When should I start saving for my wedding?

By Ashlyn Messier FOXBusiness

Published February 27, 2024 6:43am EST

Rising wedding costs have caused many people to think about when the right time is to start saving.

There are many factors that play into wedding expenses, and each couple's situation is going to be a little bit different.

While it may seem silly to start saving before you get engaged, it's not a bad idea, according to experts.

Check out these smart and helpful tips.

1. What is the average cost of a wedding?
2. Who pays for a wedding?
3. When should I start saving for a wedding?

1. What is the average cost of a wedding?

Over the past few years, there has been a steady increase in wedding costs.

While there are tons of little factors that can change your overall cost, there are major ones that are going to impact it the most.

Where you get married, the number of guests you have and the time of year/day of the week you have your wedding can all drastically change the cost.

The average cost of a wedding is $33,000, according to Zola.

The most expensive state to get married in is Rhode Island, where the average cost of a wedding is a whopping $49,000.

Of course, these are estimates, and couples find ways to cut costs and tie the knot for much less.

2. Who pays for a wedding?

Traditionally, most of the wedding bill has fallen on the shoulders of the bride's family.

Even though that was common practice, it's not so much anymore.

Today, the bride's family paying for the wedding on its own is pretty rare.

Many couples take on the bulk of wedding expenses themselves.

If families do get involved in paying for a wedding in some capacity, the bill is typically pretty evenly split between the parents of the bride and groom.

Now that couples are commonly taking on a portion of wedding bills on their own, it's more important than ever to be strategic about saving.

3. When should I start saving for a wedding?

If you are simply looking at numbers, it's easy to see that saving up for a wedding can take many years.

Many people wait until their engagement to start seriously saving for a wedding.

While there is nothing necessarily wrong with this approach, you may find it challenging to come up with the funds in time.

Let's say you get engaged and want to start saving in a year's time for your wedding. If you are going with the average wedding cost of $33,000 as a baseline, you would have to put aside $2,750 every month to have that money saved up in a year.

Of course, that assumes you don't have any money saved otherwise. If you have $10,000 put away that you want to designate for your wedding, that number is still quite high, but drops to about $1,916 each month.

Again, this implies that you are paying for 100% of the wedding on your own, without the help of your future spouse or either of your families.

Often, when couples are getting engaged, they have a lot of other expenses coming, like the potential purchase of a house. The financially sound option is not to empty out your savings, or take out a loan for a wedding, even though some do.

If the sound of emptying your savings account for a wedding or having to take out a loan makes you queasy, your best bet is to open a savings account specifically for your wedding.

You can open this account at a time that feels right for you. Maybe you're in a relationship, and you see an engagement coming in the near future. Maybe you're already engaged and want to have a long engagement to give yourselves time to save as much as possible.

Maybe you are completely single, but know that you want to get married someday.

All of these are acceptable reasons to open a savings account for your wedding.

While it may seem silly to save before an engagement, or even before a partner comes along, the earlier you save, the less you have to put aside each month, and the more time you have to reach your goal.

When you start saving for a wedding, you don't by any means have to have an exact budget laid out. Figure out how much you are comfortable putting aside each month, and set up automatic payments to be added to the account.

Also, remember that when wedding planning does begin, you do not have to spend every penny you put aside.

If you end up being under budget, you can always find something else to put that extra money toward.

When should I start saving for my wedding?

我应该什么时候为我的婚礼存钱？

Rising wedding costs have caused many people to think about when the right time is to start saving.

不断上涨的婚礼费用让许多人开始思考应该什么时候开始存钱。

There are many factors that play into wedding expenses, and each couple's situation is going to be a little bit different.

婚礼费用涉及很多因素，每对新人的情况也会有所不同。

While it may seem silly to start saving before you get engaged, it's not a bad idea, according to experts.

专家说，虽然在订婚前就开始存钱可能看起来比较傻，但这绝不是个糟糕的主意。

Check out these smart and helpful tips.

看下这些智慧而有用的小提示。

1. What is the average cost of a wedding?
2. Who pays for a wedding?
3. When should I start saving for a wedding?

婚礼的平均费用是多少？

谁来支付婚礼的费用？

我应该什么时候开始为婚礼存钱？

1. What is the average cost of a wedding?

Over the past few years, there has been a steady increase in wedding costs.

过去几年，婚礼的费用在稳步上涨。

While there are tons of little factors that can change your overall cost, there are major ones that are going to impact it the most.

有很多小的因素关系到你的总费用，但有一几个主要因素对总费用影响最大。

Where you get married, the number of guests you have and the time of year/day of the week you have your wedding can all drastically change the cost.

你在什么地方结婚，你要邀请的人数，以及在一年中什么时候/一周中哪一天结婚都会很大程度地影响你婚礼的费用。

The average cost of a wedding is $33,000, according to Zola.

根据Zola的数据，婚礼的评价费用为33000美元。

The most expensive state to get married in is Rhode Island, where the average cost of a wedding is a whopping $49,000.

