Invitations aren’t cheap. But they present you with the opportunity to announce the biggest event of your life with a nice blend of dignity and flair. So they’re a key cog in your wedding budget. But how many invitations should you order? If you scour the internet, you see the price of a hundred invitations ranges from $300 to $700 for typical couples, according to Zola. Yes, you can spend less … and certainly more when you add in extras like wax seals, extra enclosures, or foil. But again, most couples spend about $3 to $7 per invitation. So how many do you order? Start with the people who ..read more

Weddings are expensive because they matter. They are your opportunity to witness your lifelong commitment to the love of your life. It is your community’s opportunity to come together in support and celebration of this commitment. So is a cheap wedding ever a good idea? Yes, if you define cheap as affordable. You should always live within your means. By the same token, you don’t want to shortchange your celebration either. Let’s look at 10 quick ways to plan a ‘cheap wedding.’ Reduce the size of your guest list. In this pandemic era, that’s easier than ever. A small guest list saves you on yo ..read more

Pay for your Columbus wedding with cash and avoid wedding debt. That’s the message from Taylor Moore, finance and insurance writer for reviews.com. She points out that fighting over money is the number one cause of stress in marriages, so starting your wedding off in debt due to overspending on your wedding isn’t a good idea. She provides three steps to avoid wedding debt: Determine how much you need to SAVE to pull off an affordable wedding. Then start saving out of your regular income. You’ll be so much happier if you do. Factor in how much financial support your family can provide. Stick t ..read more

Most engaged Columbus couples create a wedding budget, which this blog highly recommends to avoid the stress that can occur when wedding bills come due. But beware the hidden wedding costs that can sneak into the equation and surprise you when you add up all of your expenses. License fees Sometimes, it’s just some simple, innocuous items like your marriage license fees. In the scheme of things, they’re not that much, ranging from $70 to $104 in Alabama; $40 to $60 in Ohio; $60 in North Carolina; $82 in Texas; $15 to $40 in Illinois; and about $100 in Tennessee, to give you a few examples. No b ..read more

How would you like to attend a wedding where the bride wears a $33,931 wedding gown? But there are no flowers. No ceremony music. No wedding reception. No dancing. No food. No cake. No photography. No invitations. No honeymoon. Nothing, because she blew her entire wedding budget on the gown? What a bore. According to The Knot, the average 2018 wedding couple nationally spent $33,931 on their wedding. (According to Value Penguin, the average Ohio wedding couple spends $29,300.) One key to a successful wedding is a balanced wedding budget. In reality, an average bride spends a little less than 4 ..read more

Many people delay becoming engaged because their personal finances are in disarray. They can’t even begin to contemplate financing a wedding when they’re struggling to make ends meet. Although this blog can’t solve all of your personal finance problems, we ran across some doable ideas in a website called The Penny Hoarder that can save you some serious dollars each year, opening up funds for your future wedding celebration. Idea #1: Know where to ask for help. There are a lot of services available to help people struggling financially. Is there an easy way to find them? Yes, thanks to the Unit ..read more

Wedding celebrations are beautiful. They’re all about love, except when you spend beyond your means. Sadly, it’s easy to overspend because of a human condition called ‘wedding one-upmanship.’ But there’s a cure. More on that in a second. You know how wedding one-upmanship works. You get engaged and begin nosing around Instagram. Wow, you see some pretty cool stuff and decide you ‘have to have it’ for YOUR wedding! But it’s pricey. And then you think back to your friend’s recent wedding and all the cool things they did. Something inside you whispers in your ear that you’ve got to outdo them. An ..read more

The average price of a wedding ranges from $17,216 in Alabama to $37,827 in Hawaii ($17,899 in Ohio). That’s a chunk of change! It raises the question: is a wedding worth the money? The answer is YES … and no Let’s face it, we live to celebrate. Celebrations define our human condition. We need celebrations to bring meaning to our lives. We celebrate birthdays to remind us of the value of each of us. We celebrate wedding anniversaries to not only honor the union of two lives lived as one, but to encourage the rest of us to emulate the example set by good marriages. We celebrate Thanksgiving as ..read more

Budgeting is tricky. If you spend too much on one wedding service at the expense of another, your event will be out of balance. For example, if you provide a lavish meal, but no entertainment, everyone will be bored by the time they finish dessert. Your wedding entertainment budget needs careful consideration. Wedding celebrations should be fun. That’s why anyone who has ever been to a wedding knows: entertainment makes the event. You need to consider three variables when budgeting your wedding entertainment. 1.Customization The best Columbus weddings are tailored to the style of the wedding c ..read more

Don’t let wedding one-upmanship bust your budget Wedding celebrations are beautiful. They’re all about love, except when you spend beyond your means. Sadly, it’s easy to overspend because of a human condition called ‘wedding one-upmanship.’ But there’s a cure. More on that in a second. You know how wedding one-upmanship works. You get engaged and begin nosing around Instagram. Wow, you see some pretty cool stuff and decide you ‘have to have it’ for YOUR wedding! But it’s pricey. And then you think back to your friend’s recent wedding and all the cool things they did. Something inside you whi ..read more