How to budget for your wedding- the strategies

No matter how it's; just folks, your guys alone or a combination, you will like to know all the pros and cons of who pays for the wedding.

These days the cost of a wedding makes is too high. How are you going to scrape together the cash to have the kind of  wedding bash you dream of? You have options(that are legal, time-honored and respectable) on how to go about it, but each has it's advantage(s) and disadvantage(s).

Here is a rundown of some of the options of funding your wedding:

The Bride's Parents Pay

The traditional, and still pretty popular, way of paying for the wedding. If everyone is contributing, pool all the money upfront and see what your bottom line is. It's much easier than to say "mum  takes care of the gown, the band and flowers", we take care of the rest.

Advantage

You don't have to dip into your reserve savings to pay for the wedding, which means that you have money to do other things than your mates who are paying, in full or partially, for their own wedding.

Disadvantage

As it's always said, "the person who pays, ultimately gets what he or she wants". Which means that if you want like 100 guests but your parents want 250 guests, you will probably end up with at least 175 to 200 people at your wedding. Having your parents pay for your wedding doesn't hurt your finances, but it does affect your parents' finances(especially if they are retired, living on a fixed income or just not well off to begin with). This could land them into some major debt.

Everyone Pays

A contemporary and effective way of taking care of wedding expenses is for the two of you(the bride's family and the groom's family to split the expenses. It works best if you simply take the whole cost of the wedding and divide it into three, rather than give out specific things to pay for. For example, if you let your parents to pay for the food, then they may be inclined to invite more guests. It can get sticky oooh! If you can't divide it equally(due to financial inequality or capabilities; one family is more or less wealthy than the others), then ask the parties what comfortable for them to give. However, just because his or her family, for example, is giving say four times as much money as yours does not mean they get four times more say in the wedding. Remember that you all are handling this important project as a group or team, therefore one person should not push his or her weight around. The key to making this work is by discussion(negotiation) and compromise.

Advantage

By pooling your resources, you may be able to afford the kind of wedding you want. You also may not have to empty your savings account or that of your parents. Since everyone is contributing, therefore everyone gets a say; you are not likely to make one side or the other feel left out.

Disadvantage

By accepting money from other people, you do give up some control. However, therefore are always solutions when it comes to this. For instance, if you want DJ but your parents want band(both parties can do collabo), go for band that also works with a DJ(who can play when the band is on break). Or if you want a buffet reception and your parents want a seated dinner, then you can have food stations but arrange waiters to serve your parents and their friends at assigned tables.

Also, you can source for wedding funds from people outside your parents/families, like friends and well wishers. Many are doing it right now, depending on the caliber of friends and well wishers you have.

Two of you(the bridegroom/bride) pay for everything 

More the norm than you might think. As more and more brides and grooms marry later(stockpiling those Christmas bonuses, merit raises and dividend checks, for example), the more and more they are in a good position to foot the entire wedding bill themselves.

Advantage

Money talks, and as such you will have total control over all aspects of the wedding. If you want to get married anywhere and do anything you want at the wedding reception, you are now free to do it. Your people may think it's an outrage, but in the end you do your thing in the way you think that suits you and your status.

Disadvantage

You might deplete your savings(and rack up some debt if you take out a loan or charge on your credit card). You also run the risk of offending your parents if you refuse their financial help.

To solve this problem, you can accept a nominal sum from them or let them pay for something you don't have strong opinions about like flowers, etc. However it's, don't shut your parents(or your people) out of the wedding-planning process. You should encourage their input; they may even have one or two good ideas(or better solution) to offer for the success of your wedding. Therefore, compromise where you can, and stick to your desires on the things that are really important.

If anything creates problems in planning a wedding, it is money. To avoid problems, there should be a lot of communication(with your partner and both families), because there would be trouble if you don't.

N/B: A combination of two or more options may be how you end up getting your wedding paid for.