WEDDING BUDGET: 13 Creative Ways to Save on your Wedding

Everyone will agree with me without batting an eyelid that weddings cost money – for the couple and their respective families, especially. When I say saving money, I don’t imply that you are so wretched or so stingy either. I am only suggesting ways you can reduce unnecessary spending. As much as you deserve to have the high class wedding of your dreams, you do deserve to live a debt-free married life. Each of your unborn kids should arrive as bundles of joy and not another burden added to the debt you incurred because of your celebrity wedding.

There are items you do not need to spend on extravagantly. Be careful you are not spending money on things just because that’s what everyone does. You can incorporate creative ideas in your wedding planning. However, if you have the Prince Williams and Kate Middleton budget, ditch this post; you are free to go on a spending spree. Have a glamorous wedding and a happy married life!

§             THE WEDDING DATE – if you are really serious about cutting wedding costs, fix your wedding for an unusual date like a Sunday morning. I once attended a Sunday service in my church and a couple were joined in holy matrimony immediately after the service. The couple are still married today. No reception took place, no decoration. Does that make them less married? No! How about a Monday morning? You know how much people dread Monday mornings because it’s the start of a new working week. When the guests present are reduced, expenses are reduced. Either a Sunday or a busy weekday, you remain married under the law. Those important guests will show up.

§             INVITATIONS – to a large extent, many guests would show up even without giving them IV cards. Nigerians love to celebrate. Consider inviting some people by word of mouth, sending bulk SMS or creating an event on Facebook and sending to people that you want. The technology is there for us to use. The cost of printing is high. Using other means of invitations can cut costs extremely. There’s no point spending so much on things that are immaterial.

§             WEDDING ATTIRE – the apparel for the day is as important as other things. Have you given a thought to renting your bridal attire? Renting your dress or tux doesn’t mean you are poor; you just want to live a debt free married life. There are online and offline stores where the attire can be rented for less, other than buying new. After all, what do you plan doing with a dress you bought for thousands of naira, which you cannot wear again? Did I hear you say, keep it and sew little dresses for your daughter later? It’s easier said than done. For the groom, you can consider buying a suit instead of a tuxedo, as you are more likely to wear the suit again.

§             GUEST LIST – the guest list is very important in determining how much you will spend. It is something you will have to communicate to your vendors like the caterer and baker. The number of invitations you send out will affect the number of guests in attendance. To trim the guest list, reduce the number of people you give invitation cards, send FB invites to and bulk SMS. Only people you really want in your wedding should be invited. Don’t invite a person because you feel a sense of obligation. After all, it is your wedding day. Some people may feel offended for not inviting them. The most important thing is you are married at the end.

§             DIY – there are so many things you can do yourself to save money. The invitation cards can be made at home by using ready-made templates of graphic design software. If you are good in baking plain cakes, polish your baking skills by reading up on how to bake wedding cakes. You can get flowers that are in season and make beautiful bouquets for you and your bridesmaids. You can decorate the sites yourself with the help of a few willing friends. The dress can be sewn if you are a pro. There are resources on the internet for the budget conscious do-it-yourself brides. It is important to note here that you should not take up too many DIY projects just in the name of saving money. Take up a little.

§             VENUES – If you are lucky to be getting married in a church with a big auditorium or extra hall, then go for it. The church will not likely ask for you to pay for the hall, all things been equal. You may only need to ensure the place is cleaned up after the wining and dining. Have the ceremony and reception in the same site. You will just book the venue for a number of hours, say, between 10am and 4pm, instead of paying for a ceremony site separately and then a reception site separately. In addition, guests would not have to travel between venues. You also get to save on transportation for guests. Merge the ceremony and reception venues together.

§             DECORATION – It is common to have decoration units in churches. Formally inform the unit about your upcoming wedding and how they can be of assistance by decorating the ceremony and reception sites for free. If you have been a faithful member of the church, they won’t mind. You may have to provide them a little something as refreshments. Moreover, most churches are already decorated. You can have a beautiful ceremony in there without extra decorations. If you are not getting married in a church, you can merge both the reception and ceremony sites into one place. There won’t be a need for dual decorations. After all, you want to save money.

