Wedding on a Budget

Simple wedding cake is a must!

Fried rice is the favorite menu for an Asian wedding

I have been asking a lot of people about this topic, in fact I even asked many friends to give me advice on making my special day memorable. Regardless what other people said, it is the most stressfull time I ever had in my life, yet, I enjoy every moment of it. It may not be perfect as I would like it to be, but in the eyes of our guest, it is.
So for all you would be bride, do not be alarm or panic if the groomsman shirt missing a button or the choir sang off key. Nobody will remember a year from now. what important is you do are not caught in financial rut days after the wedding. I heard most brides said, wedding only happens once in your lifetime, echoing those sales pitch from a bridal boutique. Of course it happens once in your lifetime, that is why you have to be sensible and know which area you can splurge and which you can save.

In my prespective, our wedding may not be perfect, flowers for my bouquet was so tiny than what I envisioned it to be. The Photographer forgotten about the home reception and came in late for it. Needless to say, there is so many things I could not even name, but nobody knows until I mentioned it, so therefore, stop worrying and concentrate on what's matter most, the marriage.

After going through the whole process of civil marriage at the goverment office, wedding ceremony at the church, receptions at home, restaurant and after church. I can safely say I am happy that it wasn't perfect after all, it made you laugh and and let go. After that experience, many brides came to me and asked for advice on wedding supplier in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. I am more than happy to oblige, why not? I love weddings, eventhough it is not mine, If I can make the brides sleep easier at night, and not having to run around the whole town to look for good supplier and contacts, why not? Life is all about giving, knowledge is about and sharing. So the first thing I want to share is the top things in the wedding which you need to splurge. Here goes..

Things to splurge and why:
1. Food. Yes, food! Nothing worst than having a bad meal at a wedding. The guests spend their valuable time for the wedding, it only fair that they have a decent meal after a long day.

2. Photographer. Indeed, what left after the champange and lace, is memories that frozen in time, that's your wedding pictures.

3. Cake. There is no wedding without a cake. Need I say more?

4. Dress. Why no. 4 and not 1? Doh, you will only wear them for few hours and there are many dresses out there that doesn't cost much but still look absolutely gorgeous.

5. Make up. Oh yes, don't listen to your groom when he said I love you the way you are. This was one of the money well spent for the wedding. Nothing bad than having eyebags or that unwanted zits the morning of the wedding.

Things to save:
1. Invitation cards. Most of the time guests just dumped them in the trash after the wedding. Let's face it, they only need to know where and when the wedding is and they probably won't remember what color is your invites anyways.

2. Bridal car. Something borrow is always nice.

3. Flowers. No, you do not need expensive flowers on each table as centrepiece.

4. Decoration. Keep it simple. We do not want to take the attention away from the bride.

5. Entertainment. Do research, some entertainment are actually offer reasonable rate. In fact, you can asked friends and family to help out with the MC, the songs and dance. Just make sure they are actually good.

6. Video. I prefer a decent but not a movie standard videography. I still watch the video and I am satisfied that all those important moments are captured in film and not edited for cinemagraphic effect.

7. Wedding favors. Some hotel or restaurant include them in their wedding package, but if you really need to to buy them, there's always good wholesalers in town for it.

How much we spend?
Food = RM 11,456 (220 guests at Reception and 100 guests refreshment after Church ceremony)

Cake = RM 550 ( 3-tier cake at Reception and single-tier 3kg cake after church ceremony)

Photographer = RM 2,000 (2 days)

Videograher = RM1,500 (2 days)

Dresses = RM 980 (include 1 bridal dress, 1 evening gown and a studio photo session with the album)

Entertainment = RM 2100 ( 10 cultural dances but paid by mom as wedding gifts)

For brides who would like to keep track of their spending, I seen numerous wedding budget spreadsheet out there on Google.com or Bridal forum such as Malaysiabrides.com, The Knot and WeddingChannel.  It will help you to keep your budget under control and hopefully have some money left over after the wedding.  Remember that supplier will always like to add-on as this will increase their profit, how many times you heard, "Wedding only happens once, so you have to make it special."  This will somehow soften our brides heart and loosen their budget string.  But don't budge,  this is only a coy.  Keep to your budget, it will save you unnecessary heartache in the long run.