Saying "I Do" to a Wedding Budget
If you’ve followed our firm long enough, you most likely have heard our “key to financial happiness” – living within your means; not spending more than your income allows. As a financial advisor, I know this discipline is the cornerstone of a good financial plan. However, as a bride-to-be, it was a bit more complicated.
When we began planning our wedding, my fiancé Nick and I wanted to keep it simple. A small event, surrounded by our close family and friends. I figured with Covid restrictions we wouldn’t be able to do much more than that. However, during our engagement the rules loosened, and as the date became closer, somehow simple seemed to morph into elaborate.
It was so easy to get carried away! Between the wedding dress I instantly fell in love with (custom ordered from India), jewelry, flowers and my parents’ guest list, the costs were adding up. Many traditional Indian weddings include a weeklong celebration and 500+ guests. As my parents wanted to add more events and people, the financial advisor in me started to panic.
I finally sat down with Nick and we talked about what we valued the most. Nick may not have noticed, but I’m certain that Shari Greco Reiches was behind the couch whispering in my ear, “You can have anything you want, but not everything.” We began aligning the wedding costs with our values, and guess what? Everything fell into place.
Undoubtedly, one of my values was making my parents happy – and although we didn’t have the full Indian wedding, I insisted on the Indian dress, we celebrated with a Henna night (temporary but elaborate Indian tattoos) and we added a few more guests to the list – maybe not quite 500 people! The financial advisor side of me and the bride-to-be side of me were finally at peace.
Preceded by several days of pouring rain and wedding dress drama I’d rather forget, our wedding day arrived with clear skies and sunshine. It was beautiful — everything I hoped it would be!
And the thing that mattered most to me – saying “I do” to the love of my life – was absolutely free!
Photo: Meg Goodwin Berger
Rhea Ravindran, CFP®
Rhea is a Financial Advisor at Rappaport Reiches Capital Management. Please connect with her below. She loves to talk about investing, financial planning, and her favorite movies.