Do you want to pay for your wedding in cash? Not sure where to start? You’re in the right place.
Honestly, the concept of paying cash for a wedding isn’t all that different from paying for other large purchases. It all starts with a goal in mind, and includes specific actions to get to that goal. It can be a daunting task to come up with a large amount of money, but if you work at it bit by bit, over time it can add up.
If you’re trying to pay for your wedding in cash, the good news is that there is a lot of leeway. What do I mean by this? Well, there is a range for what weddings cost. Yes, of course, you may have champagne dreams on a beer budget. However, you can also be very realistic with what you can afford. And, there are lots of ways to cut costs associated with a wedding, if you’re motivated enough.
How To Pay For Your Wedding In Cash
I’m going to share with you my top tips to pay for your wedding in cash in this post. Some of the tips are common sense. Some may be a wake-up call. Many of the tips build on each other and should be combined. The number one way to make these tips work is to be on the same page as your partner about them. Together, the two of you can make them happen much easier than if you’re working on this alone.
Let’s get into it!
AVOID DEBT IN THE FIRST PLACE
The number one rule to get more liquid cash in your life is to spend less than you make. And this definitely includes debt.
There are multiple problems with debt. First, it costs you money. In most cases, you have to pay interest on your debt. This means that the amount that you spend in the long run is greater than if you paid cash for your item or experience. So, if you avoid debt you’ll instantly save money.
Another issue with debt is that it’s easy to keep adding to. Once you have a little, you may be more comfortable accruing a bit more. And more. Before you know it, you’ve got a mountain to dig out of. It’s not easy paying off debt. It’s actually much easier to avoid it.
The last issue with debt, if you’re trying to save for a wedding, is that paying for a wedding is not your “financial priority” if you have debt. Paying off the debt should come first, before you use cash or income to fund a wedding. Unpopular opinion, but true. End rant.
KNOW HOW MUCH CASH YOU HAVE FOR YOUR WEDDING
Alright, so to pay for your wedding in cash you’ve got to first know how much money you have. This comes by adding it all up.
Get out your spreadsheets, calculators, or cell phones. We’re doing some math. When it comes to figuring out how much money you already have, consider a few different sources. I’ll bullet them out for you to keep them very clear:
- Non-emergency savings. Always keep 3-6 months of living expenses handy if you can. Beyond that, you can splurge as you feel comfortable.
- Income you will make between now and wedding day from your job. Many wedding related items are not paid in full until right before your wedding. This means that you can plan on saving additional money between now and then.
- Financial gifts from family. I’ll share my thoughts on this later, but in short, if you have family who is willing to give you money for your wedding, or pay for a certain item, you can count that.
- Income you can make between now and wedding day from side hustles, selling items, or miscellaneous sources. I write more about this in this post and this post, so you can learn more about how to make money from more than just your day job.
Remember, you can go through this exercise of adding up your money for you, and your partner. You’re in this together.
DETERMINE HOW MUCH THE WEDDING WILL COST
Alright, so once you know how much money you have to spend, let’s compare it to what you’ll need to spend, in order to have the wedding you’re envisioning.
To figure out how much money you’ll need for your wedding, start by listing out everything you’d like at your wedding. List out the vendors, the venue, the clothes, travel, and decorations. When you feel like you have a complete list, assign costs to each item. You may need to do a little research for this. When you’re done, you should have a total cost that you’ll need to pay for your wedding.
This step is important because knowing how much your wedding will cost will give you more information about the total amount of money you need to save. Which brings me to the next tip…
NARROW DOWN OUT HOW MUCH MONEY YOU WILL NEED IN ORDER TO PAY FOR YOUR WEDDING IN CASH
When you know how much your wedding will cost, compare it to how much money you have to spend on your wedding. Hopefully the costs are about the same.
In order to pay for your wedding in cash, it’s essential to know how much money you actually need, so this step can’t be skipped. Of course, you can just save and save and save, but you may not have enough at the end of your wedding planning. Or, you could be over-saving for your wedding, and that extra money could go towards something else. Either way, it’s important to have a specific savings goal.
Understanding the difference between what your wedding will cost, and how much you need to save in the meantime is crucial.
