Yahoo!7 Answers Blog Australia

It’s wedding fever at the moment. In the next year alone, my brother, 3 of my closest friends and I will be making one of life’s biggest commitments and saying ‘I Do’ to our partners.

It’s an exciting and daunting time; it seems that making the decision to get married is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to wedding choices. Should we get married close to home or have a destination wedding? Should we have a big extravaganza or a small intimate occasion? What should we wear? Who should be in the bridal party? And so it goes on.

Of course many of these decisions are related to budget. As much as you might want a large, lavish affair with 500 of your closest friends, in reality it’s tough on a budget of $5000 (although some have done it!). And although we all might want to wear Vera Wang on our wedding day, can we really afford to spend up to $12,000 on a dress we’ll only wear once?

Although we might not be able to have everything we want, there are certain things we won’t want to sacrifice. For many, it’s more important to have lots of guests so you might cut back on the dress budget. For others, fancy weddings cars is part of the dream and of course for many, the honeymoon is one aspect that can’t be scrimped on.

So how do we afford these little luxuries? We save of course. Bankwest asked the Answers community what are the best ways to save for a wedding and here are some great suggestions:

Cranberry says:

Research  ways of how to “hit two birds with one stone” with your expenses. It could be buying fabric for your wedding table clothes that you can later turn into curtains for your new home, or choosing a bridal gown design so that you can remodel the gown afterward into a dress you can wear again.

Marie157 has a great idea:

Both my fiance and I each have $100 per week taken out of our paycheck and deposited into an account at a different bank (that way we wouldn’t think about it every time we logged into our online banking through our main bank). We also deposit any money that we get for birthdays and holidays into the account.

almarj70 believes the savings are all in the suppliers:

Avoid any vendor that claims to be a wedding “expert” or something similar. We used a small suburban florist for my bouquet, I got change out of $100 and it was just as pretty as something you would get from an expensive florist.

Bubble130999 cut back on her daily expenses:

I opened up a high interest offset account that was attached to my normal wages account, I called it my fancy account. I gave up buying take-away coffees every day at work and taking my lunch’s from home. Those two items alone added up to $55.00 per week, coffee’s $15.00 and lunches $40.00. I had that transferred in my fancy account. I did the same thing with my partner, another $55.00 a week. Without effort we were saving $110.00 per week, $5720.00 a year.

That’s just only the beginning of the wedding advice on Answers. Using Answers, I’ve managed to find readings for the ceremony, figured out some great colour schemes and even a song to do our first dance to. If only the community could work out my place settings, do the invitations and find me some inexpensive bridesmaid shoes that match green dresses then I’d be happy!

Caitlin
Community Manager

We’ve all got a favourite category on Answers. Some of us like to discuss the latest footy match or the demise of our cricket team. Others like to ponder current events and there are many people who love to debate the pros and cons of their favourite celebrities. Sometimes our favourite category changes with our lifestyle. Newly pregnant? You’re probably pretty active in the Pregnancy subcategory. Just booked a big trip? I’m guessing you’ve been getting some advice from the Travel category. As for me, I’ve joined the hotbed of discussion, advice and excited planning in the Engagement and Wedding category. As a bride-to-be, the advice about everything from hairstyles to honeymoons has been invaluable and it’s fabulous to be able to share all my queries with such an active community.

One thing I’ve learnt is that there’s a lot of tradition that is associated with weddings and it’s quite the debate which traditions you should adhere to and which ones you can skip (without offending your Great Auntie Margaret of course). One of the most obvious traditions is the white wedding dress which most believe symbolises virginity. Actually it had nothing to do with purity – prior to the 1800’s women wore their Sunday best regardless of the colour. Queen Victoria, however, had some white lace that she wanted to wear so had her wedding dress made white to match. Her wedding portrait was widely distributed and as a result, it became fashionable in many high society weddings as only wealthy people could afford to have a dress in white that didn’t need to be worn again.

These days, the white dress is still popular however many are shunning it. One of the most popular questions in the wedding category is whether other colours are appropriate or should it only be worn for a second marriage? Can all girls can wear white or would ivory or cream be better options?

Actually much of the bride’s outfit is based on tradition. The veil? One theory is “during the times of arranged marriages, the bride’s face was covered until the groom was committed to her at the ceremony – so it would be too late for him to run off if he didn’t like the look of her!” Nice… As for the garter, it’s actually got a long history. It has long been considered that owning part of the bridal attire would bring good luck so prior to the 14th century, people used to try to rip off some of the bridal gown. The solution was for the bride to wear a garter so the groom could remove it and throw it to the male guests.

