Hidden Costs in Weddings

Weddings can be really costly so it is important to know where you are planning on putting your money. Unfortunately, there are some hidden costs in weddings that you won't know of until you are already planning and has to fork up the money for it. Here are the things that made our budget ballooned. A heads up for all the couples planning their wedding.

1. Jewelry

My gown has already been drawn for me by my designer and it was everything I have dreamed of up until I realized I have no jewelry to go with it! What's a gown with no matching jewelry? The result? We have to buy jewelry to match my gown. So that's how many thousands pesos extra that we have to fork up. Of course we can easily borrow but it is hard to find jewelry that will complete the look you are aiming for. So my advise is to consider your jewelry on hand before you have your gown designed to avoid having to buy just to fit your outfit.

2. Suppliers Food

Getting ready for the big day will require hours. If you're getting married in the afternoon expect your suppliers to be with you as early as 8-9 am. So that means you have to feed them lunch and dinner instead of just during your reception. Consider this when you are planning what time you are to get married ince this can easily amount to P3,000 or more.

3. Transportation and Communication Costs

Organizing and coordinating you big day can easily add to a big amount of pesos especially if you are not based where your wedding is going to be held. So allocate more or less 5 digits of moolah for this so you won't be surprised where your money went when you haven't even paid a major supplier yet.

How To Save on Your Wedding

Having a beautiful wedding doesn't have to equal to breaking the bank. Here are some ideas on how you can save on your wedding.

1. Don't Invite People Who Don't Matter

A wedding is an event for the family so don't go inviting people who don't really matter. As a wise friend once said, "it's your wedding not a political gathering." Also a wedding is not a popularity contest. Limit your guest list to family and friends you are really close with to avoid stress.

2. Get Only a Photographer's Service

If you are low on cash, you can opt to just get the services of a photographer and have your album printed later on. There are a lot of shops now in malls offering such services. They even provide nice layouts that is easy to follow for people who are not that adept in album lay outing.

3. Forget the Cake

A wedding cake can be really costly so for people on the budget you can choose not to have one custom made for you. Ask your caterer if a cake is included in their package and settle for that. If in case a cake is not included, you can push to have that included as a freebie instead.

4. Ride Your Own Car

If you have your own car or if your family has their own car then there's no need for you to rent one for your wedding. A wedding car can range from P4,000-P15,000. Imagine the dent that will make to your wallet! So let go of your dream of having a vintage car. What's important is you have something to ride on to go to your wedding.

5. Ditch the Free Dresses

If you are strapped for cash then you can ask your entourage to shoulder their own attire for your wedding. People who really care for you will be more than happy to do so. Or you can just rent. A lot of bridal shops allow couples to rent dresses of their own design and for first time use. So it's like having one custom made for your entourage but for a much much lower price.

To Have a Coordinator or Not: That is the Question

There was a time when regular weddings don't have coordinators. Weddings that do have coordinators are viewed as extravagant. I remember my Mom criticizing us and saying we don't need a coordinator even if it's only an On the Day Coordinator but I insisted on having one. Why? Here are my reasons.

1. A Wedding is a Family Affair. I don't want any relative or even a friend getting tired and not enjoying the day with us.

My bestfriend had the kind of wedding where her family and relatives helped and it ended up with her Mom not being able to attend the ceremony because she got hypertension due to stress. I know that her Mom meant well but I think she would have preferred to have her there in the church than at home (they had a residential reception) manning the food and the set-up. Also not having a coordinator would mean you are in charge of everything. Imagine asking your entourage to line up for the procession as what my friend was doing minutes before her walk. Such stress is not needed on your wedding day where you need to be your most radiant.

2. Not all people can do organizing and coordinating.

Me and hubby are in the events business and we had our share of people who THINKS that they can organize and coordinate events but in truth they cannot. Contrary to popular belief, this is hard work. So don't entrust your most special day to people who are not professionals. Unless they had a gazillion experience especially in handling weddings then go ahead and risk it. But if it were me I wont.

3. Weddings are all about details, details, details!

Planning your own wedding can be really hard and a lot of brides wonder if they forgot something to do in the process. A lot of brides do forget and that is why you need the guidance of a coordinator. Even if you're getting only an On the Day Coordinator it will keep your mind at ease that you are not forgetting anything for your big day.

