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Posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 11:04 AM
Deciding Whether to Postpone or Cancel a Wedding because of Job Loss Here it is in plain English: The economy sucks. But that doesn’t mean your wedding has to suck too.
The US recession and generally terrible state of the world’s economy has many people questioning their future plans. But a wedding isn’t some indulgent vacation – it’s an important ritual and milestone of your life. If you’ve been laid off, or you’re worrying about the potential of future unemployment, you might be thinking about postponing or canceling your wedding. Even if you’re sure about going ahead, you’re probably wondering how everything’s going to get paid for.
Before you panic and cancel the wedding, here are some ways to make your wedding work in spite of the economy. Think about Where You Can Cut Wedding Costs Outline What About a Wedding is Most Important To You If you haven’t already filled out the newly engaged questionnaire, now is a good time. This will help you see if it’s possible to cut costs while still having the elements that are most important to you. Do you want a fancy event with fewer people? Or would you rather have a very simple event that everyone you know can be at? If both are equally important to you, consider if having the wedding of your dreams is more important than getting married soon. In that case, maybe postponing the wedding would be a good idea. Consider Having a Two-Tiered Event If you don’t have the money for a lavish wedding, maybe you want to elope, or have a very modest wedding reception now while planning for a bigger event later on. It could just mean waiting until your jobs are more stable, or planning to renew your wedding vows on an important future anniversary. Look Into Wedding Insurance If you still have your job, but are worried about losing it and thus not being able to afford the wedding, wedding insurance might be a good option. But be careful: Many policies don’t cover unemployment, and others are very expensive. Make sure it’s a wise financial decision for you. Make Sure You Know Your Vendors’ Cancelation Policies Before you sign a contract with a photographer, caterer, or other wedding vendor, make sure you know what their cancellation policies are. Know whether you can get back all or part of your deposit if you cancel before a certain date. Some vendors will only charge you a small fee for postponing, as long as you book them for a future date. If you’ve already signed contracts, go back and read the fine print. If it’s still before the cancellation date, it might make more sense to cancel or postpone now, rather than waiting to see what happens. And, if your money is already non-refundable, you may want to go ahead with the wedding in spite of money worries. What You Shouldn’t Do - Spend Your Wedding Gifts
If there is any chance that you might have to cancel the wedding or indefinitely postpone it, don’t use any already received cash wedding gifts. Though it’s tempting to spend cash when you have it in hand, especially when there’s not another ready source of income, this is not a wise financial decision. Etiquette says that you should return all wedding gifts, and if you’ve already spent it, that will be very difficult to do. - Charge The Whole Wedding
Putting your wedding expenses on a credit card and not worrying about the expense until “later” may seem appealing at first. But unfortunately, “later” will come sooner than you think. Most likely, you'll be dealing with those bills and their high rates of interest long before your economic situation improves significantly.
