during my blogcation, i asked you readers to send me your questions - wedding related or not. and now for some answers!
do you have any suggestions on making payments? my parents, my fiance’s parents and we will all be paying portions of the wedding. thanks heidi!
understanding costs, reviewing contract terms, creating your budget and keeping track of payments are tedious tasks which all could warrant their own blog post. but for the exact question at hand: actually making payments. when there are multiple parties involved who will be paying for wedding costs, there are several approaches you might want to consider:
- first the obvious: if every party has agreed upon which vendors they are paying for, let them handle it. are the bride’s parents taking care of the reception venue cost? let them contact your reception coordinator. are the groom’s parents paying the dj? same thing. that way, you’re not acting as the middle man with payments which can slow down the process and result in late payments or even overdrafting of accounts.
- when parents are contributing specific dollar amounts, consider opening a new bank account solely for your wedding. name it “bride’s last name/groom’s last name wedding fund.” deposit all wedding contributions into the one account and make all wedding vendor payments from the account so personal funds aren’t confused and you’re not paying your photographer with money for your rent/mortgage! this can help you keep track of budgeting as well and see what you have left once all vendors are paid and you are planning decor, favors, etc. see what promotions your local bank is offering for cds, savings and checking accounts.
- finally, if you or your parents decide that you’re willing to put wedding costs on credit because you don’t have the savings, or don’t want to dip into available funds to pay for what’s due, consider the best credit card. do you already have a card open that gives has low interest rates or great rewards? can you earn frequent flyer miles for your honeymoon or future trips? or maybe you don’t have one yet and you need to research the best one. if you qualify, consider opening a 0% interest credit card for 12 months, put only wedding payments on it, and do your best to budget to pay it off without having to transfer balances. this is also a great time to check your and your fiance’s current credit if you haven’t yet, and take the next steps to being a financially sound couple, instead of two individuals with seperate acccounts. (again a whole other blog post, but check out this one about combining finances.)
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