We can all easily get carried away with planning our dream wedding. However, there are certain things every engaged couple should have ideally discussed alongside the planning so that they could immediately have a good start to their marriage.
1. Honeymoon
For those of you who plan to go the lovey-dovey route of going to your honeymoon right after or soon after your wedding, don't forget your honeymoon! You might spend your savings on your wedding and forget to allot any on your trip. It's also necessary to have your trip's itinerary all set prior to your date. Otherwise it would be challenging to plan in detail and you may end up setting your trip's date further than expected.
2. Home
If you don't plan to living with your parents or in-laws after the wedding, one of you should at least have a place ready to call your new home, for your new beginning! Otherwise, it would still take quite a while before you are able to buy and move to your new home, much more so if you're not yet financially ready.
3. Family
Engaged couples ideally should have talked about their plans of building a family even before thinking of getting married. It's important to find out if your partner likes kids, or does not want to have one, or how many. It's also nice to discuss the division of chores because things like these might seem trivial, but it's also these trivial things that can cause strains as you live your marriage. Note the lessons taught to you on the compulsory seminars we have to attend prior to getting a marriage license. They are 100% true and applicable.
4. Values and Beliefs
You should have known your partners by now if you're compatible. Serious topics such as your religion especially if you have different ones, principles on how you would raise your kids, option to hire nannies or maids, are you both going to be working still, etc. These serious topics that affect much of your future should ideally be discussed and agreed upon by both. If there's any disagreements, compromise is the best solution.
5. Savings and Financial Accounts
Plan up on how you are going to manage your finances in advance. You might want to create a joint bank account, or separate your expenses and savings. Having a joint account provides full transparency and trust, and can be used with common expenses, while your own personal accounts maintained to be used as you please. This avoids any conflicts on money management.
Bonus: Updating Status in Your Important Documents and ID
Strategize ahead on when you can start updating your important documents and ID regarding your civil status, as well as if you've changed your last names. Resolving this as early as possible can be very convenient for both of you in the future.
Let's not only get a good head start on our wedding, we should also get a good head start on our marriage!
Comments