Slicing the Wedding Pie

How do we slice the pie? I was clueless but thanks to the numerous wedding blogs, I got an idea of how the whole thing is divided. Some even provide excel spreadsheets for a detailed breakdown of your expenses up to the schedule of payment for suppliers. Most templates are free and are downloadable. For Rye and I though, I decided to use a simple template with four columns for the items, estimated cost, actual cost, and the percentage of each item relative to the whole budget.

Back to the budget pie. Often, the major slice goes to the reception, which often includes the venue, décor or styling, food, and drinks. Most wedding planners estimate this to take up 30% or even more of the whole budget depending on the theme you prefer and food you want to serve. As the styling gets elaborate and the meals get complicated, the price balloons as well. Then, you also have to pay for the church fees, documentary fees, attire, invitations, wedding favors, hair & make-up, photography and/or videography. Phew! The list could actually be longer. Bad news is I’m not much of an organizer. Just thinking about all these makes me dizzy. How can weddings be complicated? The good news is, I don’t care too much about most of these stuff. Rye doesn’t either. We prefer a laid-back but fun wedding, nothing too fancy or whimsical. We just want a celebration that is most reflective of our love story and our personalities.

For our wedding, we just want the following:

·         Family and close friends

·         Heartfelt exchange of vows

·         Great food, yum yum

·         Fun, fun, fun

·         Good weather

·         Moments and memories captured beautifully

Simple list, right? But the tricky part comes in converting these things into their peso equivalent. Here's an initial breakdown of our pie:

In case you are wondering why our pie is divided as such, below is a semi-detailed explanation.

·       Solemnizing Officer

Since we won’t be getting married in a church, mayor’s office, or judge’s sala, we will need an officiating or solemnizing officer. Rates start at P5,000. I allotted P7,000 just in case rates have increased.

·        Food

This includes cocktails and the dinner, priced at P550/head. So for 150 guests, this would cost us P82,500. Caterers even charge service fee and VAT plus out-of-town rates. We have to get a caterer who will be willing to give us good discounts or waive these additional fees.

Originally, what we had in mind was just a simple dinner which I'll be sharing in a separate post soon. However, due to some considerations, I had to agree that Rye had a point. Hence, the bloating of the food expenses. If we can bring this down though without compromising quality, this kuripot bride will be very happy.

·        Venue

For this, we have allotted P35,000. We want the ceremony and the reception to be in a single venue for convenience and to save time as well. We have started scouting for venues and fortunately we already have a place in mind. It is cheaper than most popular wedding venues here in the metro. I’ll be sharing the venues we’ve visited soon.

·        Bride & Groom Attire and Rings

We will not be shouldering the gowns of our entourage. What we have included in our budget are just the groom’s outfit, my gown, and our wedding rings. Our budget for this is just P30,000. So, no bonggang gown for me, which is really fine since I won’t feel comfortable to be buried in tons of lace. Plus a fancy gown does not suit the theme we have in mind.

We don’t have rings yet, so please do comment if you know of a place where Rye and I can get rings for P20,000 or less. I would really, really appreciate your suggestions. Thanks in advance.

·        Photo & Video

This one is proving to be difficult as we want good photos but at pocket-friendly rates. Personally, I need a good photographer since I’m not photogenic. Plus, Rye puts a premium in candid shots. The pictures need to tell stories and are not merely faces smiling at the camera. He wants emotions, depth, moments. I like those, too. Sadly, most of the photographers we like cost way beyond our budget of P20,000. Most of them charge out-of-town fees also. Hopefully, we will find the perfect match for us.

·        Transportation & Hotel Preps

My family resides in QC. If the venue is out-of-town, we need transportation. We don’t own any vehicle and so I would have to rent one for us. By the way, I won’t be needing a bridal car, so that’s another item off the list. Based on initial quotations I got, rates start at P5,000 for 10 hours of use, with driver already. However, fuel, toll fees, overtime pay, and driver’s meals are on us. That might cost us around P8,000.

Also, we need to book a room or two near the venue for the hair & make-up since the venue doesn’t offer accommodations. P5,000 should be the most we will be spending for this.

·         Wedding Favors

Our budget for this is just P10,000. We haven’t really figured out what to give but to bring this down further, we might be doing DIY projects. We also want to give our ninongs and ninangs special gifts.

·         Invitations, Flowers, Decors

For all these things, the budget is just P10,000. We won’t be printing a lot of invitations. We’re considering emailing friends and relatives. Less paper, less courier service, less gastos.

As for the flowers and decors, they will be minimal as well. I’m not a flower person. But I do understand some flowers will be needed to brighten up the venue.

·        OTD Coordinator

I don’t know how much hiring a wedding planner costs. My friends won’t tell me how much they spent for getting one. Good thing I do have a friend who does weddings and I have already sought her help. For on the day coordination, I am hoping she won’t charge me more than P5,000.

·        Hair & Make-up Artist

I don’t normally wear make-up, not even face powder. Plus, I have curly hair. So, this one is a must for me. I need all the help I can get to look radiant on my wedding day. Sayang ang galing ng photographer kung hindi ako pretty, di ba? I am not vain, please don’t get me wrong. But if I’ll be looking at (and paying for) photos and videos of the wedding day, I’d surely want to look good.

There are more affordable packages for this one but my heart is set on getting the services of a friend. He’s into high-definition airbrush make-up and has won a lot of competitions already. He’s starting to make a name for himself in the industry and has offered me an irresistible deal. While we haven’t finalized the contract price yet, I have estimated the cost to be at P15,000, that’s my hair and make-up plus those of my mom, my two sisters, Rye’s mom, and Rye’s sister. He’ll also be grooming Rye. For seven heads, P15,000 is not bad at all.

Note that there are items normally spent for in a wedding but are not included in our list like the church, cake, wine, or a bridal car. I'll write a separate post for that. As of now, we still have a free portion of P17,500 from our total budget. At least we still have room for minor adjustments in prices.