§             PROGRAMME/BULLETIN – Now, you tell me! How many wedding bulletins have you taken home, filed it in your photo album and kept referring to it every day because it’s gorgeous and perfect keep sake? Except if you are a wedding planner or a bride-to-be. My opinions though, I strongly believe the wedding bulletin should be the first thing to be scraped by the budget conscious couple. What do you have in the bulletin that you cannot do without or find alternatives to? One, your wedding vows are for the two of you, why should I have a copy? What do I need the names of your officiating ministers and wedding party for? Your church technical crew can have the processional and recessional hymns projected on a screen for the congregation. Did I hear you ask about the order of photographs? Let your photographer have a list beforehand. You can ditch the ceremony/reception programmes.

§             PHOTOGRAPHY – the photos you have from your wedding day reminds you of the day for a lifetime. After your wedding ring that you get to see every day, the pictures are forever. Even your grandchildren can see the photos decades after you tied the knot. To save big time on your wedding photos, use your own digital camera. These days, photography has shifted from being a thing for pros to every one’s affair. I am sure your mobile phone has a camera. With your digital camera, the most important moments of the event can be captured. I am not suggesting that the wedding couple should turn to their own wedding photographer, please. However, there would be a member of your family that can handle a camera very well. Instruct such a person on the most important moments you want captured. After the event, you can consult a pro to get you a framed portrait from the photos taken at the event. The cost of hiring a photographer has been shelved that way.

§             ITEM 7 – If you are a full-blooded Nigerian like me, you know what item seven is. That’s the time for menu menu, like it’s said. Trust me; the food is more important to your guests than to you. Some people came to devour and munch. In order to cut costs, serve just a type of food that everyone can relate with. For instance, not everyone may like to eat amala, semo or some other African food. It annoys me when people are choosy at events. However, serving jollof/fried rice captures everybody. Even those who don’t like it would settle for it when they know that’s all you have. If your guests truly came to celebrate and not purposely because of the food, they would not mind. Some may grumble, though. Giving guests options or varieties will cost you more than you can afford.

§             SCHEDULES – the contracts you signed with your photographer, facility manager, musician/live band/DJ or videographer are not just ordinary papers. If you signed with the reception venue to use the hall for three hours, but because you were carried away with the music and dance, you might be charged extra for overstaying. Give a timeline or order of event to the Master of Ceremony; he should know when to start and when to stop. By the time you pay extra for using the venue more than the number of hours you signed in the agreement letter, your budget is affected. Stick with schedules. No matter how good the music is, dancing for a few more minutes may cost you a few more naira notes.

§             HONEYMOON – planning a wedding is enough work. When it comes to the honeymoon, you may have planned to leave to an island far away immediately to get enough rest and refreshing. However, planning the honeymoon itself is work and expensive. Nigeria is blessed with so many beautiful sceneries. Why travel overseas? By the way, can you even afford it? Consider having your honeymoon in the city you would be living in as a married couple. Each city has something beautiful. Lodge in an inexpensive hotel for a few days and ‘chop the life of your head’. Oops! Sorry, I meant have fun. The most important thing is getting away and being with each other. Subsequently, maybe, on your first anniversary, you can explore other places.

§         PRIORITISE – I saved the best for the last; my favourite part. When you are planning a wedding, regardless of your pocket, prioritising keeps you in focus and makes you happy. The first step here is to know those things you cannot do without on your wedding day. A bride-to-be recently told me she is planning to splurge on her attire, make up and decorations. Every other thing can go awry but those three things must be perfect. Another bride wanted her wedding photos and cake untouched. Not that every other thing didn't matter, but her focus were on those two things. When you have a priority list, it’s easier for you to budget. Dear wedding couple know those things that make you happy; those things you cannot forego. Then, other things can follow. Have a splendid time planning your big day as you prioritise, first!