When preparing to get married, you’ll probably budget for obvious expenses such as gift money, the banquet, wedding photos, and your honeymoon. But there are lots of other expenses that you can easily overlook. Below are six unexpected expenses you might not have thought of:

Old traditions, modern costs

 Today’s generation may be familiar with gift money, but not with some older wedding traditions, such as fruit baskets, dried seafood, golden pig cards and so on when preparing for their wedding ceremony. Many people also overlook the ritual of “the bride’s homecoming on the third day of marriage”. In this case, newlyweds have to prepare a “homecoming pig” for the family. Ideally, this should be at least a mid-sized pig as the bigger it is, the more it shows the husband’s love for his wife. Though a roast pig may only cost around HKD$3,000, when added to these other old custom costs, it can end up adding many thousands to the total cost of your wedding.

 

Final fitting of the wedding gowns

 Most brides usually pick their wedding gowns around six months before the wedding, and have their final fittings just before the ceremony. Many brides-to-be often lose weight as their wedding approaches, so they may need a lot of adjustments at the final fitting. These may require altering the original cutting and style, and sometimes the sales people may suggest a newer and nicer style of dress which will cost you extra. Renting a wedding gown and a dress suit for the groom which can be fancy or simple depending on your taste, can cost about HKD$3,000. If you would like to get nice outfits for your parents as well, this could add another HKD$5,000-$6,000 to your budget.

 

Keeping up with the latest wedding photography trends

Technology is changing all the time, and wedding photography is getting more and more professional. Some newlyweds choose aerial photography from a drone, 360º photography, or even movie-standard shooting and editing. If you would like to have some truly memorable photography and video memories, you’ll have to put aside some extra budget. In addition, to enhance the atmosphere at the wedding party, a current trend is to have an instant photo booth. Guests can get the printed photos instantly, and also upload them to social media to share with their friends. There’re lots of photography companies which offer these kind of services, the common rate is about HKD$7000-$8,000 for every four hours.

 

 

From protecting yourself, to protecting your other half

 A traditional wedding vow declares, “For better, for worse, in sickness and in health”, which means that no matter what happens in your lives, you should always take care of each other.

 If you really mean it, then you have to seriously plan on how to protect yourselves. What if your other half gets seriously ill, or suffers a career setback, how will you cover the cost or pay the medical bills? And looking even further into the future, what kind of retirement life do you both want? This all requires careful thought and planning for your savings, medical protection and your golden years together.

 

The right time for family planning

 If you plan to have a baby, then you should have a pre-wedding medical check as soon as possible. If any problems are detected, or any condition that could affect your baby, treatment can be started early and therefore provide an important safeguard for the health of you and your spouse, and your future offspring.

If you don’t have any immediate plans to have a baby, but you’re not ruling out the possibility in the future, you could consider the latest trend of freezing your eggs. This would cost around HKD$80,000-$100,000. Or, if you have tried for a baby but were not successful after a few attempts, you could consult a doctor and discuss artificial insemination. This kind of treatment can be done by different methods which can cost from ten to a hundred thousand dollars.

 

Helping your baby win at the starting line

If you plan to have a baby and want him or her to enjoy the best start in life, quite a lot of parents take out an education saving insurance plan. With this kind of plan, you will have more financial resources to pay for a good local school or even for studying overseas if that is what you want. 

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