A low budget wedding is possible

Much talked about wedding of 2face in Dubia

THE recent news of expensive wedding by a Nigerian musical art, Mr. Innocent Dibia, popularly known as 2Face to Annie Marculay came to a lot of his fans with mixed feelings, simply because it was held in Dubia, the United Arab Emirate (UAE).

For some of 2Face fans the wedding was supposed to be an appreciation time for his Nigerian audience who toil day and night to ensure they make ends meet and still make out some savings to attend his shows, buy the Compact Disc (CD) any time he releases one, right from the time he was musically a neophyte till now that he has gone through several crises and the wealth has come.

This school of thought believes that 2Face can still have his lovely wedding without costing Nigeria so much in foreign exchange by merely hosting the wedding ceremony in the country, even if its not in Lagos, at least for those who would have worked as staff of the hotel and their families, their salaries would be guaranteed, given the number of attendees for that wedding and even some new jobs may have been created due to the ceremony holding locally.

And to some others, its all about the choice of 2Face and his beautiful wife Annie, after a long dating should not have held the wedding in Nigeria for the sake of security, which should have triggered another controversy.

Yet, the fact is that there are several ways of having a low-budget wedding and making the event a great occasion, mostly at this period of increasing economic hardship across the globe.

Wedding at fast food:                                        

Nowadays, weddings are held as simple as going to a chapel to get married. Also, many couples are ditching tradition and this was the case with Pamela Anderson who married a shirtless Kid Rock while wearing nothing but a white bikini in a yacht. 

Also, one Illinois couple was reported to have gone as far as tying the knot in their favorite fast-food chain. Trading wedding bells for a Taco Bell, the bride and groom were pronounced ‘Man and Wife’ as Taco Bell diners cheered and employees passed out hot sauce packets with the words “Will you marry me?” inscribed across the top.

A lavish wedding is a result of a buoyant bank account. If you are not always laughing to the bank and plan having a wedding, what do you do? Then, plan according to your purse! How? Make it a low budget ceremony, cut cost and don’t allow your account go red.

Does that mean you can’t have a much-talked-about wedding without breaking bank? You can, just plan your budget and fit into any of these tips.

Wish list:
 What are the pressing needs for the wedding? Make a list. Let your fiancé do the same. Are you most committed to having exotic decorations; fresh plants, crystals to name a few or you have a guest list of many people? Where is the most affordable venue you can secure? Hope your menu is not neck-breaking (seven course meal, buffet, cocktail, etc) Knowing your priorities before the planning starts will help you decide what to spend money on, and what you don’t mind doing cheaply or doing without.

Let there be a budget.

Wedding experts advised that you do your homework and create a realistic budget from the outset. Nothing wrong when you adjust it as you go along; just remember that if your actual costs go up on one category that your costs also need to come down in another. Not keeping track of your budget can have wedding costs shoot up remarkably in a relatively short time.

You don’t need a wedding planner

Why not plan yourself? Planning the wedding yourself allows you to find out what all vendor costs are and get comparisons. This way, you control the budget 100 percent instead of relying on the input of someone else. It’s also very rewarding. Though doing this yourself is a lot of work, it’s also a huge cost saver and incredibly rewarding. Every aspect of the wedding, which is one of the most special days of your life, was decided on by you and your partner, together. It means more to both of you.

Please trim the guest list!

Difficult? You don’t have a choice if you want it on a low budget. This is difficult but sometimes necessary if the cost per guest is going to break your budget. Cross off names on the list of guests who might feel obligated to come to the wedding if they are invited, but would not have their feelings hurt if they are not asked to attend. Think of inviting only relatives with whom you have a close relationship instead of everyone related to you. Invite only the people who are important to you and your parents, rather than everyone you know.

Have your ceremony and reception in the same venue

This will simplify things and save you money. There will be no need for rented exotic cars to take you from one location to the other. Many churches have halls that are equipped to handle wedding receptions at reasonable fees — especially if you are a member.Choose a free or cheap location.

Rely on friends

Ask friends to lend their talents by helping out with such things as invitations, flowers, and programmes. Ask a friend with pretty penmanship to address your invites instead of hiring a calligrapher. If you simplify your flowers and arrangements, perhaps a friend can assemble fresh or silk flowers.

Consider having your wedding any day but Saturday

Thursdays are also popular wedding days but may cost a lot less than a Saturday event. For even greater savings, choose a weekday for your wedding. Schedule the wedding to allow guests time to arrive at the ceremony after the work day has ended.

Reduce the number of professionals you hire. Don’t overindulge on wedding gowns except you can really afford it, you do not need a hand-made wedding dress with beads and diamantes. Why not opt for a second-hand wedding dress? It’s probably only been worn once anyway and you can get a once expensive dress for half the price. Consider buying an evening gown/cocktail dress from a department store or look into renting your wedding dress for the day.

Photography

The obvious choice is to shop around for the best rates, but consider hiring a photographer for the ceremony only and ask a family member or friend to take snap photos of the reception. Or you could go one step further and ask them to take the photographs for the whole day and not bother with the expense of a photographer at all.

Mary Onyeure, Art & Fashion Correspondent
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!