This content is not sponsored. These are things I’ve learned from being a groom, and information I’ve gathered from running this shop for two years. I REALLY believe that the information in this article is a solid first step into wedding planning. Additionally, I am NOT a tax professional.
This is the first article you need to read on the Bachtix blog for three reasons:
· It’s going to effortlessly save you thousands of dollars
· It’s going to make planning easier
· It's going to make financing easier
I don’t want to brag, but I was pretty good at my highschool job. I was a cashier and sold credit cards for a sporting goods store in West Des Moines, IA. Was I ruining peoples credit everytime I ran a credit check for a new card application? Yes, but they gave me $15 for each credit card sign up, and a free t-shirt… you should have seen me. Pitching this card and memorizing the rewards program started my love affair with credit card points. Here’s how to accumulate them through your wedding:
Let’s talk about the savings first. Before you buy a single thing for your wedding, go out and get a credit card from a major hotel chain. Here are some recommendations:
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Bonus offer: 80k points after spending $2k the first 6 months (valid 2/3/25)
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Bonus offer: 100k points after spending $3k the first 3 months (valid 2/3/25)
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Bonus offer: 100k points after spending $2k the first 3 months (valid 2/3/25)
With this card, shouldn't the focus be honeymoon resort options and their points program? I mean, they all have locations all over the country and a global reach of exceptional resorts. NO.
You want to focus on finding the best location for the wedding block because you'll receive all the rewards points for everyone that stays there on your wedding night. Let me say that again: IF YOU GET A HOTEL BLOCK FOR YOUR WEDDING AND CHARGE THE PREPAYMENT TO A REWARDS CARD FOR THAT CHAIN, YOU CREDIT FOR THE NIGHTS STAYED ON THE ENTIRE WEDDING BLOCK.
My Wife and I got the Marriott Bonvoy card for planning and our wedding block, which had 23 rooms. Since then, we've had Silver Elite status with Marriott ever since. That’s free wifi, free meals, free room service, and free upgrades to suites. We've only stayed one night inside the brand since our wedding in 2023, and it's been a promotion that cost us $25. Even more, the points don’t expire unless we close the card.
But you’re even going to earn more points because every purchase for your wedding should go on the card. Catering? Charge it. Open Bar? Charge it. Photography and DJ? Charge it. There will be a free worldly vacation waiting for you at the end of it all for an anniversary or a delayed honeymoon - do you like overwater bungalows?
Having a hotel rewards card will make planning easier because it will limit the number of options for a hotel block. Yeah, maybe someone has the idea of a cute BnB on their vision board… But let’s be honest, you want people to remember your wedding, not the hotel they slept in. The Mariotts, Hilton, and IHG hotels in your area will provide a menue of options. Call each one to learn about their availability. And then just present this ‘menu’ of options to the boss. Maybe she won’t like the options in and of themselves, but she will like a free honeymoon and incremental funds that were free’d up on the budget.
It will be easier to keep your financing straight. This is more for the lucky few who will receive assistance covering wedding costs. This tip has two parts: 1) Link every checking account that might be contributing wedding funds to the banking app. Then, you can pay off the balance directly with different accounts rather than having a zell or wire pass through your personal account. It’s just cleaner… but there’s more! 2) The real winner here is the second part of the tip. Passing wedding funding from one person (maybe a parent) to another person (maybe yourself) might qualify the dollars as a taxable gift; however, linking the accounts directly could avoid the transfer of funding and added taxes.
Having all your wedding expenses in one place, saving money, and building credit card points on every purchase puts you under budget, and gives you a chunk of change to treat yourself and your boo after all the chaos subsides.