Weddings may seem like all rainbows and sunshine when you’re attending as a guest. Only until you plan your own, will you realise that huge hole it burns in your pocket.

But weddings don’t have to be expensive if you make smart decisions and reasonable compromises!

Here’s how:

1. ROM Solemnisation

Of course, a wedding starts with actually being legally married. Many couples prefer to invite an officiant to their wedding venue and hold a short solemnisation ceremony before the banquet.

However, that honestly isn’t important because there’s no reason to spend an extra $2000 on venue booking and light refreshments. Having a fancy venue or audience listen to your exchange of vows doesn’t really add value to the love you share with your spouse.

Instead, go for the basic solemnisation at the ROM. You can even invite your closest friends and family to witness this private ceremony, that’s pretty special too!

Expected damage: $42 (Fee charged by ROM)

2. Guest List

This is the most crucial stage that decides on the bulk of your wedding spendings. Pick your wedding guests wisely because for every guest you invite, it’s an extra $70 or more. Here’s a quick guide to help you filter out those who do not deserve an invitation.

1. Have you met up with them in the past month?
2. Have you communicated with them in any way for the past 6 months?
3. Do you hang out with that co-worker outside of work?
4. Do not invite +1s unless your guest doesn’t know anyone else.

Some may recommend having a B list in the case that people in your A list are not able to make it to your wedding. However, if they weren’t in your A list to begin with, that alone should say a lot. Do without the back up list and simply invite the people that you absolutely can’t imagine not having at your wedding.

3. Wedding Venue

Now that you’ve finalised your guest list, it’s time to tackle the most expensive part of your wedding. The question to ask yourself now is: Do you reeeaaallllyyyyy want a banquet in a hotel or are you just following the norm?

If you have successfully cut down on your guest list to less than 150 pax, there are many other restaurants that serve the same purpose at a fraction of the price! Here’s a comprehensive list of Singapore wedding venues filtered according to your budget.

An intimate semi-outdoor wedding affair at Da Paolo Bistro and Bar costs only $68 per pax and it’s cosier than ever.

Expected damage: $6800 (Assuming 100 guests)

4. Wedding Bands

Quite an exciting part of your wedding planning because you finally get to spend some money on yourself!! But don’t get too excited just yet because you need to be rational and not buy the first ring that catches your attention.

Of course it’s great to purchase your rings from reputable jewelry shops like Lee Hwa or Cartier but those really cost a bomb! Ultimately, it’s not the price of the ring but the sentimental value it holds that matters most.

Here’s 15 Wedding Bands You Can Get For Under SGD300  and they don’t look shabby at all. If you really want to get your rings from a physical store, go for the neighbourhood jewellers instead. You’ll be saving hundreds of dollars!

Expected damage: $600 (for a pair) 

5. Wedding Invitations

Many couples prefer to hire an external vendor to design their wedding invitations but the truth is, you don’t need to. There are a million fonts online for you to choose from and all you have to do is come up with a standard design, buy some pretty paper and envelopes and send away~

Here’s a video tutorial on how to DIY your wedding invitation like the one below.

If you are really bent on saving that few extra bucks (which we won’t judge you for at all), sending an e-vite is perfectly fine as well. Probably no one else cares much about how beautiful your wedding invitation is other than yourself #justsaying . Here are some online platforms to help you with this: Punchbowl, Greetings Island & Paperless Post.

Expected damage: approx $50 (if you insist on the snail mail) 

6. Wedding Decoration

This is quite a tricky one because it really depends on how decorated you want your wedding venue to be. Since this is an article on wedding budgeting, we will stick to the bare minimum! The more important places that need decorating are:

1. A simple wedding backdrop (which can serve as your Photo station)
2. Guest tables (just some small flowers and garlands will do)
3. Wedding reception (where you display your album, well-wishes cards and wedding favours)

These are the only few places that your guests will pay attention to so don’t bother hanging flowers at the back of every chair or trying to fill every wall with decoration. Here are some wedding decorations from Taobao that you can get at a steal!

Expected damage: $400 (heavily overestimated) 

7. Wedding Packages

Here’s another area where you can save a whole lot of money! Instead of going the ala-carte way of renting your gowns, doing your makeup and shooting your wedding with separate vendors, a package deal is much more convenient and worth it.

OneThreeOneFour’s all inclusive bundle deals are a bang for the buck. You can get a Full-day Bali pre-wedding photoshoot + wedding day coverage for just $5900. Not to mention, the packages are inclusive of gown rental, makeup + hairstyling, transportation and so much more!

This is definitely more affordable compared to the ala-carte option, which can easily cost $1500 for rental of 2 gowns.

Expected damage: $5900 (gowns, makeup, photography, bouquets & more) 

Current Covid-19 situation

Due to the current Covid-19 situation, there are several travel restrictions put in place for many countries worldwide. We understand that due to this pandemic, you may have uncertainties about your travel plans. Therefore, we have put up additional protective measures for our clients.

We offer an open-date policy so you do not need to commit to a photoshoot date before your travel plans are firmed up. You can decide on the photoshoot date later when you feel more secure and confident to do so.

In addition, should your photoshoot plans be affected by COVID-19 or related preventive measures after you have reserved a photoshoot date with us, you can easily choose to postpone your session to a later date. We will waive off the rescheduling fees.

Alternatively, you may also choose for a credit refund which you can use on any of our services in the 20+ destinations that we offer.

During your shoot, our team will wear facial masks and maintain a safe distance from you and your partner during the session.We will also plan the photoshoot locations to avoid overly crowded places and timings without compromising on your experience and the quality of photos.

Final Notes

You may have noticed that some other costs are not taken into consideration. One of them being wedding favours which I deliberately left out because it’s not a necessity. How many of you actually found a use for the wedding favours you’ve collected??

For bridesmaid dresses, instead of purchasing a dress for everyone, simply provide a colour code. Let your bridesmaids have the option of wearing something they already own or purchasing a new dress only if they wish to. You do not have to feel obliged to pay for their outfits and accessories!

We hope that we’ve helped you solve the headache of your exploding wedding budget! If you’re looking for wedding packages to help with the cost cutting, do check out OneThreeOneFour’s attractive and affordable all-inclusive bridal packages.

Happy wedding planning!