Most brides adhere to the ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’ rhyme but what does it all mean? According to Rachelle_of_Shangri_La, it actually dates back to Victorian times. “Something old represents continuity with the bride’s family, something new is the bride looking to the future, something borrowed is a token borrowed from a happily married friend or relative in the hope that their happiness will be transferred to the new couple and something blue symbolises purity“.

These are only a few of the seemingly endless traditions you can follow when planning a wedding. What do you think – which wedding traditions do you think should always be followed and which can you forget about?

Caitlin
Community Manager

When I read this story the other day that Australian couples spend an average of $49,000 on their wedding, I was really shocked. After all, that sort of money isn’t far off the average annual wage of an adult Australian and is a pretty sizable deposit on a house. And aren’t we in an economic downturn?

Well there is a lot to pay for. There’s the cost of the diamond ring, the engagement party, invitations, the bridesmaid’s dresses, the wedding dress, buying or hiring the suit, the reception venue, hiring the church or celebrant, the photographer, music, the wedding bands, hair and makeup, flowers, the gifts for the bridal party, the favours, the honeymoon… phew! I’m feeling broke just thinking about it.

But does it really need to be $49,000 or can you get away with it for a lot less? This topic is a hotbed of discussion on Answers. All our experienced brides are on hand to give their tips on organising a fabulously frugal wedding.

• Where can I get Bridesmaid dresses in Australia online for under $250?
• My fiancé & I are planning a wedding for May 09 on a $5000 budget with 50 guests. Is this impossible?
• Should I do my own hair and make up on my wedding day to save money?
• What are some cheap and casual engagement party ideas in Sydney?
• How much is too much to ask people to pay on a Hens night?

Do you think it’s possible to have a nice wedding for under $49,000? How much do you think is reasonable to pay for a wedding in Australia?

Caitlin
Community Manager

I recently attended a wedding, which to be honest, isn’t all that unusual these days. I actually can’t remember who half the girls are in my facebook friends list because they’ve all changed to their married names and I don’t remember what they are. The unusual thing about this wedding was that it was in London and involved a mixed English/Australian couple.

What’s so unusual about that, I hear you ask? Mixed couples happen all the time and Aussies and Brits aren’t all that different. Well that is true, however there are more differences in a British wedding ceremony than I actually thought there’d be.

For one thing, did you know it’s traditional for an English wedding to serve a fruit cake? At this wedding we were served cupcakes and also a fruit cake, which I thought was a little strange until I read dlcarnall’s reasoning:

Traditional English wedding cake is a fruitcake, usually made with raisins, ground almonds, cherries and marzipan. The top layer of the wedding cake is called the “christening cake” which the couple is saves for the baptism of their first child.

The fruitcake is served at the wedding reception along with another traditional cake — the groom’s cake — which originated during the Tudor period. It was once English custom for this to be a fruitcake as well, but today, the groom’s cake is likely to be chocolate. More

The other noticeable difference was seeing women in fascinators and hats, which is apparently not a strict tradition anymore but definitely still embraced by some. Also there were some men in tartan kilts, not something you’d usually see at an Aussie wedding but is quite common for a Scot at a formal ceremony such as a wedding.

It made me think about the wedding traditions we take for granted that may not be as prevalent in other countries.

There are a few differences with American weddings it seems. Although it’s quite common to have a Bachelorette Party (Hen Party), American brides also have the added benefit of a shower, which apparently involves women getting together, giving presents and playing a few games. So many presents! There’s also that other American tradition of the groom throwing the bride’s garter, however it doesn’t seem to be something that Australians have embraced, I have never seen that tradition in an Aussie wedding.

The role of the Master of Ceremonies seems to differ from country to country. Apparently in Britain it isn’t too common to even have an MC, but in American, the Master of Ceremonies also has to entertain the guests and tell jokes, according to Dana B.

British weddings tend to go longer than in other countries (something I definitely found). According to Princess, it can go for 12 hours or longer:

They are longer, it will be noon til midnight or later- there is usually a ceremony, drinks reception, 3 course dinner in late afternoon & speeches, then evening party with drinks, dancing and a buffet- it will be noon to midnight basically. More

Then of course there are the wedding rings. According to AnswerQueen, the hand your wedding is on is determined by your religion, not your country

Christian Orthodox wear the wedding ring on the right side, as the right hand is always viewed as the more important, they also do the sign of the cross right first then left. While Christian Catholics wear it on the left and sign the cross left then right. More

While I love a good Aussie wedding, one ceremony I’d love to experience would be a wedding in India. It sounds like they really know how to celebrate!

What are the most different wedding traditions you’ve observed in other cultures?

Caitlin
Community Manager