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Paying for a wedding can be stressful and overwhelming for a couple starting their journey to live happily ever after together. So how do couples do it?
A 2022 survey of 50 couples revealed how they paid for their wedding. 65% of couples had partial help from their parents. 22% of couples had parents pay for the entire wedding. 13% of couples paid for all wedding expenses themselves.
Here is how the nine couples I interviewed financed their entire wedding or a majority of their wedding.
How Can I Earn Extra Money for my Wedding?
Here are some ideas on how you can earn some extra money to pay for wedding expenses.
- Couple #1 Charlie & Elie – Wedding Year 2019 – Paid 100% of Wedding Expenses – Wedding Cost $14,000. Charlie and Elie did an overnight security job together Monday-Friday for nine months on top of their 9-5 jobs. They got home from work by 6:00pm, had dinner, and then napped from 7:00pm-10:00pm. Their overnight security shift was from 11:00pm-3:00am. They were home by 3:30am and slept from 4:00am-7:30am. Highlights: “We still had weekends off to relax and rest. Since a security gig is a lot of sitting around, we did most of the wedding planning tasks during this time together.”
- Couple #2 Alex & Scott – Wedding Year 2018 – Paid 100% of Wedding Expenses – Wedding Cost $28,000. Alex and Scott started a lifestyle blog 2.5 years prior to their wedding. Alex wrote the content, and Scott took the images for the website. They both had full-time jobs at the time, and now they have three other blogs and make a full-time income working from home. Highlights: “Unless we were in a position where we had to pay for our own wedding, we would have never tried to start a blogging business and have the lifestyle we have now. It was hard work but so worth it.” Alex
- Couple #3 Ben and Lexi – Wedding Year 2021 – Paid 100% of Wedding Expenses – Wedding Cost $23,000. Ben and Lexi moved in with Ben’s parents for 11 months leading up to their wedding, and both worked full-time jobs. Highlights: “Since things were going so well living with Ben’s parents, we continued living with Ben’s parents for six months after the wedding and managed to buy our first home together.” Lexi
- Couple #4 Henry & Sara – Wedding Year 2016 – Paid 100% of Wedding Expenses – Wedding Cost $33,000. Henry had a full-time job, and Sara worked part-time and went to Law School. Henry’s passion was photography, so he started picking up photography gigs on the side. Highlights: “I passed the Bar Exam two months before our wedding, and Henry managed to turn his love of photography into a full-time business.” Sara
How Many Couples Pay for their Own Wedding?
~ 50 Couples were interviewed on how they paid for their wedding in 2021 ~
| Couples who Paid for their own Wedding 100% | Couples who had Parents Help with 10%-75% of Expenses | Couples who had 100% of their Wedding Paid for by their parents |
| 6 | 33 | 11 |
How Do Most Couples Pay for a Wedding?
Here are five more couples and their individual stories on how they paid for their weddings:
- Couple #5 James & Alice – Wedding Year 2020 – Paid for 65% of their Wedding Expensed – Wedding Cost $6,000. James and Alice went to high school together, and when Covid hit, they were in their senior year of college out of state. They returned home with their parents, who lived seven miles apart in Orange County, CA, to finish college online. Fortunately, they were both able to work part-time at their old jobs in the grocery industry. Highlight: “We are grateful for our parents. Having a backyard wedding at my parent’s house was not the original plan, but it was still a beautiful day.” Alice.
- Couple #6 Lloyd & Kim – Wedding Year 2019 – Paid for 75% of their Wedding Expenses – Wedding Cost $37,000. Lloyd and Kim lived in a sprinter van for a year and a half to save for their wedding. They both have jobs where they work remotely, so the van is their office/home. Highlight: “Van life provides us with a lifestyle we both love and the opportunity to reduce stress in our lives.” Kim.
- Couple #7 Kurt & Tanya – Wedding Year 2021 – Paid for 100% of their Wedding Expenses – Wedding Cost $9,000. Kurt & Tanya both work two part-time jobs (4 jobs total) and planned their small intimate wedding in seven months. Highlights: “We took a financial peace course through our church, which helped us a lot with saving money and set us up for success moving forward.” Tanya
- Couple #8 Seth & Jen – Wedding Year 2021 – Paid for 75% of their Wedding Expenses – Wedding Cost $17,000. Seth & Jen both lost their jobs in April of 2020 but bounced back and found employment at the end of 2020. They also juggled driving for Uber/Uber Eats to pay for their wedding. Highlights: “I feel like we survived a lot in 2020 together, and we are now ready to take on the world. We are having a baby!” Jen
- Couple #9 Austin & Grace – Wedding Year 2022 – Paid for 100% of their Wedding Expenses – Wedding Cost $26,000. Austin and Grace are both high school teachers, and in 2020 they started teaching music lessons virtually as a side gig. Austin plays the guitar, and Grace plays piano. Highlights: “Unless Covid happened, we would have never figured out that we could make good money teaching people how to play a musical instrument online.” Grace
~ Check out my article, Wedding Ideas for Winter: How to plan on a budget. ~
Story Time Wedding
One couple I worked with told me that right before the groom’s grandmother died, his 98-year-old grandmother whispered into his ear and said, “I have a surprise for you under the fountain in the backyard.” Unfortunately, she died two days later.
Three days after that, the groom decided to dig but didn’t expect to find anything under the small water fountain in the garden. Besides, his grandmother said many things that didn’t make sense days before her death.
To the groom’s delight, an old Folgers coffee can was buried in the soil under the fountain, just like his grandmother said. Inside the rusty coffee can were several rolled up $100 bills with a note which read:
“Dear Jack, please put this money toward your wedding and a home of your own. I’m so proud of you and sorry I won’t see you get married.
P.S. Don’t tell anyone about the money, and don’t spend this on another one of those damn Apple Phone thingamajigers.”
Love You Always, Grandma
Conclusion
People enter married life on a different path. No matter which course you take, all that matters is getting there with the right person by your side.
~ Happy planning and enjoy your wedding day steps ~