Savings:  This is possibly the hardest figure to work out. In order to calculate it you will need to understand where your money is going each month and what is left over at the end.