By Jett Pe Benito
According to Rita M. Neri’s The Essential Wedding Workbook for the Filipina “Much of the headache, legwork, and stress in planning a wedding revolves around reconciling the wedding of your dreams with the wedding you can afford.”
And for anybody who has been married knows that this all so glaringly true. So for those who have decided to get married, the following are practical, no-nonsense, common sense reminders to help you keep an eye on the cost while still have your dream wedding in sight.
- Don’t waste money or time on what can’t be done – You’re probably telling yourself, “Ha! I could’ve come up with that one!” But telling this to yourself and actually doing it is an altogether different matter. What this reminder means is that since both of you have a budget, the thing to remember is to recognize which wedding resources you can afford. This concept could possibly manifest itself on 3 levels, first is the supplier whose services meet your budget but don’t exactly meet your taste, second is the “a little over the budget, but I guess we can stretch it a bit” and the third is the “Oh my! Isn’t this beautiful, we must have it, I guess we’ll have to do away with flying in your brother from the province.” The last level is sure to spark an argument. Think your options over. If you’ve met a wedding gown designer who can do your gown within the budget, compromise on the design and give ideas of your own.
- Research and get referrals – Nothing appeals more to a baaad and unscrupulous wedding supplier than to be approached by a wide-eyed, trusting and innocent couple. Before approaching any wedding resource person, do research on a particular wedding element and ask relatives and friends for persons they can refer you to. Making informed choices and being able to talk technically about, say, flowers (what’s in season, what wilts the fastest, what would cost more to ship, etc) to the person would make your plans easier.
- Have a united front – When talking about your wedding budget with a third person, its best to show a united front. Have a common decision. If you reach an impasse with your intended, excuse yourselves to resolve the matter without someone contributing, intentionally or unintentionally, to the issue.
- Compare and contrast – The difference that would make you go for this wedding resource person or the other is the package that they offer and the price that goes along with it. Make your own form where you can compare and contrast side by side the various prices and packages, and the pros and cons of each.
If you had noticed, nowhere in this article did you see any denomination. No PhP 50,000 for flowers or PhP 15,000 for souvenirs. With our country’s fluctuating economy, both of you are the only ones who can really decide on how much of your peso will be allotted to each part of your wedding. With the reminders mentioned above, the budget that you have and the numerous quality-wedding resources afforded to you, your dream wedding is a reality in progress, making you realize that planning an affordable wedding is really not all about the money.
