Being an overly organized planner, it was no surprise that I recorded our wedding budget and expenses up to the last peso. And as someone who is passionate on telling the world, that yes, you can have a beautiful perfect wedding with a tight budget (aka 400k wedding FTW!), here is our attempt in helping other couples achieve their own dream budget wedding.
Our original budget was only PHP 300k, however as they say, you have to add atleast 30% of that and that should be your maximum limit. On our part, our final expenses amounted to PHP 398K, so that was an increase of 33%, and that amount was mostly because of items I was not able to include in our original budget (like sounds, tents, etc). Not bad really, considering that the average cost nowadays (based on reading wedding forums/blogs) are around 500K to 800K. (btw, our wedding was last August 2012, and I can't believe that it has been 5 years!)
I'm not a hater, and I guess it is perfectly fine to spend that much money, if you have it in the first place, what I don't understand is how some people would stress about budget, that they don't have money left and after the wedding they are left with a humongous debt, when in the first place they had the choice to spend less for a one day event (and more on their future as mr.& mrs.)
So, here are some of our insights on how you can successfully budget your dream wedding:
1. Create a list of items and your budget for each. And make sure that your budget is realistic! Next is compare this to how much can you really afford to spend on one day. If you will only start saving for the wedding (like how we did), make sure that you meet your target a couple of months before the actual wedding, since suppliers usually require payments before the actual event (Down payment during bookings, half of the contract price usually a couple of months before the wedding, and full payment 2 weeks before the actual event).
If the end total is expenses > savings, then adjust the expenses. NEVER get a loan solely for your wedding, only because after that there will surely be more expenses (new house, new car, new baby) that it may become harder for you to pay up your loans.
I'm sharing with you our original budget spreadsheet so you'll have a general idea on the cost, the payments that we made are not updated on this one since I used the local copy in my hard drive (that crashed hours after the wedding ceremony!). But the budget and actual expenses in here are correct, while the DIYs listed here are probably posted somewhere in this blog (like the invites and table numbers).
2. Don't leave out the small items, when added you might be surprised that they will take around 25% of your whole wedding budget! (and this is based on experience)
3. Decide where you want to spend most of your wedding budget on, the top three items are
(1) Food/Reception rental (our personal favorite)
(2) Bridal Gown (which can cost a lot by the way)
(3) Photographer/Videographer
Something has got to give, BUT always remember that spending less does not necessarily mean lower quality, with enough research you can have the same quality of service with half the price!
4. Give yourself one "splurge" item. For us, that would be the Starbucks booth, it was not a necessity by any means, and we had to pay additional corkage fee for it, but we decided that we really wanted that one, and that will be the splurge on our wedding.
5. Control & Research.
You can budget your wedding all you want, but in the end, it is how you make your decisions that will matter. Never book on the spot without proper research (Weddings@Work yahoo groups was our wedding savior) and without comparing them to other suppliers. No matter how good the package is, never ever forget to do your research first!
6. Book During Wedding Fairs.
It's amazing how many freebies and how big the discounts you'll get by simply booking your suppliers during wedding fairs. But remember to do number 5 first before booking anyone! You will be attending a lot of wedding fairs, and that's fine. I mean what is 2k worth of gas expenses as compared to tens of thousands worth of discounts and freebies right?
Suppliers usually attend more than one wedding fair in a year, you can look around first, make a short list, do your research at home and go back to the next wedding fair to book them. You can also always ask suppliers when will their next wedding fair be, so you will know what fairs to attend and what to skip. Not all fairs are created equal!
Also, don't be shy in bargaining and asking for discounts or freebies! Some suppliers only give them if you ask
So that's it, I think that't the gist of all the lessons that we have learned during our own wedding planning and the planning of the weddings of several of our friends.
As a final note, don't forget to have fun and to enjoy the experience. You'll only be planning your wedding once, and make sure to get the most our of it. Also, when making decisions or during arguments on the supplier you want to get or how much should your budget be, remember that it is always easier to bend than to break.
Final decisions on the wedding should come from both the bride and the groom, and not from eager bibo parents or any other person for that matter, unless the parents (or other people) are paying for the wedding, then it is their decision that should matter. :)
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