<prompt> Human: My boyfriend and I have plans to get married and buy a house, we just dont know what order would be best to do it in. Weve heard that its easier to get a mortgage if youre married? Which makes us think we should get married first, not to mention the fact that his parents said we would be getting a cash gift from them if we got married. But, weddings cost money, even the tiny one we want court house wedding, dinner with close friends and family after, and wed rather spend that money on a house. We dont plan on starting the home-buying process for another year and a half, were just trying to get our shit together financially and figure out the best way to do this.  <response>: Its a very personal choice - most people on PF will tell you that the wedding is not the most financially sound action.When we look in hindsight, my wife and I do say that we could have used the money to help with the down on the house we bought, but then, we wouldnt have all the memorable times we had at our fabulous wedding. which, from what Im reading, was priced very reasonable.Youll have to make the decision between the two of you, and try not to let other people even your parents help decide as this is a very big thing that should be decided by you and your bf. Perhaps split it down the middle and price out a wedding that was half of what you originally planned, and use the rest for the down.I will say that while our wedding was expensive, I dont regret it because I know Im staying with my wife forever.Good luck! 