Well, I’m back from my honeymoon in Puerto Rico and getting back into the swing of things here at home. Now that I’ve been married for a week, I can comfortably say that I’m now an expert in all things marriage-related. If you ever need marriage advice, I’m your man.
But seriously, the entire wedding process was super stressful for Mrs. FP and I. Those last few weeks, in particular, were a nightmare and looking back, there are a bunch of things I wish I had understood more or had thought about back when we first got engaged.
Here are five things I’ve learned from putting together a wedding.
1. Weddings Are Expensive
Probably a “duh” moment for anyone who’s ever had a wedding, but yeah, you should know that your wedding is going to cost you a significant sum of money – there’s really no way around it. Even your cheapest wedding will cost thousands of dollars, which if you think about it, is still a ton of money for most people. I always knew that weddings were expensive, but the actual costs never really sunk in until we actually had to pay them.
The thing that sort of stinks about weddings is that the expenses are sort of unavoidable. The wedding industry knows that the demand for its services is high and they mark things up accordingly. And unless you’re the sort of person who really doesn’t care what anyone thinks about you, you’re going to feel obligated to spend money. This is especially true if you have family coming in from out of town or overseas. We had people flying in from France, Canada, and both coasts, and as a result, we felt obligated to make sure we gave them the best food we could afford and all the booze they could handle.
Thankfully, we did have parental support to help us out with some of our expenses. It’s part of the reason I haven’t talked about wedding expenses at all on this blog – not everyone will be as fortunate as we were to have family willing to help out. We were responsible for paying a third of the wedding expenses ourselves though, so we did feel some of the pain.
If you’re getting married in the future, you already know this, but save a ton of money for it. It’s going to be expensive.
2. Plan Ahead Better Than We Did
The last few weeks leading up to our wedding were super stressful. A part of it was just natural stress that comes from planning a wedding.
But a lot of our stress came from us not feeling all that prepared. We opted to do a lot of stuff ourselves, which meant that we needed to figure out the ins and outs of putting together a wedding without having any experience in it. Perhaps the most interesting thing was figuring out the logistics of an actual wedding ceremony. We didn’t have a professional officiant doing the ceremony – instead, one of our best friends agreed to be our officiant. It felt more meaningful to us to have him do it, but it also meant that we were figuring things out as we went along.
In the end, everything came down pretty close to the wire. Just as an example of how unprepared we were, we literally asked people to do readings on the morning of the wedding. It all worked out in the end, but it definitely added some stress that we probably didn’t need.
In hindsight, I wish I’d put more effort into planning ahead by listening to wedding podcasts and reading some wedding blogs. A Practical Wedding is one of the big blogs I found in the last few months that I really wished I’d utilized more. Another resource I wished I’d utilized more was the Wedding Planning Podcast.
3. Outsource Tasks
One of the bigger mistakes I made during our wedding planning stuff was not outsourcing more tasks. There’s a lot of administrative stuff that you don’t necessarily need to do yourself and it can save you a ton of time if you just ask your friends and family to do it for you.
Take the always loved wedding slideshow. Stupidly, we left this task until the last minute and by the time the wedding came about, we weren’t ready. We ended up having to scrap the entire slideshow.
In retrospect, I could’ve easily given the pictures to my brother, had him make a slideshow for us, and then had him send it back my way for review.
4. Get Into Travel Hacking From The Beginning
Probably the biggest mistake I made during this entire process was not understanding the concept of travel hacking.
I’ve always been afraid of opening up credit cards. The last real credit card I opened was in 2006 – a Citi Forward Card that I’ve religiously used my entire adult life. The only other credit card I’ve opened up since was a Target Red Card back in 2013 – and that’s a card that you can only use at Target in order to get 5% off on all of your purchases.
If I could go back in time, I’d definitely have gotten into the travel hacking game a year earlier. If you’re going to be spending all this money on a wedding, you might as well take advantage of the costs by opening up new cards and getting sign up bonuses.
Just to show you the missed opportunity I had, back in January of 2016, I bought my wife’s engagement ring. I ended up putting the entire cost on a credit card, which I then promptly paid off. Had I known about travel hacking, I could’ve easily opened up one or two cards, met the minimum spend requirements, and then pocketed $2,000 or more in free flights.
Luckily, I got wise to the travel hacking game earlier this year and ended up throwing a ton of wedding expenses onto three cards that I opened up. One of those cards resulted in us getting both of our flights to Puerto Rico for free – a solid $1,000 in free travel. Altogether, I should pull in about $3,000 or so worth of flights from our normal wedding spend.
I’m still learning about travel hacking and it’s a subject I’ll definitely try to address more in future posts. The whole travel hacking world is pretty intimidating, so there is value in following a non-expert like me as I try to figure this world out.
