I love weddings. I’m a sucker for the romance, flowers, love, delicious food, drinks, good company, music, getting dressed up and dancing. We actually just attended our first wedding since I became a stay at home mom, which got me thinking about how easy it can be to spend a ton of money just to attend a wedding. Thankfully, my husband and I knew about this wedding way in advance, so we were financially prepared. That’s why I want to share with you how to not blow your budget attending a wedding.
Don’t Spend More Than You Have
Of course, you don’t want to be that guest that shows up to a wedding without a gift for the married couple. They spent their money making sure their guests would be fed, have drinks and have a good time overall; you should at least give a little something. That being said, you don’t want to give a gift so big that you can’t afford your own bills either. Give a gift that you can comfortably afford within your financial limits.
Add Wedding Expenses to Your Budget ASAP
Most people send out save the dates nowadays, so you know about a wedding almost 6 months in advance. However, even if you didn’t receive a save the date, you likely received an invitations 2-3 months in advance of the wedding. The point is, as soon as you find out about the wedding, and plan to attend, budget accordingly. Some costs you may need to budget for in order to attend a wedding are a gift, an outfit, accommodations, hair/makeup services, nails and transportation. Start saving up earlier on or try to spread out the expenses by buying your outfit or plane ticket ahead of time, for example. This ensures you are not blowing your budget the month of because of poor planning.
Wear Something Your Already Own
Social media makes people not want to rewear clothes they already own because everyone feels compelled to post everything they are doing. Don’t let social media make you broke! Who cares if you wear the same dress to a wedding for your coworker as you did to your college roommate’s wedding? You’re the only one criticizing yourself for that. If you find a dress/suit/tux that you look and feel good in, wear it as much as you want, especially if it saves you money!
Share Accommodations
If you are attending a wedding somewhere that requires you to stay over, either because of distance or because you simply want to enjoy yourself responsibly, see if you can share accommodations with someone else. Whether it’s a hotel room with two beds or sharing an Airbnb, splitting the cost with someone else definitely helps save you a little money.
Decline
If you truly can’t afford to attend the wedding, simply decline. As much as the married couple would love for you to be there, they also don’t expect every invitee to be able to attend (there’s a 20% rule for a reason). Honestly, sometimes the couple may even be happy to receive some declines; it saves them money too!
