Wedding season is upon us and with the economic situation in Nigeria right now, weddings are more expensive than ever. You may be wondering how to cut your wedding costs yet still have a somewhat lavish ceremony. Try not to get so worked up about it. You just need to plan wisely and follow some of the best ways to cut wedding costs.
Strictly by Invitation: We all know how people love to gate crash parties especially in this parts and weddings are one of our absolute favorite parties – nothing like Saturday jollof to look forward to. However, if you and your fiancé can come to an agreement with your immediate family – this will NOT be an easy feat to achieve – you can actually pull this off.
In addition, invite only the nearest and dearest of your friends and family. The lower the guest list, the lower your budget. You can even have your wedding on another day of the week – for example a public holiday or even a week day to avoid unnecessary “mo gbo, mo ya”
Pre-wedding/Post wedding parties: You can reduce your wedding costs, by spending money on just the wedding itself and ceremony. If you both insist on having a pre-wedding party – keep it very simple – let a friend host it at their house or at a free venue and spend the money on actual wedding necessities. Also, while I understand the” importance” of pre wedding pictures - you can save money by making your friends take fun pictures of you using a good phone camera, in a great out door location – you get to cut costs on hiring a professional wedding photographer
Save on Cakes: Cakes can indeed be pricey if you want to have all those lovely detailed designs. You can cut cost here by simply keeping the cake on the smaller side – and then your guests can eat an inexpensive undecorated cake for desserts – they can’t tell the difference.
If you’re really over your head in your budget, you could even arrange with the baker to use a fake bottom cake, the top layer is the one you cut and eat while your guests can have the undecorated one – smart isn’t it?
Venue: Do you have your heart set on a beautiful location like Land mark event or civic center on the island? I did. Until I saw the price –lol, I was not so fond of that venue anymore! Try having a reception in your family’s garden – if it’s a bit spacious or outside the house with canopies, (do inform your neighbours well ahead) or use that of a family friend, you could also consider using an inexpensive location like your church’s hall or even a school’s compound – just do your research properly, you’ll get a venue and then you can get a good decorator to help make it look nice.
Limit the alcohol: Alcohol can also greatly increase your wedding budget. Instead of serving hard liquor try to keep to only soft drinks, wine and beer. If you would like to have another type of drink choose a fruity drink that everyone will enjoy like a punch.
Hidden Fees: The final way to cut wedding costs is to analyze the fees you may not initially think about when you and your partner are both sitting on the couch crunching numbers. Hidden fees may include marriage license fees, transportation, party favors, and so on. Make sure to leave a little room in your budget for all the miscellaneous expenses that might come up.
Finally, in my opinion, the only thing you should really splurge on is your wedding rings and maybe a honeymoon. Your rings are your only gift to yourselves –you’re going to be wearing it for a long while so you definitely want something solid and your honey moon is a memory that will last you for a life time.
Keep Your Eye on the Prize
The biggest savings suggestion? Focus on what you're doing, not the things you'll have around you. Perfect flowers or not, whether the champagne is flowing or not your wedding day is likely to be magical because you’re marrying the man or woman of your dreams.
We would love to know how you or your friends cut unnecessary costs from your wedding. Kindly leave a comment below.