We’re all hoping that the current economic crisis is short-lived. Many experts are predicting that the worst will happen during the summer of 2009, and then the economy will start to recover. But when you get married, you’re telling the world that love is forever. Maybe it’s good to know that when you vow to love each other “for richer AND for poorer” that you really mean it. /gc |
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Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2011 10:24 AM
Every couple planning a wedding knows that there are some argument-causing topics they just won't discuss. Maybe he'll leave the choice of wedding colors up to her, and she, in turn, won't comment on his best man's reputation. And neither will discuss the foibles of their future in-laws.Money, debt and credit, however, should never be on that list of taboo topics for couples preparing to wed. In fact, financial experts and marriage counselors agree that honest, open communication about money matters is an essential element of a successful marriage.Hopefully, if you're about to exchange vows, you have at least a passing idea of each other's personal finances - and personal style when it comes to managing important issues like credit and savings. But before you finalize the guest list and decide on a honeymoon destination, you should discuss your current individual financial statuses, and how you'll manage credit as a married couple in the future. Full disclosure: You may not see the romance in a credit report, but sharing your credit standing with your future spouse is an admirable - and necessary - gesture of commitment. Plus, it's an essential step toward planning your future financial course together, especially if you'll be buying a house or car, or funding an education for one of you. Websites like CreditReport.com make it easy to get the information you need to understand your credit score and how it works. Armed with this knowledge, the two of you can make informed financial decisions.Knowing how much debt each of you has, what shape your credit reports are in and how potential lenders might score your creditworthiness as a couple can help you make informed decisions about your financial future together. Agree on a style ...... Or agree to disagree within reason. Two people can be so compatible they share the same taste in food, music and clothing styles - and still disagree on spending and saving habits. Marriage is about compromise and this is one area where one individual can't have it all his or her own way.If one of you is a spendthrift who likes to account for every penny out of his paycheck each month, while the other has no idea how much her morning cup of Joe costs, you'll need to meet somewhere in the middle. Discuss how you'll keep track of spending and how much you'll save each month.Plan aheadOften, a couple's future spending goals rely on how well they manage their credit. You probably discussed where you'll live after you're married, and it's likely the idea of buying a house is on your minds - either soon or several years down the road. Planning how you'll manage credit in the early days of your marriage can help you work toward your mutual spending and saving goals. Monitoring your credit may make sense. In addition to alerting you to key changes in your credit reports and scores, credit monitoring sites like CreditReport.com can provide tips and tools to help you understand credit and keep track of your scores. Better understanding your credit can make you better able to work toward your mutual financial objectives.Keep perspectiveWhile money matters and co-managing your finances is important in a marriage, it's not the only thing that is. Financial management experts advise newlyweds to discuss finances, but put your relationship first.When money issues arise - and they do for most married couples - keep in mind that your approach to handling them needs to be a team effort. After all, you didn't get married for the money, you did it for love. Managing your money as a team can help ensure you have more time to think about what's really important - each other. |
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Posted on Wednesday, March 02, 2011 10:09 AM
There are many reasons to hire wedding consultants for the planning of your wedding. Check out the following five reasons to determine if a wedding consultant could make the planning and execution of the wedding day easier. - Many brides begin the planning of their weddings thinking wedding consultants are a luxury, and end up believing they are a necessity. When faced with the multitude of details that surround the planning of a successful wedding it’s only natural to get a little stressed. It’s a wedding consultant’s job to get stressed for the couple and allow the couple the luxury of enjoying the experience. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to delegate tasks to someone and know that they will be handled?
- For the wedding day itself, one common complaint is not being able to enjoy the day due to couples feeling like they were constantly inundated with problems, questions, and situations that required their attention. Couldn’t a wedding consultant pick up the slack on wedding day and handle the details so you could simply enjoy every aspect of your wedding day?
- Wedding consultants are experts at planning and can help you create the wedding day of your dreams. Without having to extensively research and learn the wedding planning process, wedding consultants are already miles ahead of the typical bride-to-be. Thus, he/she can focus on the details that will produce the “wow-factor” and help the couple create a memorable event. Shouldn’t you be able to rest assured that your wedding will be all that you want it to be?
- Weddings are a $75 billion a year industry. This said, most couples have a budget they need to work within, and a wedding consultant’s job is to help the couple stay on track financially. Not only can he/she do this by tracking the money, but wedding consultants know how to get the best deals from various vendors and know which corners can be cut to still produce outstanding results, if necessary. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to worry about the budget, knowing that someone besides you is on top of things?
- Wedding consultants are no longer luxury vendors who strictly service big budget weddings. They are available to suit budgets of almost any size and can be as involved in the planning process as each couple desires. Wedding consultants can save couples both time and money – both very hot commodities during wedding planning. Couldn’t it be worth it to have a knowledgeable expert in your corner for either the entire planning process, or just the wedding day to help you get through the process with as little stress as possible?
 The most important of all five reasons to hire wedding consultants is that your wedding day shouldn’t feel like a job. Your wedding day is all about you and you should be able to enjoy the results of months of planning. |
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