Alana Davidson, a chartered financial planner with Acumen FP, explains why couples preparing to tie the knot need to think about life after the big day.
For most couples it is one of the biggest days of their lives and an event for which they will want to spare no expense - but paying for your wedding day shouldn’t be a lifetime commitment.
The average cost of a wedding in Scotland is now almost £23,000, 11% higher than the average for the rest of the UK and a significant amount of money for any couple. And as well as having to find the money for a honeymoon, there’s also the small matter of paying for your happily ever after.
So how do you set aside enough? And what steps can you take to make sure you can have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of at a price you can afford?
Alana Davidson, Chartered Financial Planner with Acumen FP, says the most important thing to do is realise that a wedding, however important, cannot eat into your everyday and future savings.
“I think first and foremost planning a wedding should just be one of your financial goals - it shouldn’t consume the money that is meant for after the wedding,” she said.
“The first thing I advise couples is to set up a ‘life after your wedding’ plan, because you really want to be thinking about what kind of life you want to have after the ceremony is over, before you even start thinking about what you plan to spend on the big day.
“So many people get caught up in saving for a wedding, and they are not even on the property ladder, for example.
“Most people get married when they are younger, so if you’re saving for a house deposit the last thing you want to do is to eat into your house or retirement savings, and the same is true of money set aside for things like children or holidays.”
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She also advised couples to make sure they had set aside an emergency fund, which should be enough money to cover between three and six months of normal expenditure.
“The world is an uncertain place and the job market is very volatile, so in the unfortunate event anything happens, if you lose your job or suffer ill health making it impossible to work, then you want to know that there’s some money there to get you through.”
All of which means that if you want to have a secure future for the start of your married life, some serious savings will be required.
“When it comes to saving and budgeting, the first thing I say to every client is to have a good look at your budget,” Alana said.
“I’m a big fan of a detailed spreadsheet of income and outgoing. And it’s always a good idea to make sure you set up two separate current accounts - one for bills and expenses, and one for fun money.
“Then you should be taking a close look at how much you are spending on a monthly basis.
“Most people are really surprised at how much Amazon or other subscriptions can build up, and if you dig down into that detail you can look at a monthly budget and see where you can save - and that will mean what you can compromise on in order to save money for your wedding.”
Alana also stressed that couples had to be realistic about what they would be able to afford, even if that meant making some difficult changes to their dream weddings.
“You need to look at what you can afford, rather than what you want to spend,” she said.
“Everyone focuses on the venue and the food as the big costs, but it’s the little things that can build up - hair, make up, party favours, entertainment, hen-dos, which now all seem to be weekends rather than a single night.
“At my own wedding for example, we brought our own wine and paid a corkage charge and that saved hundreds of pounds. There are other things you can do - maybe find a photographer who’s just starting out, or do your own flowers without going through expensive suppliers.”
Acumen Financial Planning Ltd is authorised and regulated by the FCA, FRN 218745. The content within this article is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as advice. The value of investments and any income from them, can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested.