Budget Wedding
by Elay Pabico
Is it possible? I think so.
Ever since I had the concepts of weddings, I’ve always known I’d want an elegant, princess-type wedding. Blame it on Disney, but I guess majority of girls wanted that, too.
But when I got engaged, I realized it’s a completely different feeling. To be completely honest, I started by planning the most expensive wedding ever. That lasted for at least a day or two. Until I got down to business and computed everything. 300k for a wedding?
No freakin way.
Then I realized, it’s not about the wedding. I’ve found Mr. Right, Prince Charming, Knight in Shining Armor, whatever you wish to call him. I realized, it does not matter if we get married in jeans and shirt, what matters is that he’s right beside me and that the long wait is over.
Giving up on your dream wedding isn’t easy, I know. But trust me, if you don’t have the budget for it, don’t do it. I don’t see a reason for a 300k wedding if after the wedding you’d be indebted for life.
If you are then, decided on being a practical bride, here’s some tips/realizations I’ve learned over the past few weeks of being a 200% hands-on bride.
- It’s not about the wedding, it’s about the marriage. Being a practical bride is a lot easier when you start thinking of the life AFTER the wedding - the marriage, per se, rather than the wedding day itself. If you wouldn’t consider your married life, it would be easy to splurge 500k for the wedding.
- You have to learn to let go of a few things. If you want to maximize your budget, you wouldn’t spend 80k for a photo and video coverage. Although it is THE BEST that could happen in your wedding, you also have to learn to let go. But if you don’t want to let go of the 80k videographer, then you’d have to choose which other areas on your wedding you are willing to forget about. Honeymoon? Reception? Bridal Gown?
- It’s not about the name-game. It would be fun to answer questions like, “Who made your dress?” and get crazy replies like, “WHAT? SHE MADE YOUR DRESS?!” Blah blah blah. But sometimes, the name is what you pay for. Let’s say your friendly neighborhood couturier does the same quality for a lesser price but when they ask you, they go “Uhmm.. Nanay who?” Be prepared. If you really want to be a practical bride, you would search for the people who are really good in their field but not that pricey. My wedding bouquet is worth 3.5k all in all, and they’re made by Jack and Julie. (WHO?)
- It’s called DYI. There’s a lot of things you can save by doing things yourself. Or by asking your friend or in my case, my cousin to do stuffs for you. Our invitation was designed by Bob and then later made by my cousin.. for free. We only bought the papers and necessary materials and it didn’t even reach 1k.
- Nothing beats a hands-on bride. Yes, I would love to have a wedding coordinator. All these stress, all these preparations, they can get the best and the worst of you. But at the end of the day, still, nothing beats the appreciation of your husband to be for all the efforts you are doing for the wedding. It’s a different kind of accomplishment when you are able to do things by yourself. Being able to scout for a venue by yourself, it’s liberating.
Questions to ask yourself:
- Is it worth it? - When I was out scouting for a florist, I asked her how much for a tulip bouquet, and she told me it was double the price of my original quotation! Instead of pushing me to go for the higher price (imagine her sales), she told me, “It’s just one hour of holding the bouquet, do you really need tulips?”
- Who am I doing this for? If it’s for the guests, or the mother of the groom, or your mom, for instance, drop it. If the people on your wedding are really the closest friends or your loving relatives, they wouldn’t matter what bouquet your holding, or what gown you are wearing.
- Is the quality okay? It doesn’t mean that just because you’re saving up means you’re going for the low quality works.
I’m not against those who are willing to spend 1m on their wedding day. If you have the funds, by all means, do so! After all, our wedding day - that one day in our lives that we would ALWAYS, ALWAYS look back when we’re forty… or fifty… no matter how much or how little you spend, it’s always that PERSON at the end of the aisle that makes it all special.
So Happy Preps! and Goodluck, Brides-to-be!
