Wedding planner guidebook

1. Retirement and Financial Capability
Plan wisely / Stick to a budget
Step by step guide (check list)
Our Wedding Budget Calculator
Preparing for
Your Wedding
hints

2. Your successes are important moments in life!
Added wedding services can cost an arm and a leg.
Imagine, savings accumulated over a number of
years leading up to the big day spent all at once for
one event, to achieve the perfect wedding.
Most go overboard, struggling to cope financially
during the months that follow and regretting it
thereafter.
A wedding, one of the important life events, is a major social event traditionally paid for by the bride’s father.
The big day can be as intimate or lavish as you desire but whoever pays for the wedding, expenditure should be an
affordable one.

3. Budgeting: Be realistic
Couples in Malta tend to go for grand wedding parties
with relatives influencing the guest list. To make matters
worse, whilst on the look out, couples come across cars,
dresses, souvenirs, entertainment etc. that are more eye
catching than those within their budget – and costly.
Unfortunately, money tend to be splashed on the best of
things, choosing the expensive ones and for going other best
alternatives.

4. Discussion shall include :
Figuring out your ultimate "goal feeling“
Sharing your ideas openly
Determining your priorities to support the
goal
Finding the overlaps
Narrowing it down!
ideas
Indeed you will start your next phase of planning with confidence.
http://offbeatbride.com/wedding-brainstorming/
Goal-making and priorities
Remember:
"No ideas are wrong"

5. Budgeting: Be realistic
STEP 3 - WEDDING EXPENSES BREAKDOWN
• Invites
• Venue
• Wedding invitations
• Wedding souvenirs
• Church fees ( if married in
church)
• Attire, hair and makeup
• Bridesmaids dress, hair and
makeup.
• Catering
• Wedding cake
• Music during the celebration
and at the wedding party.
• Video and photography.
• Flowers and decor
• Cars
• Give away presents.
• Going away dress
• Wedding planner, if any.
Big costs like the wedding venue and the catering establishment and
less expensive items like decorations and champagne glasses mount
up to a considerable amount.

6. STEP 4 - WHY SHOULD YOU BUDGET?
Brainstorm again
•Put money aside months before the wedding – set
up a wedding savings account. Avoid your credit card.
•Take into account everything (ex. Hold the wedding
off season for better prices; organise the ceremony
and reception earlier to avoid overtime fees).
•Limit the number of bride girls – this will reduce all
the related expenses;
•Try to negotiate payments over a number of months,
giving you a breathing space.
•Avoid unwanted expenses. Be realistic.
•Be innovative: make your own invitations and going-
away gifts.
Wise planning and action prior expenditure
will help you not to regret spending so much
on your wedding day.
Spending more than you can afford can
mean settling your wedding debts some
years later, experiencing stressful after-
wedding-life and postponing important
•Be bold: instead of hiring an expensive
cameraman give out a number of disposable
photo machines and ask for pictures – less
expensive capturing the ‘true’ wedding
moments.
•Take into account estimated monetary gifts
that you may receive. Do not be shy in
requesting your guests for monetary gift.

7. W
H
Y
B
U
D
G
E
T
?
01 - Prioritise those aspects of your wedding that are
most important to you. Use your budget planner to
juggle your priorities. Once you decide your budget
stick to both the budget and the wedding plan.
02 - Separate needs from wants. Costs on the
planner help you not get tempted to choose the
more eye catching items or the most expensive
ones.
03 - Social pressure -- from your parents and
perhaps also from your friends to have an
impressive wedding than the one you can afford
or to have a wedding that is more sumptuous
than your neighbour’s or your best friend --
does exists. Stick to the budget plan and resist
such temptations.
04 - Look around before you make a purchase (of
goods or service). Use the planner to jot down costs
from different suppliers. Do not be embarrassed or
shy to refrain for any good or services provided or to
look out or ask for best deals.
STRATEGYFOR RETIREMENT AND FINANCIALCAPABILITY
KNOWLEDGE, PLANNING, ACTION

8. Last but not least:
Our Wedding Planner / Calculator
More benefits include
Our wedding budget estimator / calculator is a useful tool that you ought to keep if you plan to get married. This calculator
that specifically caters for your wedding needs gives you the opportunity to
 key in an estimation of the costs as well as actual spending and to
 make the right choice
STRATEGYFOR RETIREMENT AND FINANCIALCAPABILITY
KNOWLEDGE, PLANNING, ACTION
Expenses are split into categories for ease
of reference, to
 also serve as a checklist, especially
prior the big day and to
 keep you on track of all expenses per
category.
 to help you focus on the necessary spending,
 to monitor money going out and
 to compare the estimated costs given by different
suppliers.

9. 9
LIST WITH ICONS
AGENDA - TEMPLATE
The Marriage Grant
• Maltese Nationals having contributed at least 26 SSCs prior to date of marriage;
• EU Nationals with permanent Maltese residence;
• An application submitted within 6 months from date of marriage;
• Awarded to each of the spouses on condition that their individual eligibility criteria mentioned above are
fulfilled.
• For year 2018, the marriage grant was of €280.59 per person. For year 2019, grant increased to €283.49 per
person.
Do not forget: The Marriage Grant
A person who has recently married or entered in a civil union will be eligible to apply for a Marriage Grant once
the criteria stipulated in the Social Security Act (Cap. 318.) is fulfilled.
(https://www.gov.mt/en/Services-And-Information/eforms/Pages/Landing%20Pages/Marriage-Grant-
Application.aspx)
You may log onto the below URL address to obtain an application to request the grant.
https://socialsecurity.gov.mt/en/Pages/default.aspx
For queries, never hesitate to call 153 – servizz.gov.mt

10. The government pays a grant on expenses related to a wedding function.
VAT reclaim is based on 13.04% of the total expenditure up to a maximum of €1,747.
The application form needs to be submitted within 6 months of marriage or no refund will be given.
The application shall be signed and delivered either by hand, by post or as a scanned copy to the VAT
Department or via an e-ID Account.
The original fiscal receipts/invoices and relevant documentation shall be kept by the applicant for a period of
not less than 2 years from the date of application and produced upon request to the Commissioner for
Revenue for verification purposes.
Source : https://servizz.gov.mt/en/Pages/Tax-and-Finance/Taxation/VAT/WEB431/default.aspx
Hints:
• make copies and take good care of your fiscal receipts/invoices
• make sure to have your invoices/fiscal receipts as specific as possible.
The grant payment will be deposited in the bank account indicated on the application form.
Do not forget: The Vat Refund on
Wedding Expenses