Do wedding events shake up your budget? : The Saturday weekend review #76

A WEDDING INVITE CAN SOAK UP CASH

There is no such thing as simply going to a wedding and wishing the newlyweds a happy life together.

A wedding is no laughing matter and as much as most people are thrilled when people they know get engaged some start to budget for the big event.

The kicker here is that for many people it’s not just one wedding each year it may be many weddings they are invited to.

Wedding planning

Planning for a wedding is not easy but can get out of hand if you’re not careful. Not only that but you might just scare off your potential guests who can’t afford to pay for wedding events that you plan leading up to your big day.

We are now in the hottest months of the year for weddings which means many people are receiving wedding invites that shake up their budget. Why? Weddings are expensive not only for the couple who is getting married but for those who are invited to a wedding. Factor in if you are part of the wedding party and you’ve just bumped up the cost of attending a wedding even more.

Last week I talked about Grandma Baby showers and how they are the new rage for grandparents although many people I’ve talked to have no interest in them. They don’t want to shell out any more money because they either don’t have it or just don’t want to. Weddings are even worse than having to attend a baby shower because the events are endless.

I’m not used to all these pre-wedding events but do they ever add up and put a strain on our budget. Sometimes we have to decline such events as the buck and doe also called the Stag and doe or Jack and Jill where money is raised by playing games for prizes.

You end up drinking your face off until you need to be wheeled out of the event. Jell-o shooters make their rounds all night long and your wallet if it came full will likely feel lighter upon leaving. I’d suggest only bringing what you plan to spend, sort of like going to the casino.

You may also have to spend cash on a bridal shower gift also called a wedding shower or spend money for a night out to enjoy the  bachelor/bachelorette party signifying the last night being single before getting married.

These pre-wedding events cost money as well as buying outfits for these events. If the wedding you are invited to is a destination wedding or beach party you might have to pay for airfare and a tonne of other costs involved with getting to and from the event.

Wedding budget

When couples design their wedding budget they can easily go overboard with the thrill of the day especially if they are looking for wedding ideas by going to wedding shows and looking in wedding magazines.

Our wedding was small and we didn’t have a wedding shower because we really didn’t want our guests having to pay for anything more than coming to the event. In our invites we asked for no gifts but that doesn’t meant the guests won’t listen as they still bought us gifts.

Although we had a frugal but amazing wedding we wanted our guests to be able to come without the stress of these pre-wedding events and having to spend a pile of money. Some couples get invited to so many wedding each year I honestly don’t know how they can afford to pay for it all.

One of our friends who is a maid of honour has shelled out almost $1000 so far on her dress, gifts and planning and paying for bridal showers, food and prizes. I can understand why some people hide when they think they will get asked to be in a wedding party.

My wife attended the wedding shower just recently for this friend and she overheard they are paying upwards of $30,000 for 200 guests to attend this wedding. The stag and doe they recently held brought in just over $2000 net to go towards the wedding.

Almost all of the gifts received from the wedding shower were for the kitchen or cash in hand. I bet some of you who had a wedding shower still have gifts that haven’t even been used yet and are collecting dust in your basement.

I watched a video online where Marketplace reporter Quentin Fottrell said that in 2014 those who are invited to a wedding could expect to spend $592 up 10% from last year and that’s not including the gift.

If you are close family you can expect to dish out $200 for a gift where the avg gift is $109. Of course this all depends on where you live and the type of wedding you are attending.

I’m not sure if I’d accept being in a wedding party unless it was a brother or sister of mine because I really just don’t care to pay for all the extras involved. Attending all the pre-wedding events might also be something I pass up (unless it is close family) simply because I don’t often drink nor do I have the cash to splash for such events in our budget.

I don’t think that there is a rush for most people to get married which means that gives them plenty of time to budget what they need and budget accordingly. Don’t budget more than you have and expect the guests to pay for the rest because no one needs an elaborate wedding just to say, “I love you” and “I want to spend the rest of my life with you“.

I believe a wedding is meant to celebrate two people coming together in marriage and not about funding the event especially when some couples go wild with their wedding budget.

What are your thoughts on pre-wedding events and the costs of being in a wedding?

CBB at home and blog

It’s been another uneventful week for us at the CBB house although I did manage to tear up the back garden to plant almost all of our new shrubs and flowers.

As you can see from the photo above our lime tree is coming back with full-force as there are vibrant green limes all over the tree. Our fig tree has come back to life and there are leaves growing all over which is a good thing because my wife would have been upset as it’s an important tree from her father.

Other than that I’ve had to add 4 more packets of basil to our pots as it wasn’t growing as much as I’d like. This time I paid a bit more money for the seeds so we’ll see what happens. I’m pretty sure that last year we didn’t get our seeds from the dollar store as they were sold out so we did buy the pricier ones.

We’ve been very successful with dollar store seeds except for the basil this year which has only proven to give us minimal basil. Time will tell but we really want to make basil cubes again this year as we use them throughout the winter months in soups, stews and pastas.

Other than that I’ve worked quite a bit as you know so I’ve been in and out on the blog this past two weeks. The good thing is we haven’t been able to get out and spend any money in our budget and the bad thing is I’m falling behind on my renos around the house.

I haven’t had a chance to do much in terms of recipes the past few months so I thought I’d whip up some Chocolate Butterscotch Muffins which turned out pretty decent. I will be posting that recipe on the blog very shortly. Needless to say all 6 jumbo muffins are gone and I didn’t eat them all. We had company over the other night who bought us Swiss Chalet for dinner and of course the wine, dessert and verbal entertainment came from us. 🙂

I still have my IT guy working on the blog fixing things up which I’m hoping will make a difference to the overall functionality and speed of the blog. It won’t all be something that you can see but it’s been making a difference this far. My blog has also been moved to a new server which so far (fingers crossed) has not crashed.

