Budget Weddings for Dummies

Planning your dream wedding does not entail spending your entire family fortune on it. Most Filipinos would say that it is a once in a lifetime event. True. But it IS still just ONE DAY. If you have the resources to spare, sure, splurge all you want. But if you’re the more practical couple like we are, initially setting a budget would be the first (and most intelligent step) you’d both have to make. Kay and I both believe that it doesn’t take a bloated budget to make our special day SPECIAL. It’s how you manage your available resources and allocate them in such a way that you get the most out of your money. We won’t go divulging how much our actual budget is here. We’ll just share some tips that would help you minimize (and maximize) your budget just as much as these helped us.

1. FREEBIES ARE FREEBIES: Filipinos are naturally proud individuals. We wouldn’t admit that we’re in dire need of help until everything is almost lost. So, if someone offers to sponsor something for your wedding, grab that opportunity by the balls (pardon the expression)! There’s nothing shameful in accepting help that was offered. Another alternative is going out there and actually looking for help. We don’t mean you forcing people to sponsor something for your wedding. If you really need help, go out and look for it. Whatever you need’s not going to be served to you on a silver platter. Revisit all of your business contacts, closest friends, and relatives, and trim down your options. There’s no harm in asking. You may get “NO”s but we’re willing to bet that there will be at least one who’ll sponsor something for your wedding from all the people you’ll approach.

So far, we’ve got 4 sponsors already, significantly slashing our budget.

2. REVIEW “WANTS” AND “NEEDS”: Most couples exceed their target budget because they fail to distinguish between these 2. I want this, that, those. “WANTS” will definitely ruin your budget. “NEEDS” have to go before these “WANTS” if you wish to keep within your budget. Carefully plan how you both want your wedding to come out. And during the planning process, distinguish these 2 from one another. To cite examples, string quartets, OTD coordinators (external), a reception host (external), would merit WANTs. Your basic wedding necessities would be your NEEDs (i.e. Church, reception venue, caterer, etc.). The 3 WANTs we shared above are 3 examples of what we weeded out during the planning process. Instead of those 3, we were able to get alternatives, at ZERO cost. If you’re really bent on getting your WANTs, best advice would be to only get them in the end, when all of your NEEDs have been accounted for, and IF you still have resources left after. Having a “PRIORITY LIST” would immensely add to your cause of keeping your budget to a minimum.

3. THE EARLY WORM, CATCHES THE WORM: As cheesy as this may sound, but yeah, the earlier you act, the better results. In planning a wedding, time is GOLD indeed. The earlier you scout for potential suppliers gives you ample time to review each one, trim down your options, and finally decide on what suppliers you’re both going to get. Another point is that the earlier you decide on your suppliers, the earlier you can reserve their services. Booking your suppliers 1 year before your wedding date, at a minimum, assures you of securing lower rates than booking them 6 months before. Take us for example. We booked our date with our church 1 year and 2 months before the actual event, sparing us from their year to year increase. Usually suppliers increase their year to year rates by at least 15%, depending on current economic trends.

4. HAGGLING DOESN’T MAKE YOU A CHEAPSKATE: When meeting with a potential supplier, don’t say YES outright. Let them present what they can offer and how much it would cost. Afterwards, bring out all your haggling skills which you honed through the years in all your “DIVISORIA” and “GREENHILLS” escapades. Or if you’re really not that much of a haggler, the next best thing for you would be BRIDAL/WEDDING FAIRS. Discounts are abound during these 3-day events. Just explore all options before finally deciding on one supplier.

Hopefully, these tips would work for you guys as much as they did for us. Happy planning.