Make a Financial Plan for Your Wedding After the Pandemic
An engagement is an important step for any couple. You can imagine lavish wedding plans – a massive drinking party with your loved ones – along with your future life together. While this could change as the big day approaches, you may not have been prepared for this year’s turning point: the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a recent LendingTree poll , 63% of engaged couples postponed their wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic, and 56% of delayed couples lost money in the process. Whether you’ve rescheduled a date – or are just starting the process – here are some new things to plan for.
Take advantage of a longer timeline
According to The Knot’s 2019 study of actual weddings , the average couple spends a whopping $ 33,900 on a wedding – and that’s not including their honeymoon. While postponing your wedding can be a big frustration, it can be a unique opportunity to save more money at your event.
Due to the pandemic, Joel Kahn, senior video producer at Lifehacker, has postponed his wedding for 200 people in upstate New York. While the Brooklyn couple were looking forward to their fall wedding, moving it to June was a good move for their wallets. If the pandemic hasn’t impacted your work, the delay may give you a chance to save more, which could mean you borrow less. Kang said they started monitoring their budget as soon as the pandemic began, and the cuts in travel, clothing and dining expenses paid off. “We saved so much that in the five months we spent at home, we saved enough to pay for the entire wedding next year,” he said.
Postponing a wedding for six months or even a year can have a huge impact on your overall wedding budget. “Extend this as long as possible and think of every paycheck you receive as money that you can save for later,” Kahn recommends.
You can pay additional fees
One of the downsides to rescheduling a wedding is that some vendors may be less flexible. According to a LendingTree poll, the average couple who were shelved lost $ 3,320.50 in non-refundable deposits, payments and fees, but many couples were able to keep their original place, cake baking and photographer.
However, not all sellers will charge you relocation fees. Kahn says they managed to avoid paying for all but one of their suppliers. He says that providers may be thinking about the future, including recommendations and online reviews, which could prevent them from keeping deposits. “All of our suppliers seem to be very understanding and it never hurts to ask,” he adds.
Take advantage of credit cards
Another benefit of longer travel times is more time to save on your honeymoon, or to accumulate more travel rewards to pay for the cost of your future trip. “Our goal next year is to get as many points as possible just by spending money and possibly charging some wedding stuff,” says Kahn. As soon as the pandemic dies down – and international travel is safe – they will start playing to spend their accumulated points on their honeymoon trip.
Try to be flexible
Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has affected many weddings, but it shouldn’t ruin your future plans. When you change dates and suppliers, try to be flexible. Depending on the day or season, you can even get discounts. In addition, some elderly or immunocompromised guests may not be present. “We see it as a compromise because of course we want them to be there, but for every person who doesn’t come, we’ll save money because we don’t have to feed them,” says Kahn.