Wedding bells ringing?

Were you asked any interesting questions over the holidays? Specifically, did you receive and accept a marriage proposal?

That engagement glow can quick fade to pale once you enter the planning stages of your wedding, and begin to consider the (gulp) costs.

Bridezilla beware

Don’t get caught up in the wedding planning. Weddings can be astronomically expensive, and there is straight up no need to spend that much. The issue is that emotions run high, and there is a lot of pressure to have complete perfection.

Your marriage is about a lifetime together, not just one day. This would probably be a good time to mention that one of the major contributors to divorce is money problems.

Do your marriage a favour; don’t start your life together saddled with debt, simply for the sake of a short-term celebration. Set your budget like you would for any other expense and stick to it.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t really splash it up for your wedding. It’s just a question of being really creative and stretching your dollars to get more for less.

Small list

There is no need to invite everyone you’ve ever known to your wedding. Trust me. They will understand (and may even secretly be relieved that they don’t have to travel or shell out for a gift). Keep your guest list intimate and less expensive.

Say yes to the (cheaper) dress

Before you hit the bridal salon, check out used ads and consignment stores. More and more commonly, brides are becoming more pragmatic and are selling their dresses after they’ve been worn for one day.

Don’t be put off by older styles either. You can revamp and recreate cool, funky and romantic dresses quite inexpensively. If you can sew, or know someone that does, even better.