5. Remember That Things Will Probably Work Out In The End
Probably the most important thing you can remember is that your wedding will probably work out in the end. Even though we went into it feeling like the most unprepared people in the world, we came out of it feeling like we did a pretty good job. I think people really just want two things at a wedding – good food to eat and plenty of stuff to drink. We provided both.
And even though we were super nervous about the ceremony, I think that was the best part of the whole wedding. Our best friend made an amazing officiant – so much so that I think he could make officiating a side hustle if he wanted to. The whole thing just felt really authentic to us. There’s something to be said about not having every little detail planned out.
We’re still waiting on the photos from our photographer, but once those come out, I’ll be sure to share some of them with all of you.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
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More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- GO2Bank ($100) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $100 referral bonus.
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- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fifth Third Bank ($225) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($35) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $35 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $750 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Congrats on the marriage and I hope the honeymoon was fun. We’re planning our wedding right now. Fun times… (not) 🙂
Thanks! Yeah, enjoy that wedding planning process, haha. It’s a real bear going through all that. In retrospect, maybe we should’ve eloped.
Congratulations again, Panther. I look forward to the travel hacking post. We use the Sapphire as well for the no foreign transaction fee and automatic trip insurance (we travel internationally a lot).
As for the wedding, #5 is by all means the most important. I was engaged when I deployed to Iraq in 2003 (initial invasion). I could have made more money by marrying my fiancé before I left, but I was too concerned about accidentally making her a widow at 20.
We got married when I returned. We had a small, dry wedding (50 guests) and loved it!
Thanks Jack! Definitely agree with just knowing it’ll all work out. I think when you’re planning a wedding, you assume everyone cares about every little thing, but really, no one remembers. I can barely remember any weddings I’ve been too.
Congrats! I had a friend who decided to get married in a months time. That really simplified planning – nothing focuses the mind like a fast-approaching deadline! And it caused them to really focus on what was important (and not so). If I were to do it over again, I’d definitely shorten the engagement.
Yeah, having a month is crazy, but I can see the advantage. You basically get an “excuse” if everything isn’t perfect. We were engaged for 14 months and pretty much didn’t do anything until the last few months. Basically the worst of all worlds then. Long engagement, so we should’ve been prepared. But we were both way too crappy at planning to actually be prepared.
Congrats on a successful wedding, FP! Looking forward to seeing some pictures when you have those back… Also, hoping we can get together in the near future – sorry I haven’t reached back out!
The one expense that I hated paying for was flowers! We spent almost $1,500 in flowers!!! The total cost for our wedding was north of $20k – not cheap 🙂
We definitely should get together for a drink soon. It’s my fault too – just been so busy and haven’t been doing a good job keeping up with folks.
Yeah, the flowers are a chore. We had a florist do all the bouquets and then bought flowers ourselves from Sam’s Club. Helped to cut our costs down by buying the flowers and doing them ourselves.
Congrats the successful wedding, FP!
I will check out the wedding resources you posted when I get closer to when I plan to propose. Thanks for those!
Luckily, I got my GF on board with Travel Hacking. My goal is to plan out when we both open new cards and get our honeymoon flights and hotels free.
I was able to meet min spends (for the CSP and CSR cards) very quickly a year ago b/c I was able to put my Student Loans on my credit card. Now, I have to be more selective on what cards I open. But, with wedding talk in the future, I think that will be another great opportunity to open some more travel cards.
I’d love to see some future posts on your process to buying a ring and more details on the total wedding costs.
Definitely use A Practical Wedding. It’s basically just a big wedding blog and it’s pretty helpful to figure out how to do things. That’s awesome that you’ve figured out the travel hacking thing already. I really missed out by not understanding that stuff.
Congratulations, FP!
As someone who’s getting married soon, this post was like crack for me. As a natural, Type-A planner, I’ve done so much research and planning, my head hurts. But I think it mostly has been worth it. Our timeline is officially 5 months out, in a competitive city no less, so I had to bust a move. I didn’t want a long engagement because I’m pretty decisive, and I didn’t want to be twiddling my thumbs later and then second-guessing decisions. Second guessing decisions that have already been made seems like the absolute worst when it comes to wedding planning.
Besides doing online research like visiting the APW site, I hit up one of my insanely organized married friends for some tips, which definitely helped me understand which tasks I had to handle first. She highly recommended getting a day-of coordinator to manage the day, which seemed like an unnecessary expense at first, but now I realize it’s a must or else I’d be worrying about how things are going all day.
And I feel you on the pain of losing out on some points. My wedding florist only takes cash or check and I basically flipped out when they told me. I’m still trying to make them let me pay by CC by brute force…
I second one of the commenters who said you should do a post on the engagement ring process and finances. I always find those fascinating.
Thanks! You definitely seem to be more on top of your game than me! We ended up going with our own bootleg day of coordinator – my sister-in-law. It worked out well for us, but yeah, totally agree that you’ve got to have someone on the day of to handle everything and make sure things are working out right.