Even the most modest wedding will cost some money, and many couples are left wondering how they are going to pay for their wedding. Raising money for your wedding can seem like a daunting task. With high wedding prices and rough economic times, it will be hard for many couples to afford their ideal wedding.

The Samantha’s Bridal believes you can have your wedding without breaking the bank. Some of these ideas will require work and a willingness to maybe go outside of your comfort zone. Decide what you want. Plan your budget. Work your plan. Have your dream wedding.

Open a Wedding Bank Account
The first thing to do when saving money for your wedding is to set up a separate bank account for wedding related funds. This might seem like a lot of work, but it’s totally worth it. Find a bank that offers a free savings account. It’s a lot easier to save money if you have a dedicated place to put it. You will be less likely to spend the money because it is in the bank, and you can easily track your deposits and account balance to determine what your overall wedding budget will be.

Saving up is the most common way to raise money for your wedding, but it requires discipline and time. If you have a year or so to save, you can put away a portion of your income every month into your wedding account. This will allow you to slowly build up a nice chunk of change to use for your wedding expenses.

Moonlighting
Moonlighting is basically finding an additional source of income aside from your regular job. If you have some extra time and some marketable skills, this may be a great way to raise money for your wedding.

Get Sponsors/Set up wedding committee
What is a Sponsored Wedding? A sponsored wedding is when you have different sponsors for the different parts of your wedding. These sponsors can be friends, family, or even wedding vendors that you plan to work with. With friends and family, you will basically be asking them to contribute to your wedding costs. A sponsored wedding involves asking these people for help. This may be uncomfortable or even slightly embarrassing, but many friends and family members are more than happy to chip in. At your ceremony, be sure to publicly thank these individuals who were willing to help. Just know that the Kenyan setup only helps those who also take part and burden for others and hence to form a committee to fund your wedding you also need to have supported others before.

Vendors may give you discount or offer their services for free if it can benefit them in some way, such as helping them generate more business through advertising.

Sell Your Stuff
Most people have lots of stuff, and that stuff might just be taking up space in your house. Turn that stuff into cash by selling them. Old furniture, clothes, toys, etc. are all items that people will buy. You can also consider selling items on OLX.

Wedding Loans
Wedding loans are becoming more and more popular because more young couples have to foot the bill for their own weddings. Nobody wants to start a marriage in debt; you definitely don’t want go further into debt to get money for your wedding. By getting a loan you will end up paying way more for your wedding and you will still be paying for it long after it’s over. If possible, borrow money from a family member instead of getting a wedding loan. At least then you hopefully won’t have to pay interest and fees. Don’t take a loan if you can avoid it.

Once the engagement glow has faded, it’s now time to sit down and plan for the big day, you’ll find it very hard to get anything accomplished without a good wedding budget. A budget will give you an outline of what you should spend on each item, so as to ensure you don’t spend more than you intend to.

Who’s funding the wedding?

Although in Kenya traditionally the grooms’ parents pay for the whole thing, this has now changed, couples can now both help each other in funding the wedding. If you can pay for the whole thing yourselves, that makes things easier. If you want your families to help you out, or pay for it all, you should have a frank discussion with them about it. You should be prepared to answer questions, such as “How much do you think the whole thing will cost” and some other questions that you might not know the answer to.
There are several options:

• Parents can say that they are contributing a specific amount, and then the couple decides on a wedding budget and makes up any difference themselves.
• Parents can say that they want to pay for specific items such as the bride’s gown, or the catering. The couple then has to figure out how to pay for everything else.
• The couple can set a budget and then ask to split it evenly. This is particularly a good solution for divided families.
• Friends and relatives can set up a wedding committee but remember the African set up you have to be supportive to other people for you also to be supported.

Figure Out a Basic Wedding Budget

Start off by using a wedding budget planning worksheet to figure out the basics (below is a sample of the budget worksheet get the actual worksheet in the Samantha’s Bridal Magazine which is available at our offices).

If you already know some of the costs, such as the hall rental, put the actual figures, and adjust the other figures to make up for it. You can also ask other brides who have had weddings in your area what they spent on vendors to figure out if these numbers are realistic, or need to be adjusted.

Make room for what really matters

Prioritize what’s important to you, choosing 2 to 3 most important items. Writing down questions and filling them may help in this process. You may decide that you want to have a great photographer, but you’re happy to hunt for a bargain on the gown. If you’re having a small wedding, your catering bill won’t be big in the percentage of the budget. You can adjust your budget figures to reflect your priorities.

Save your wedding budget

Start by looking through the budget and crossing off anything that you don’t need. For example if you’re having both the ceremony and reception at one location, you might not need to include transportation. Use your contacts. Don’t be afraid to ask recently married friends who they used and what they paid. Ask friends in the wedding industry to help you out, and give you a discount if possible. If the numbers still aren’t working out, ask yourself what’s really important to you.

Once you’ve set a budget, stick to it. It’s easier said than done, but an important thing to do.