How To Save For Your Dream Wedding With A Wedding Savings Account

A few years ago, I opened a wedding savings account. Although I was single at the time (with no prospects in sight), I wanted to start saving so I would be financially prepared for when I met the one. According to The Knot, the average wedding costs $33,900. It’s never too early to begin saving for your big day.

While that account remained open for years, it never grew beyond the $5 I initially invested. Don’t judge me. During that time, I bought a house, leased a new car, and life got busy. Saving for a wedding became less of a priority until I got engaged earlier this year. Regardless of if you are single planning ahead for a bright future or you’re engaged getting ready to start planning a wedding, here’s why you need a wedding savings account and how to start saving for your dream wedding.

This blog post is made possible by Qube Money. All thoughts shared are my own.

Why You Need A Wedding Savings Account

I’m a big advocate for opening several bank accounts as a way to manage your money. Some use the cash envelope method to stick to their budget, but I use a virtual cash envelope system instead. Here’s how it works.

Instead of keeping track of how much money you have in each budget category by keeping cash in envelopes, use separate bank accounts. This method is ideal for those who aren’t a fan of carrying cash and going to the bank often. Here are some reasons why cash envelope budgeting may not work for you.

Combining banking and budgeting, consider using a budgeting app like Qube Money. Qube is designed to give your money purpose and make the virtual cash envelope system easier.

I currently have nine active bank accounts. Having multiple bank accounts helps me avoid commingling funds and I can easily see my balance and track my progress. Divvying up my money this way prevents undersaving and overspending.

3 Steps To Save For A Wedding

1. Create a Wedding Fund

Opening a wedding savings account is one of the best ways to save for a wedding. It helped us cover our wedding expenses, and because we were committed to only spending what we had, we did not accumulate any debt. This was also the first long-term financial goal we worked on together as a couple.

Since saving for a wedding is a new financial goal, in your budget, add it as a category.

Next, open a savings account dedicated solely to your wedding-related expenses.

Read Next: Why You Need A Budget

Should you open a joint wedding savings account?

This is a great question, but only you and your fiancé can answer this. However, here’s our take on it.

To keep things simple, we decided not to open a joint wedding account. Since I already had a savings account earmarked for our wedding, we used that. We did, however, commit to regularly contributing to that account. We also agreed that we would only spend what we saved.

Before you start saving, have an honest conversation with your fiancé about your wedding. While we wanted to have a beautiful wedding, we did not want it to derail the progress we’ve made. I’m glad we stuck to our values.

Determine How Much You Want To Save

After you’ve created a wedding savings account, now it’s time to figure out how much you want to save. While there are several ways you can do this, we decided to pick a number that felt right for us. For example, you and your fiancé decide that you will save $10,000 for your wedding. All of your wedding costs must fit within that budget.

We loved this approach because this didn’t give us an excuse to go overboard. Knowing our limitations determined the type of wedding we were going to have.

We opted out of a wedding venue, and instead, we hosted an intimate backyard wedding. We skipped having a DJ, a wedding planner, a makeup artist, and more. Those frivolous expenses were not important to us, so we ditched them. When your budget is limited, focus on what matters. I cannot stress this enough.

Another way to determine how much you’d like to save for your wedding is by listing out all known expenses, making an estimated guess for other expenses and arriving at your target wedding budget. Discover even more ways to save money on a wedding here.

Determine How Long You Have To Save

In addition to how much you want to save, how long you have until your wedding day determines how aggressive your savings plan will need to be. The more time you have, the less you need to save every month. The less time you have, the more you’ll need to save.

Don’t forget to take into account that you may need money to put down deposits for wedding venues early on in your savings journey.

Because of the global health crisis, our situation was tricky. When we first got engaged, we decided we would plan for a wedding 12-18 months away. However, when we decided to push our wedding date up, we had less time to save.

Here’s how the length of time affects your savings.

With a $10,000 savings goal, you have to save $556 a month for 18 months. In a year, you have to save $833 a month. With six months or less, you’ll have to save over $1,667 a month.

As you set your wedding budget, write down the following:

• Wedding savings goal amount
• Months to reach the goal
• Amount to save per month.

Automate Your Wedding Savings

Now that you know exactly how much you need to save every month, automate your savings.

Instead of saving after all of your bills are paid, treat your wedding like any other bill. You can easily do this by setting up an automatic direct deposit with your employer. A portion of your paycheck goes straight to your wedding savings account every pay period. If you get paid biweekly, divide your savings goal in half. Alternatively, if you get paid weekly, divide by four.

For example: To save $10,000 for your wedding, you will need to save $833 a month. Since you get paid weekly, divide $833 by four pay periods. Allocate $208 towards your wedding savings account each paycheck.

Automatic transfers keep your savings growing. It ensures you meet your savings goals on time and in full. It also frees up your energy so you can focus on wedding planning.

How this works with Qube Money

If you decide to use Qube Money, create a ‘goal qube’ or a virtual account for your wedding and link the app to your bank. The setup process is quick. It only took me a few minutes. Allocate money to your wedding qube by creating either an instant transfer or setting an automated monthly budget plan. When you’re ready to make a purchase, use your Qube card as you would a debit card or cash. Track your spending in real-time and add notes right in the app.

Sign up for Qube Money here!

By creating a wedding fund and automating your savings, you are building saving habits that will serve you throughout your marriage. While this was the first savings goal my husband and I set together, we plan to use this saving strategy for everything we do moving forward including saving for our first rental property. With our wedding day behind us, we have since opened our first joint bank account. We are so excited to spend our lives together!

Update March 2022: We welcomed a healthy baby boy into the world! Here’s how I saved for maternity leave as an entrepreneur.

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