Getting engaged is so exciting, and it’s always going to be a highlight of any relationship. After the parties and the romance and the celebrations have happened, it then becomes clear that there is a big job to do – the wedding itself needs to be planned and, of course, paid for. 

Everyone chooses their own way of getting married. You might decide on a long engagement, perhaps because there is paperwork to do in order to receive a K-1 visa, or because you want to plan down to the very last tiny detail, or you might want to go right ahead and get married as soon as possible because you just can’t wait and don’t see the point in delaying the big day. Either way, money is always going to come into the planning and proceedings, even if you would rather it did not. Luckily, there are many different ways that you can fund the wedding of your dreams, and we’ve put together some of them for you to think about. 

Before you can really think of how to pay for something, you’ll need to know how much things are actually going to cost, so make this your first step. Write down a list of all the elements you want to include – you might want something big and fancy with all the trimmings, or you might prefer something intimate (maybe even just the two of you) without any bells and whistles. The choice is always entirely yours, and now is the time to decide. 

The two of you need to discuss how you see your wedding happening and what type of wedding you want it to be. Once you know that, and you know what you want to be included, you can start getting prices. Knowing the prices will give you an overall budget, and you can adjust accordingly when you know how much you can afford. 

Remember: compromise is an important part of marriage, and it may need to start with your wedding, depending on what you can afford and what each partner wants on their big day. 

Maybe you have known that you would get married for a long time, and therefore started to put money to one side so that you could pay for the wedding. Maybe you have decided that you will have a long engagement to give you a chance to put more money into your savings pot. Either way, your savings can be a great way to fund your dream wedding. 

If you use your savings, you won’t be going into married life owing money to anyone, and for some people, this is important. However, make sure that you don’t require your savings for anything else important – using every penny could be a mistake as it will mean you have nothing left in case of an emergency. Try to leave something in your savings account just in case it is required. 

The most usual way of paying for a wedding if you don’t have the savings to do so is to get a loan. Search around for a good deal, and don’t borrow more than you need (another reason to plan in advance so you know what everything is going to cost). You need to ensure that you don’t get into any kind of debt that you can’t then afford to pay back – no wedding is ever worth doing that for. 

There are lots of different loans available, and it will depend on how much you need to borrow and how long you want to pay it back. A standard bank loan is a good way to spread the cost, but if you want to consolidate other borrowings into one loan and then have something left over for your wedding, this could be an idea to explore as well. 

People love to buy their loved ones wedding gifts, and that can be very useful if you are just setting up home together and really don’t have anything for your new home. However, many couples now live together before their weddings and therefore already have all the items they need to make a home. 

Therefore, why not ask friends and family to pay for your wedding instead? Of course, you wouldn’t put it that bluntly, and you can dress it up in a fun, playful way – and ensure it is entirely voluntary, of course – but it could work well. Whatever they were going to spend on a gift, they could instead give you in advance so that you can pay for a photographer, cake, car, or wedding venue. 

If you go down this route, make sure you are able to thank everyone for their contributions on the big day; add it to your speech and show how grateful you are for all the help you have been given. 

If you don’t want to ask for money, why not ask for a loan? If one or more people are able to contribute and you create a contract that will allow you to pay the money back at regular intervals, this could be a good alternative. The interest is likely to be lower (or non-existent) compared to a bank loan, so it could save you money. 

There are some parts to a wedding that are not necessary, but which people definitely like to have, and it would be a shame if these were the elements that had to be forgotten if the budget won’t stretch. These include: 

If you can’t pay for someone else to create or organize these things for you, what can you do yourself? Do you know a good photographer, for example, who might photograph your wedding? Can you bake and decorate your own cake? There are many elements that you can do yourself, reducing your cost dramatically and giving you a completely unique day which will be remembered for many years to come by you and everyone who attended. 

A dream wedding doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect, as long as it is all about the two of you enjoying a special day and promising to be together forever. 

When all is said and done, the simplest solution is often the best one, and when it comes to having the money for your dream wedding, that may well be the case. The truth is, earning more money is the easiest and most efficient approach to have more money to spend. It really is that simple.

Your current job might not give you that option – there might not be any overtime or any promotion opportunities, for example. So why not start a side hustle? Although this might sound like a lot of hard work, the fact is that a side hustle can be as simple as just getting a second job. You might work during the week in your first job, and then work weekends in your second. Or perhaps you work days so you have a few hours each evening to do additional work. But if you do want to start your own business, doing it while you’re still working is ideal. In that way, you have a safety net, and any additional money is a bonus. What you do will depend on whether earning more money is a long-term goal for you or something you only want to undertake while saving for your ideal wedding.

Another way to save more money is to spend less – again, it’s obvious when you think about it, but because ideas like loans and using your savings often come to mind first, something like this can easily be forgotten – it’s almost too simple. 

A good way to decide how to cut back on your expenses is to look at your bank account and see what outgoings you have. Firstly, do you know what everything is? If not, you might need to contact your bank to find out. Secondly, what are you paying for that you no longer need? Could you live without Netflix or Spotify for a few months? What about your gym membership? Could you walk in the park instead of on a treadmill? Where can you find savings? There are sure to be many options, and even if they don’t seem to be much on their own, they’ll soon add up and could be the difference between getting something you really want at your wedding and having to compromise. 

Finally, this is not the piece of advice you probably want, but it might be worth considering; do you really need all the things you’re planning to have at your wedding? In other words, is it really worth spending the money you’re spending to make your day your dream wedding? Would the day be just as wondering if you held back and didn’t spend quite so much? If you compromised on a few things, or if you just made the day a smaller event, for example? The choice will always be yours at the end of the day, and if you want to spend a lot then, of course, do that, but consider all your options first.