Tales from the Wallet: wedding Finances

What are the monetary implications of getting married — as well as how does your wedding budget plan impact your overall monetary health? What other major milestones impact your monetary health?  I’ve often read that how you deal with a few major milestones in your life — wedding! grad school! baby! purchasing a house! divorce! retirement! — can have a significant impact on your overall monetary health. So I thought we’d start a series on money Milestones. (We’ve already talked about how where you live affects your finances, as well as what a general money roadmap, through life, ought to look like.)
First up:  the monetary implications of getting married. The question to everybody who’s been through this: what choices did you make that affected finances? What would your guidance be to someone just going through it (either for the very first time or again)? To those of you who chose NOT to get married since of the monetary implications — please share some of your thoughts with us!
Wedding Finances: Where to save as well as Where to Splurge
For my $.02, these are my best tips:

Be on the same money page as your partner.
  When I started dating my husband, my landlady — a tiny Slovenian woman in her 70s (at least) — took me by the shoulders when she saw me alone one day as well as said, “I like him. He’s tall as well as he doesn’t spend money.” I thought it was hil-AR-ious at the time… however you know what? She was right. 

I have no worry of my husband making some huge, crazy purchase without talking about it with me very first — as well as when we started talking about money (around the time we started talking about getting engaged) I was pleased to discover that we were on the same page with a lot of different things — for example, we both had saved what we might from paychecks, no matter how small they were. It was essential to both of us to Camiseta Sporting CP live below our means. Neither one of us was comfortable with financial obligation (he didn’t even have credit rating cards when I met him!).
This isn’t to say that these are the “right” attitudes to have about money — my point is rather that having the same mindset about money is really important, both for the wedding as well as the marriage itself. Studies show that having monetary arguments is the top predictor of divorce, as well as while I haven’t started researching the divorce milestone post yet (stay tuned!) I’m going to go out on a limb as well as say that getting a divorce can decimate your finances (even with a pre-nup).
Don’t go into financial obligation for the ring.  
When we started talking about getting engaged, I told my then-boyfriend (now husband) that I did not want him to go crazy on the ring — as well as definitely not to borrow money in purchase to purchase it. It just seemed silly to me to concern a new marriage with unnecessary debt. We told ourselves that we might make it bigger later on if we wanted to, either by sizing up or adding baguettes. (Also, some of my friends at the time who had huge rings confessed that they rarely wore their engagement rings once kids came along, so that was a consideration also.) 

Frankly I’ve always been thrilled with what Camiseta AZ Alkmaar he picked out (a easy 1-carat emerald-cut ring — purchased through a friend’s connection in the diamond District, so hopefully purchased at a great price). It’s a modest ring however has made me very pleased (and I wear it daily!)  Of course, it’s ok if you want something bigger, however be wary of getting carried away. (Psst: here’s our old discussion sparked by a reader wondering if huge engagement rings were unprofessional.)
Don’t Obsess Over wedding magazines as well as Shows
Don’t obsess over wedding magazines — as well as don’t start your wedding gown search above your price range. I looked through a few magazines when I was searching for my dress, however ultimately I wanted to very first exhaust the possibilities in the stores as well as trunk shows I was visiting. The last thing I wanted to do was see some $10,000 gown in vogue Bridal (or whatever) as well as choose whatever else paled in comparison.
I’ve only viewed the show “Say yes to the Dress” a few times, however it never ceases to amaze me when normal women (presumably not backed by a count on fund) end up purchasing a five-figure wedding dress. Again, if you really want it, as well as nothing else will do, then opt for it — however just view out about getting carried away.
Don’t let the Food at the reception eat Your Budget
There are two components here:  how numerous people are you feeding? What kind of food are you ordering?
Your guest list.  We’ve talked before about whether you have to invite your colleagues to your wedding, however think thoroughly about the guest list beyond that. An “easy” way to modify this list is Camiseta Selección de fútbol de Brasil to limit plus-ones — however please do keep an eye on how numerous people it’s really going to affect. I had one sweetheart do this at her wedding (only peoplenull