Money Money Money

The two biggest causes of a Bridezilla are mismanaging your budget and procrastination. If you’re procrastinating, you’re probably going to end up spending more than you anticipated. So decide early on and put it all out on the table so everyone is aware of the situation.

Here are a few options for you:

The Bride’s parents pay

This would be the traditional/most popular way of funding the wedding. The pros are that you don’t have to use your savings and you have more money for your new household. The cons are whoever’s paying gets a lot more input. You may feel compelled to give your parents more say in your wedding even if it goes against what you want.

Everyone Pays

This would be the more contemporary option. There are two ways you can do this. You can either take the whole cost and split it 3 way or if one party is more able than another, ask what each party is comfortable giving and go from there. Compromising is key here. Negotiate to begin with so everyone knows the plan ahead of time. Pros: You’ll be able to afford more and still not empty your savings account.  Everyone’s contributing – cash and ideas. This means that again, you may have to compromise what you want because someone else is also paying.

You two pay for everything

This is becoming the norm, especially as people are waiting until they are more financial stable and more established to get married. Pros: You have total control! Cons: This could mean picking up extra shifts at work or you could possibly deplete your savings and gain debt if you’re not smart about it. This could also offend your parents.

We've heard of a new trend to ask your guests to pay for your wedding. Honestly, this can be a bit tacky. If you're asking all of your guests to contribute you get into a tricky situation by again, people thinking if they contribute they have the right to make decisions for you. Also, if someone doesn't contribute, are they allowed to come? If this is something you're considering, make sure you've thought of all the pros and cons before entering any of these situations.