You are probably going through Instagram and YouTube watching videos of wedding ceremonies and planning how glamorous your day is going to be.
Well; life does not end after the wedding ceremony, the piled-up bills if you do not plan well will leave you frustrated in your marriage.

You can still have your dream wedding without going over your budget.

It is free to dream but be more economical, there is no need to go into debt. Before you get so excited and start thinking of the number of bridesmaids you will need or which expensive bridal gown you will go for, get your priorities straight, YOU NEED A BUDGET!!!

What can you do to keep cost down and stay on a budget? These can help you.

1. Limit your guest list

Don’t feel bad, COVID-19 will take the blame. This may sound harsh, but every guest is an expense (especially in our parts where they usually come without gifts).

Everyone does not have to be present, their absence does not mean the wedding will not come on. Make the ceremony intimate, invite close friends and family. You can also send them a zoom link to watch the event online.

2. Exchange gifts for skills

Don’t be shy, after all, most friends will attend your wedding without a gift.

Ask those with useful skill sets if they can render service in lieu of a gift.

Check out those who can cover music, decorations, photography and catering services. If they can’t provide these services for free, you can settle for a major discount.

3. Go easy with the invitation cards.

Why bother printing cards when we all know they will eventually end up in the bin one day?

Be realistic, no one actually cares forever how pretty your invite cards looked.

Just share the soft copies via WhatsApp with the guests.

Maybe some older folks who aren’t familiar with Whatsapp can get a card, so you should be looking at printing at most fifty invite cards for the wedding.

4. Get a dummy cake

If we are being real, this is a wedding, a union between two adults, no one cares about the cake, save the cake money for your baby’s third birthday, her friends will have much excitement seeing a cake.

Rather than pay for an expensive wedding cake, why don’t you get someone with skills in decorating styrofoam to look like a real cake?

Serve your guests slices of a normally priced cake you got from a cake shop, trust me, they won’t know the difference, most of them won’t even eat the cake.

If you are really bent on the cake-cutting tradition, just have a smaller cake at the bottom and the dummy as the topper. No one cares.

5. Consider the day and time

You can spend less if you schedule your wedding on a weekday as compared to a Friday or Saturday.

You will also have more options for photographers and DJs since they are usually booked during the weekend.

You can avoid expensive sit-down meals by scheduling the wedding in the afternoon so the reception extends into the night where you can serve hors d’oeuvres.

The wedding is about the bride and groom, don’t lose sight of what is important, spending too much on that day does not prove love, it only leaves you in debt. A budget friendly wedding can still be beautiful. And for the ladies who live in Utopia, except your parents volunteer to foot the bill, please give the guys a break!

Source: braperucci.africa