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u-wmniooumaowaméaaiym" :2. rins- V l The wedding bill blues There’s dollars and sense in wedding planning and award ing pitfalls mlmlncmu that Ciswanathan called 'modest." ‘ ' ‘ ’ ' ' ' ' ’ "' ""‘ ”WWWM’ '7 f" ' ,, (JrronicleSIafi' To complicate matters even more, the g1- ‘ a“ coupledoesn‘tevenlivelnthesamecltyâ€" ;‘. ’7', ~‘ or Raj (Iiswanathan and Ashita Kumar. she lives in Mississauga with her parents and i .. it; W it % ’ . .. x: F the road to marriage has been a long works for a company that develops safe dis- i c. ,' ‘ ‘_ ‘ ‘ ' if" one. posal practices for nuclear waste. while he . g '3’. ..f . » . The couple first met at high school in still callsWaterloo home. '3 ' K a. j I'.‘ , f :1 ‘ Mississauga back in 2000, and after gradua- Matt Wilhelm. a financial advisor with ' i ”if; ; £433}. ‘3‘ ; {I 3 lion they both attended the University of Sun Life Financial. says that money is often ( ' ; g j 5 " ‘3 g in. Waterloo â€" Ciswanathan for computer engi- quoted as the number one concern for many I' 1‘ I It? WWI”: é ' “9a . neeringand Kumar for radiation science. couples. He has five key tips for couples to "I «g Wyd‘l" ., .. ., .. It wasn‘t until 2007 that the couple began plan not only a financially-sound wedding. 2 .. " - " dating. and fouryears wwâ€"W-m _, but to set them on 1' " .. 4M V f later they were the right financial ' engaged with plans " track for the rest of g to finally tie the knot their married lives. I. on luly 12. 2013. . The first is for Between the _ couples to establish a ~ “Ni flower arrangements g. wedding budget and f“ and the dinner to be realistic about menu. then: is plenty " _' ”a: x, ‘ what they expect to ‘ to plan for when ‘ if a“ A”: spend. One of the you're getting mar- , if.” fé.;.__ he: ways to do this is to ried. and for many ‘W' ;. ‘3’ I ‘3. research the costs of couples. the biggest 31" g: f. if ‘:’~.‘ having a wedding by source of stress is - 11,5 if. “ “if: “if talking with friends how they intend to j 1:5 ’_ it; and family who have pay for it all. '7! 17. 1g 7’1 " already been mar- “We‘ve been argu- ., fl ' J§ , . 321-. ricd,orbytalk'lngtoa ing a little more than 4’ “fig 3;- ‘ ‘ a ;. financial adviaor. » a we used to. definitely a is at!“ , ‘. 2 ~ The second tip is ., w I a about money." said a ' .. - ' "" ‘m ' to have a discussion . Ciswanathan. who with anyone who . ‘ ».. 1 lives in Waterloo and works as a programmer may contribute to the budget. such as par- . "" , ' at Research in Motion. ”It's a balance ems or grandparents. and to establish how “ between what we need and what we want (in much each group will contribute. , the wedding)." “Commit to that budget to avoid carrying ~ . It's a problem that many couples debt over intomarrledllfefhecautioned. " encounter when they first set out to plan He said when couples enter the planning their wedding how are they going to pay for stages of a wedding the majority tend to everything? Many rely on their parents or underestimate how quickly the costs can perhaps other family members to cover at add up. it's easy to allot for the big costs like least part of their costs. but (Ziswanathan renting the hall or paying the caterer. but the ~ and Kumar are going to try and pay for most smaller costs like personalized table settings j ofitthemseivea andunlquedecoratlonsadduplnahurry. SunUfaFlnancialadvisorMattWilhelmsaldflierearefivekeytipsforcwpiestoavoldthe 1 'We wanted to pay for it out of our own 1hat's why it's important for couples to wedding bill blues and plan for their married life together. pocket rather than go into debt,‘ said build in an extra cushion of about 10 per ‘ (Iiswanathan. “The goal is to do it ourselves" cent, he said. cussion should take place before vows are tlnandal adviser who can guide them on the . “(Our parents) have offered to help with His third tip is for newly married couples even exchanged, he noted. path tocreatingavlable financial plan. } some of the costs. but they haven't revealed to have what he calls the 'money talk,” Fourth. he encourages new couples to Clswanathan and Kumaragreed withWil- toushowmuch,‘addedKumar. whichglvesbothaideatheopportunity tobe livewidunflieirmeansespeclallywhenthey helm. and their one big tip to couples They are still in the early stages of wed- up front about spendinghablts ordebts. and are just starting out their lives together, and planning a wedding now is to try and . ding planning. but so far it is shaping up to ban thecouplewlll handle moneytogether. to establish savings programs in order to account forthose miscellaneousexpenses be a big event. Given their shared lndian That talk should also include their short establish a retirement nest egg or to cover "It's easy to plan for the big things. but heritage. they expect at least 300 people to and long-term goals, specifically major any unexpected expenses tougher forthe smaller thing” Ciswanathan be at their wedding next year â€" a number puchases such as a home. Ideally that dis- Finally. he advises new couples to find a said. shop playsave 0...... . clothing . accessories NOW 3 ..~ it __ , . shoes - kitchenware OPE N ‘ , - as 1: - linens . china . luggage M, w 3 « . . jeans - athletic wear W . " “a; W ~- ' 8T. JACOBS OUTLETS . toys . candy & more! .W . . aw W . , - 25 Benjamin Rd. Waterloo MELANIE LYNF- \ , www.0mbrac0yourchangeca L L.