GET IN THE SAVING MINDSET
A lot of people struggle with saving money. When we spend money, it can set off the dopamine in our brains, making it quite appealing to splurge. This is why it’s essential that you get in the saving mindset when you’re ready to save money for your wedding.
How does this work? Well, for starters, you need to have done your homework. This means looking at the previous tips and understanding where you are financially, and where you want to be. Knowing what it looks like to have a certain amount in your savings account, and what it means for your wedding, is critical. It will motivate you to sock money away, because it will be allocated for a big splurge later on.
To properly get into the saving mindset, tell yourself that your main focus is your wedding. This means that extra expenses, outside of those needed for your wedding, are off limits. It’s only temporary.
DECIDE IF ANYTHING WEDDING-RELATED CAN BE SKIPPED, OR SAVED ON
When you compare how much money your wedding will cost, verses how much you have to spend on your wedding, the results may be discouraging.
If you find that you need to spend a lot on your wedding, the easiest first step is to re-evaluate how much you’ll spend overall. Look at every single line item and see if there are items that you can skip. For example, many vendors are optional. You may find that you can skip a videographer, or a band. Look at what you can “cut out”.
If you don’t think there are items you can skip, look for ways to save on them. Go through each and every one and ask yourself if there are ways to spend less money. For example, can you get married in the “off season” at your favorite venue? Can you buy your gown on sale? Would you be open to a low key bachelorette that requires no travel? Get creative.
ACCEPT MONEY FROM FAMILY (WITH CAUTION)
This isn’t really a “pay for your wedding in cash” tip, but still worth noting.
You may find yourself in a situation where you need to come up with money for your wedding, and you’re not confident you can save enough in the meantime. You may or may not have family who says they will give you money for your wedding, but it may not be enough. It can be tempting to ask family to help contribute more to your wedding.
I wrote a whole post about asking family to contribute financially to your wedding, but I’ll summarize my thoughts here. In some cases, family contributions to your wedding are great. Some families will write you a check and tell you to spend it as you wish. Others will tell you exactly how to spend it. Remember, sometimes there are strings attached to the funding you receive, and you’ll have to determine what’s best for you and your situation.
Here is a post about paying for your own wedding, without family help.
TRACK YOUR SPENDING
One of the best ways to pay for your wedding in cash is to start tracking what you’re spending.
When we track what we spend, we can really face our expenses. And, we can look at what makes sense for us to continue spending money on, verses what is optional. It allows us to get real with ourselves and our financial situations. If we know where all of our money goes, we can make wiser money decisions later on.
You can track your spending in a few different ways. First, you can start with looking at your credit card statement or bank account. Most online accounts will break it all out for you. Play around with yours, and see what you discover. From there, you can use an app like “Every Dollar” to track your money. Or, you can go old school with a spreadsheet or paper to see where your dollars go.
When you’re trying to pay for your wedding in cash, knowing what you spend money on can help you identify what you can skip, at least temporarily. Forming a game plan of what you can cut out will only help you in the long run.
MAKE SAVINGS GOALS
Leading up to your wedding, savings goals can help you stay motivated. They can help you see your progress and make you even more excited to keep going.
If you were able to follow the other tips in this post, you likely know what your end savings goal will be. However, why not have little milestones in the meantime? For example, say you want to save $10,000 by your wedding day. Why not celebrate every $1,000? How you celebrate is up to you. It could mean spending a *little* bit of that savings, or it could mean something that costs nothing.
You can also celebrate savings goals by purchasing items for your wedding once you reach them. Find out if certain vendors are okay being paid in full, ahead of the wedding day. Go get some décor you’ve been eyeing. Start spending some of that saving on the actual wedding, so you can’t spend it somewhere else.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
There are lots of ways to set yourself up for success, if you want to pay for your wedding in cash. The main factor is that you know what you’re dealing with financially. Understanding how much money you have, how much money you will make, if there will be monetary gifts, and how much money you need, are all critical to saving. From there, get in the saving mindset and celebrate the small wins. You’ve got this! Happy wedding planning!
More From Hummingbird Wedding Advice:
How To Make Hard Choices For Your Wedding
7 More Wedding Budget Saving Tricks To Avoid
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[…] thing is, it is possible to pay for a wedding with cash. This is true even if you and your partner are paying for your wedding yourselves. In fact, […]