Make Love, Not Debt

Jessica | Jun 26, 2007

Interesting. With the exception of the choices you selected, none of them seem like smart options for financing a wedding. Where did you come accross this survey?

Reply to this comment

Kristine | Jun 26, 2007

Good for you for avoiding debt. A lot of talk shows do intervention for people concerning this topic.

I'm all about simple weddings, and did not spend my whole life planning a wedding. My weddings--unfortunately two--were small, which is more my style. Most are not impressed with my simple weddings are best point of view, though.

I also helped a young couple put together a wedding a few years ago. They were in such a terrible financial position to marry, and she was just out of high school and pregnant. We found her dress at a thrift store. (No kidding! It was cute, too--kind of vintage looking.) They chose a honeymoon spot at quaint little lake about 30 minutes away, and they used the nature nearby for the ceremony (waterfall--free) and the low-budget, yet beautiful site for the reception. The owners let us use the restaurant, which was going to be closed for the afternoon anyway, for our reception. I think there was a small fee, but they were staying for a couple days, so the owners were kind. A bunch of us "catered" a luncheon reception. They had small families and a small group of friends, so it worked out very well for them. Also, there was a wonderful flower garden where we took some pictures of the couple--with our own SLR cameras. I'd be surprised if the whole things cost more than $500--even including developing pictures and the honeymoon--and the cost of the donated items. In retrospect, it really helped them that they had some connections--people who had skills such as knowing what to feed to a small crowd (church potluck experience), taking nice pictures (hobby), and how to fix a vintage wedding dress (hobby).

BTW, the couple is still together after 8 years, with three kids, community college degrees, and a family business they run together. It's been tight most of their marriage, but it certainly hasn't affected their love and commitment for each other.

Reply to this comment

JW Thornhill | Jun 26, 2007

I commend you guys for committing to having a debt free wedding. My wife and I did the same thing several years ago, and it made the entire experience that much more enjoyable.

Reply to this comment

Sarah | Jun 26, 2007

We didn't go into debt for our wedding, we had about 10 months between the engagement and our wedding. We saved and had some contributions from both of our parents. If we didn't have any of their help, we would have had a longer engagement. We wanted to provide food and beer for our guests as a thank you for them coming to celebrate our special day.

We decided that we would put the amount that we couldn't pay out of pocket of our honeymoon on an interest-free credit card and pay it off in a year. We figured that if we did that, we would go on one. so many of our friends postponed their honeymoon until they could save up, and 5 years later they still haven't gone. It was worth it. A honeymoon is a great excuse to go on a trip.

Reply to this comment

MVP | Jun 26, 2007

What about those whose parents paid for the wedding - which box do they check? My parents gave us $7K and his chipped in for the typical parents of the groom stuff (flowers, tuxes and wine) and we didn't go over that, simply because we were already entering the marriage with $40K in debt and were dedicated to getting rid of it. If my parents hadn't paid up, I'm not sure what we would've done. If it had been up to me, I'd have been happy going to the courthouse rather than having a long engagement. Strangely, it was my husband who wanted the big wedding, and it was in his hometown and he has a huge family and they know EVERYONE. I'm not sure if his parents would have ponied up the extra money so their son could have the wedding of his dreams, or if we would have had to do as you're doing to pay for it. Good question.

Reply to this comment

Tex | Jun 28, 2007

I can think of one time refinancing the house would make sense for the wedding. You inherited the house!

Then it's like getting the mortgage you never got--a tax-favorable loan (assuming you can pay for it, of course).

Reply to this comment

mbhunter | Jun 29, 2007

Good job for not taking on debt for this. It's an emotionally-charged time that the bridal industry is brilliant at tapping into to make obscene mark-ups.

Reply to this comment