Many parents get not only excited when they hear the news that their child is engaged but also a little nervous if they know they will be offering or asked to pay for the entire event or part of it.
It’s vital to ensure you don’t overspend on this day, even though it is a very special one, as you don’t want to end up feeling taken advantage of or worried about finances as a result. Here are some tips to remember as the big day approaches.
Decide on a Budget
Firstly, it’s vital to determine a budget for the celebrations as soon as possible. It’s easy to get carried away with the excitement of the event and your happiness for your child and end up saying “yes” to every request, no matter how costly or outlandish. To ensure you don’t end up in a situation where you’ve agreed to too many expenses at too greater a cost for you to be comfortable with, it’s important to know your limit from the start.
Come up with a final figure you feel works for you to allocate towards the wedding day, and then share this number with your child and their soon-to-be spouse. Let them know you can’t outlay any more than that and thus to be prudent with how the money gets spent along the way during the wedding planning process.
Pay Bills Directly Yourself
When contributing to your child’s special day, you might like to consider paying some of the bills, at least the ones you’ll be covering, yourself. Doing this directly can help you see precisely where your money is going and can help mentally, too, to feel that you have direct input rather than just handing over a lump sum of cash to the couple to manage from there.
By getting the invoices sent to you to pay, you can have a bit more time to save, too, as these costs tend to be filtered out over time and often only require a deposit to be paid upfront, and then the remainder or other percentages paid later on, just before or after the big day.
DIY When You Can
To help cut costs in general, though, and get your contribution to go further, it’s worth seeing if you can DIY wherever feasible. There are many avenues in which doing it yourself may be possible. For example, perhaps you can volunteer to have the wedding at your home rather than splashing out a lot of money on a venue, or you can help make the wedding cake, some desserts for the reception, or handle other catering.
Plus, you could help decorate the venue, make clothing or accessories, or contribute to invitations or other stationery needs. Or, if you know your child would love to have a fireworks display at their wedding, but it’s too expensive to organize this through the reception venue, why not look into buying quality fireworks yourself and arrange to have a trusted person in your circle set them off at the event?
Any avenues you can think of to contribute DIY skills will help make money go further and allow you to be more involved in the special event, too.
Utilize Connections
Another tip to remember when preparing to contribute to your child’s wedding is that you might have invaluable connections you could take advantage of to help make the occasion more special. Put together a list of everyone you know or friends of friends, etc., who might offer a product or service relevant to a wedding or who have skills in relevant areas, even if they don’t sell or advertise them. For example, do you know any photographers, videographers, singers, or band members?
What about people who might be excellent at calligraphy and who could handle writing the details on invitations, place cards, ceremony booklets, and the like? Do you know any florists, dressmakers, tailors, stationery suppliers, or perhaps someone with a gorgeous home or other property that might make an ideal location for a wedding ceremony or reception?
Don’t be afraid to make the most of your connections, as those in your circles are sure to be happy to help out and may even be willing to donate goods or services for free or a significant discount if it means they get to advertise their offerings to all your wedding guests.
Seeing a child exchange vows with their significant other is a proud moment you never want to forget. Contributing to this occasion can make you feel wonderful, as long as you don’t spend the day worrying about how much it has or will cost you. As such, follow the tips above to minimize the risks of this and ensure all relationships remain intact by the time the wedding date comes around.