A coordinator would mean added expense but I think it is one expense worth having especially on this most special day of your lives.

Five Things to Do To Jumpstart Your Wedding Preparations

A wedding is a very detail oriented occasion that a bride and groom to be can't help but feel overwhelmed at the start of their wedding preparations. At least that's how me and Jay felt when trying to start our preparations. What to do first? What to prioritize? Everything just seem so important and is screaming for our attention! Again, as per experience, I put together this list to help out those clueless couples out there who are still in the clouds after getting engaged. Hope it will be helpful to you guys.

1. Set the Date

This will be the foundation of everything! How can you announce your engagement if you don't even have a date? Most importantly, how will you book your suppliers if you don't know what date to tell them?

2. Inform the Parents

In this modern day and age, we still give a lot of importance as to what our parents will say about our wedding. We may be paying for everything but their nod of approval and their happiness is still essential to our peace of mind. Besides, the date may change once you have talked to your parents because a lot of things stilllhave to be considered like the arrival of relatives, our siblings getting married etc.

3. Book the Church and Your Wedding Venue

Once you have finally settled the wedding date, you can now proceed to book the church and your venue. Booking the church and the wedding reception venue is on the top of the suppliers list since they will determine the rates of your other suppliers. Suppliers may charge less or more depending on the distance of your venue from their point of origin. They may also charge you out of town charges if your wedding happens to be outside Metro Manila.

4. Book Your Caterer

After the church and the wedding reception venue, book your caterer if your venue won't be providing the food. I put this second in the list because this is the largest and one of the most important suppliers you are going to have on your wedding. Heck, this will determine the outcome of your whole reception since the caterer will not be just providing the food but also your set-up, flowers and cake.

5. Book Your Photographer and Videographer

The third on my supplier list since again your photographer and videographer will have a big impact on your wedding. Why? As I've said in my other article on this site, you may have the wedding of the year but if not properly documented then everything is wasted. Also, top photographers and videographers take only one client a day and are almost always fully booked so it is better to book early.

After doing all of these things, you can now enjoy the ride that the wedding preparations will put you through. The "worse" is over as they say. Just relax and everything will fall into place.

Things You Should Never Scrimp on Your Wedding

Weddings can be very expensive so it is important for brides-to-bes and grooms-to-bes to know their priorities so they can put their moolah where it is really needed. I have learned a thing or two about this when preparing for our wedding and I will surely use this hard earned knowledge on our renewal of vows ten years from now. So what to splurge on and what to scrimp on? Here's what I have found out (but not listed in order of priority):

1. Your wedding rings

After all is said and done, your wedding rings are the only thing that will be left with you. It is the symbol of your love and devotion to each other and it is not one of the things you should cut back! In our case, we bought a really expensive set. My husband was hesitant at first since it costs so much with 9 diamonds on each ring. But after I point out that it is the only thing in the wedding for the couple, he gladly surrendered to my desire to have the most beautiful wedding rings we can afford.

2. Photos and Videos

You may have a very beautiful wedding but if it is not properly documented then all is wasted. We all need a reminder of how that special day progressed. Also, the emotions on that day are priceless. This is one of our regrets. I wish I have spent more on photos by getting a back up photographer so we'll have more photos from different perspectives. I'll expand on that on another article. Basically all I am saying is pictures are priceless! I'm sure your children would love to see how happy and inlove their mommy and daddy are on their wedding day.

3. Venue

One of the things that will set the mood of the wedding. It is also something the guests will remember. Select a good venue and it may save you a lot of money in the process.

4. Food

Ah, the guests will really remember this one. Under feed your guests and your wedding will be something your guests will regret going to after. Food quality is important too so be sure to choose your caterer wisely. Also, be sure to have a taste test too before having that dish on your menu. You don't want to be surprised on your wedding day do you?

5. Emcee

I once attended a wedding where the host really stinks! The wedding was really beautiful but come reception time we can't help but cringe everyt ime the host would say something. We ended up correcting her (among ourselves of course) everytime she delivers her script. So never ever scrimp on this one by getting someone who is not that experienced or worse getting a relative or friend do it for you unless they are adept in hosting. Hosting is different from conversing. Never mistake the two to be one and the same.