结婚费用最高的是Rhode Island，那里的婚礼平均费用高达49000美元。

Of course, these are estimates, and couples find ways to cut costs and tie the knot for much less.

当然，这些都是估算的，新人们可以想办法降低结婚费用。

2. Who pays for a wedding?

Traditionally, most of the wedding bill has fallen on the shoulders of the bride's family.

传统上，大部分婚礼费用都落在新娘家庭这边。

Even though that was common practice, it's not so much anymore.

尽管之前这是一种常见的做法，但现在不是这样了。

Today, the bride's family paying for the wedding on its own is pretty rare.

如今，新娘一家单独支付婚礼费用的情况比较少见。

Many couples take on the bulk of wedding expenses themselves.

许多新人自己承担大部分的婚礼费用。

If families do get involved in paying for a wedding in some capacity, the bill is typically pretty evenly split between the parents of the bride and groom.

如果双方家庭确实都参与支付婚礼费用，费用通常由新娘和新郎的父母平均分摊。

Now that couples are commonly taking on a portion of wedding bills on their own, it's more important than ever to be strategic about saving.

既然现在新人们通常都会自己承担一部分婚礼费用，那么存钱的策略比以往任何时候都更重要了。

3. When should I start saving for a wedding?

If you are simply looking at numbers, it's easy to see that saving up for a wedding can take many years.

只要简单看下数额，很容易就可以得出为婚礼存钱可能需要很多年。

Many people wait until their engagement to start seriously saving for a wedding.

许多人等到订婚后才开始认真地为婚礼存钱。

While there is nothing necessarily wrong with this approach, you may find it challenging to come up with the funds in time.

虽然这种方法不一定有错，但你可能会发现及时筹集到资金很具有挑战性。

Let's say you get engaged and want to start saving in a year's time for your wedding. If you are going with the average wedding cost of $33,000 as a baseline, you would have to put aside $2,750 every month to have that money saved up in a year.

假设你订婚了，想开始在接下来的一年里为你的婚礼存钱。如果以33000美元的平均婚礼费用为基准，你必须每月存2750美元，才能在一年内攒下这笔钱。

Of course, that assumes you don't have any money saved otherwise. If you have $10,000 put away that you want to designate for your wedding, that number is still quite high, but drops to about $1,916 each month.

当然，这是在你没有存下任何钱的前提下。如果你已经存了1万美元并准备用于婚礼的，这个数字（每月需要存的钱）仍然很高，但会降至每月1916美元左右。

Again, this implies that you are paying for 100% of the wedding on your own, without the help of your future spouse or either of your families.

同样，这是你在没有你未来的配偶或家庭帮助，独自支付全部的婚礼费用的前提下。

Often, when couples are getting engaged, they have a lot of other expenses coming, like the potential purchase of a house. The financially sound option is not to empty out your savings, or take out a loan for a wedding, even though some do.

通常，情侣在订婚时，他们会有很多其他支出，比如买房。经济上合理的建议是不要花光你的积蓄，也不要为婚礼去贷款，尽管有些人会这样做。

If the sound of emptying your savings account for a wedding or having to take out a loan makes you queasy, your best bet is to open a savings account specifically for your wedding.

如果为婚礼清空储蓄账户或不得不贷款让你感到不安，那么你最好专门为婚礼开立一个储蓄账户。

You can open this account at a time that feels right for you. Maybe you're in a relationship, and you see an engagement coming in the near future. Maybe you're already engaged and want to have a long engagement to give yourselves time to save as much as possible.

你可以在你觉得合适的时间开立这个账户。也许是你正在谈恋爱时，你觉得不久的将来就会订婚时。也许是你已经订婚了，想有一个长时间的订婚，以让自己尽可能多的存钱。

Maybe you are completely single, but know that you want to get married someday.

也许你现在完全是单身，但你知道你想要在某一天结婚。

All of these are acceptable reasons to open a savings account for your wedding.

所有这些都是为你的婚礼开立储蓄账户很好的理由。

While it may seem silly to save before an engagement, or even before a partner comes along, the earlier you save, the less you have to put aside each month, and the more time you have to reach your goal.

虽然在订婚前，甚至在你的伴侣出现之前存钱可能看起来很傻，但你越早存钱，以后每个月你要存的钱就越少，实现目标的时间就越多。

When you start saving for a wedding, you don't by any means have to have an exact budget laid out. Figure out how much you are comfortable putting aside each month, and set up automatic payments to be added to the account.

当你开始为婚礼存钱时，你不需要制定精确的预算。计算出你每月存多少钱是比较容易达到的，并设置自动转账到账户中。

Also, remember that when wedding planning does begin, you do not have to spend every penny you put aside.

此外，请记住，当婚礼真正开始计划时，你不一定要花掉你存下的每一分钱。

If you end up being under budget, you can always find something else to put that extra money toward.

如果你最终发现低于预算，总是可以把多余的钱投入其他地方的。