So, on that note I hope you all have a great week and check back to see what’s new and exciting in our life next Saturday.

Weekly CBB posts

If you missed any CBB posts from the week here is the list of posts you can catch up on reading!

• How answering the home phone saved us $134 in our budget
• Do your parents stick their nose into your bank account balance?
• Do you only buy groceries that are on sale?
• How far would you go to fund your child’s education?
• Is Father’s Day just another marketing ploy to eat into your budget?

Fan deals and inspirations

Submit your Brag or Inspiration If you have a brag that you want me to share email me at canadianbudgetbinder (@) [yahoo] [.ca] or fill out my contact form by Friday each week to have your brag considered for the Saturday post.

Below are CBB fan Jen’s garage sale finds from last week!

Hi Mr.CBB and Fans!

• Pink sparkly shoes: $1 (brand new – bought as birthday gift for my friends daughter)
• Pink slippers: $0.25 (brand new – bought as birthday gift for my friends daughter)
• Aeropostale bag: $0.75 – were asking $1 (in great condition – bought as birthday gift for my friends daughter)
• Two blue sandcastle buckets (included tennis balls and pucks): $0.75 for both
• Clothes pins: $0.25
• Children’s Place sunglasses: $.25 – were asking $0.75
• Five bags of plastic knives and spoons: $1 – were asking $2 (great to have around next time I’m asked to bring cutlery to a function)

Making a difference

If you know a personal finance blogger that is making a difference and want to nominate them please send me an email canadianbudgetbinder (@) yahoo.ca so I can reach out to them for a feature story.

Note: If you are a blogger who gives back and would like to be featured by all means get in touch with me as I am filling spots up for the rest of 2014 and they are going quickly.

Today I would like to introduce to you Julie from Millennial Cents!

Hey there, I’m Julie from Millennial Cents. Who doesn’t love money, right? We all do and do you know what’s more powerful than having money? Knowing how to use it. Making money work for you, not the other way around. That’s what Millennial Cents is all about: empowering Millennials through financial guidance.

Millennials are a technology-loving, wander-lusting, “carpe-dieming” and… debt-filled generation. Our generation has a reputation for spending NOT saving. I want to help change that. On my blog, I explore different topics that are relevant in decision-making processes that Millennials go through every single day.

Want to travel the world on a budget? Want to buy a house? Want to start a business? Want to shop for gifts in a smarter way? Need some DIY beauty hacks? Millennial Cents is here to tell you how to make it happen.

Through simple educational articles and engaging content I hope that everyone who visits my site leaves inspired to squeeze more juice out of life. I’m certain that the better they understand the world of money the richer their whole world will become.

Now that’s Millennial Cents!

What is a blog carnival?

Some fans have asked me “what is a blog carnival?” so a little explanation is due here for anyone reading for the first time or for my long-time fans.

A blog carnival is where a blog or website hosts what we call a carnival of blog posts from around the web. Most blog carnivals have a theme and certain rules for submitting which must be followed.

If you are a blogger and would like to learn what blog carnival directories I submit to each week you can find the information in a previous Saturday Weekend Review post that I wrote.

Carnival glory

If you don’t see your blog it’s likely because I don’t know that you shared my post so send me an email to let me know. Thanks.

Not too much action this week so thanks to those bloggers who take the time to share my posts with your fans. Your kindness is always remembered. ~Mr.CBB

Carnivals

• Carnival of Financial Camaraderie– Finance with Reason
• Carnival of Financial Camaraderie- Student Finance

Mentions

• I was honoured to be interviewed by Karen at Lil Suburban Homestead for the Survival Mom Radio Network
• You can also find some garage sale tips in the Winnipeg Free Press from Canadian Budget Binder
• The Art of Being Cheap
• 50 Money Saving Tips from Top Personal Finance Bloggers– Money Saving Dude

Google search terms

Every week I get thousands of people visit Canadian Budget Binder because they did a search online and found my blog. Keep in mind any spelling errors below are because I share with you the exact way they typed their search engine query to land on my blog.

• Has Bobby Flay ever messed up a meal?– I’m pretty sure he has but the likelihood that we ever see it is slim to none.
• Cookie Binder– Sounds like a great name for a cookie blog
• Veriquick dollar store pregnancy test– I’m guessing the reader meant VERY QUICK dollar store pregnancy test
• Attractive Canadian men-  hmm
• DIY shower valve party– Sure, have a reno party and invite all the handy friends in your life to help out! Pizza and beer on me! lol
• Nosey neighbours talking to potential buyers- We can’t control everything unfortunately but if potential buyers want to talk to neighbors some people recommend it to learn about the neigbourhood.

Thanks for joining me for this edition of The Saturday Weekend Review #76. Join me here again for more crazy stories from around the web and at home!

Are You New To Canadian Budget Binder?

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Related articles

• The Saturday Weekend Review #68: Do you hold an Easter egg hunt for the kids?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #69: Is paying off the homeless people the answer?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #70: Are businesses going too far for customer service?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #71: Should you negotiate prices at garage sales?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #72: Would you give back 40K that you found in a Thrift Store couch?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #73: Does the scent of a business play with your nose and wallet?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #74: Grandma baby shower another gift for your budget

Photo Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net/10incheslab