One of the most difficult things couples face is deciding what to prioritize in their wedding planning. With 1001 things on your to-want, to-get and to-do list, how do we cut this list down, or how do we know where and how much to spend on?

Step 1: Prioritize

The answer lies in asking yourself and your partner what you value most. After all, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. For instance:

• If you are both foodies, then you might want to consider putting food and catering as the topmost priority;

• If fashion and style is important to both brides and grooms, then more budget can be allocated to a specially tailored bridal dress, or a smart designer suit;

• If photography is important to you, then it might be wise to allocate more budget to hiring an established and creative photographer.

In general, given a fixed budget, prioritizing implies that less important things can be done away with.

What are considered less important things then? It can be doing away with serving Shark’s Fin at the dinner banquet (not to mention that it is more humane too). Or it can be cutting down spending on a live band, or holding the wedding dinner at a four-star (instead of five-star) hotel.

In short, if flowers, fashion and food are your thing, shuffle more finances there and less to wedding decoration, stationery and videography.

So start doing this by creating 2 lists – 1) WANTS and 2) NEEDS, then jot down what the items are that you think belong to each category together with your other half.


Step 2. Research

On average, wedding receptions and catering take up 40% -50%, photography takes up 10%, attire takes up 8%, decorations 10-15% and entertainment 10% of the wedding budget. This budgeting excludes the price tag of going on honeymoons, but will be a good starting point to decide on your budgeting.

One of the biggest wedding planning mistakes made by couples is underestimating cost for services. For instance, it might be tempting to think about wedding photography as “Just taking photos only mah, what’s the big deal?” while ignoring the years of experience, education and professionalism the photographer has accumulated. Also, wedding photography is no mean feat— photographers have to spend a considerable amount on lens maintenance and photo-shopping the photos after the shoot. All this time and expertise have to be factored into the service fees for the wedding photo shoot.

The underestimation of various items on your list will have huge effects, especially when they add up! Knowing the exact costs via research will help you to determine a realistic budget. Having flowers imported from Holland, for instance, might not be as inexpensive as you think—in some cases imported floral arrangements can cost up to SGD20,000! So do your research, and do not assume too much!

Doing your research beforehand and keeping a tab on costs can also aid tremendously when you are communicating costs with your family members, especially when they are helping out financially. Since it is partly their money you are using, it is then imperative to ensure that you get a reasonable deal!

The friendly wedding professionals at our La Belle Couture team are always here to help you plan your ideal wedding. We are patient with any questions you might have come across in your research process and would love to hear from you! If you have a question, just leave a comment below or drop us an email!

Keep your eyes open for Part 2 where we'll discuss different financial breakdowns depending on whether you wedding is low-key, traditional, or extravagant!

Visit La Belle Couture page to find out more about Peiru's work.

_{This post was first published on La Belle Couture blog and has been reposted on Executive Lifestyle with the permission of the author. Image from La Belle Couture
Edited by Amber Valencia}

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