Surviving engagement

The original purpose of a marriage engagement period was to allow the church time to announce the marriage intent and also to give time for anyone who had judgements against the marriage to come forward. Today, engagements seem to be the ultimate test. If you can survive the wrangling relatives, bridezilla demands, caterers, booking, wedding planners, gift registries and all the other absurdities that go along with planning a wedding then your chances of surviving the marriage are good. Yep, guaranteed you'll learn a lot about how your fiance handles stress and money during this period.

How you plan your wedding is up to you. Of course, I'd like to tell you to keep it within budget. Don't start your marraige off with debt. And don't get swept up by the wedding monster that dictates "musts" such as; registries, exotic honey moons, a dozen bridesmaids, sit-down dinner receptions, etc. Yes, I'd like to, but I won't. I will, however, toot the Coors Credit Union horn for a bit.

Coors Credit Union has some interesting program for engaged couples. The first is the Wedding Savings Registry. It's a way to encourage friends and relatives to give you what you really want most--money. Forget getting a few place settings of china, you can always use cash. When you open a Weddings Savings Registry Coors Credit Union gives you a $50 gift deposit right away. They also provide cards that you can send as an announcement of your Wedding Savings Registry. You can use the account to cover wedding expenses or anything else that will help you start your union on a positive note.

Once the marriage license is issued you can set up a Wedding Checking account. Wedding planning experts advise couples to open a joint checking account to manage and budget for wedding expenses. Fund the account to fit your budget and use it pay for your dream day. After the event you can continue to use your joint account to pay for household expenses. And, when you fund your account through a direct deposit Coors Credit Union will start you off with a $200 gift deposit. Funds may be directly deposited through employment checks or recurring electronic funds transfers.

Hey December is Engagement Month. More couple's become engaged in December than in February. And since this is a credit union blog--I'm going to take a look at the financials of love all week.