That’s especially true for couples tying the knot during the economic downturn.
Take Alessandra Bruni and fiance Daniel De Sousa. The Edmonton couple plan to exchange wedding vows in September but say they won’t have an unlimited budget.
“As soon as we got engaged, it became a matter of ‘okay, well we have to put money aside and these are the deposits and kind of a deposit structure that’s going to be occurring in the next few months and let’s make sure we’re able to take care of this on our end,'” says Bruni. “It’s all about getting organized. I know some people are super-organized like myself and some are not, but it’s about even going on Pinterest and finding a wedding checklist or a spreadsheet of some sort. ”
But planning to budget and actually sticking to it are two different things.
A survey of brides-to-be done by Weddingbells Magazine recently found the expected cost of a wedding in Canada in 2015 was more than $30,000. Of those polled, 75 per cent of brides admitted they were likely to spend more than anticipated.
Gay Derk, the editor-in-chief at Bridal Fantasy Magazine, says there are some useful tips to follow to keep the big day from ending up in a big debt.
“Go online, look at stuff. Go to some of the shows,” Derk said. “The shows are a great tool for girls because you can target in on the vendors you think you’re going to use, but also just about every show I know gives out coupons. The vendors and you can save a lot of money.”
Those that provide wedding services also say they can accommodate lovers on budgets if they’re forewarned.
At the end of the day, money problems can cause marital stress and De Sousa says that’s something he is planning to avoid.
“Weddings can cost a lot of money. It’s something that you have to take into consideration, so that’s planning a budget for the next year or two or figuring out how down the road you’re going to keep down your debt,” he says. “That was a big thing for us.”
-with files from Shallima Maharaj
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