Perdekoop.co.za – South Africa‘s leading wedding directory, provides some advice on planning your beautiful affordable wedding while sticking to your budget…
1) prioritize & manage your budget
Every couple will have different priorities when it comes to budgeting for and planning an affordable wedding. Make sure you and your partner talk about what is important to each of you. Once you’re on the same page you can draw up a realistic budget and attempt, at least, to operate within its boundries…
Click here to download the free budget planner from perdekoop.co.za wedding directory.
2) Guests
The number of guests at your wedding will be one of the most significant indicators of overall cost. An easy way to have an affordable wedding is to keep it intimate, and cut back on the number of people you invite. Easier said than done… When it comes to weddings all the generations are involved and, even though you might not have spoken to aunt Agatha since you were seven, she may still be your dad’s favourite relative… One couple solved this dilemma in the following way:
“My husband and I came to a realistic number regarding people we could afford to invite to the wedding. Of course, we’d prefer it if most of that number were our own close friends, but we also wanted our parents to feel involved and to invite those people they shared a special bond with. We then made a list of the “non negotiable” invitees – those people both us and our parents would agree on inviting. This included, for example, the grandparents and close family. The rest of the spots were then “allocated” to my husband, myself, and our parents. They could have full discretion about inviting a certain number of people – no questions asked or eyebrows raised… This worked very well as everyone ended up inviting only the people they really wanted at the wedding and we had a highly affordable and intimate day.” – Mia
Keep track of your guests with free wedding planning tools like the guest list manager (Excel spreadsheet) from perdekoop.co.za wedding directory – click on the link to download.
3) Day, season and time
Many wedding venues have off-season, mid-day and mid-week specials. Friday and Saturday evenings are traditionally the most expensive day to get married. Sunday afternoons, or weekday evenings, are great affordable alternatives for couples on a tight budget. You might also want to look around for new venues – these often have great opening specials and, since they are not yet well established, tend to be more affordable.
Click here to find wedding venues in South Africa on perdekoop.co.za.
4) DIY
Although doing it yourself is, of course, a great way to keep your wedding affordable, DIY is not for everyone. Be realistic about your planning skills and the time you have available and don’t be overzealous when choosing aspects of the wedding to tackle yourself. Also – don’t be shy to call in the help of friends and family.
DIY wedding invitations can cut your budget significantly – especially if you go easy on the expensive paper and trimmings. If DIY terrifies you and you’re looking for a “Do-Some-of-it-Yourself Option” – keep in mind that some providers sell blank wedding invitation cards, so you can do the inside printing and assembly yourself. There are even wedding stationers who specialise in helping couples make their own affordable wedding invitations. They take care of the design and printing – and you have an assembly party with friends and family to put it all together and have loads of fun (and hopefully wine) to go with your craftiness…
Click here for South African providers who specialise in DIY wedding invitations.
If you have family members with particular talents, this is the time to get on their good side. You might have a tannie who bakes wonderfully, or an uncle with a flower shop. Make use of your connections, but choose carefully as mishaps can create serious awkwardness later on. And please, make sure your cousin really is as talented a signer as your aunt considers her to be before you ask her to sing “the prayer” while you exchange the rings…
5) Alternative venues
One of the most expensive aspects to your wedding will, no doubt, be your wedding venue. If you have an alternative to a structured wedding venue it might be worth considering. If you get married in a restaurant or other setting that doesn’t usually host weddings, you’re less likely to pay a venue fee and will probably pay mostly for the food your guests eat. A menu could be agreed beforehand and you can negotiate with regard to privacy.
Some of the most romantic weddings are also the most personal… Why not consider the lawn of the family home you grew up in, that great uncle’s farm in the midlands, a public park, the rooftop of your apartment building… Be creative and think out of the box. If you’re having an outdoor wedding, remember that you might need to rent a marquee, mobile flooring, a generator etc. You might also have to bring in things that are taken for granted at a wedding venue – tables, chairs and, well, pretty much everything you’ll need. Serving good, hot food will be an additional challenge – make sure your catering company is up for the challenge. Be sure to cost these aspects carefully or you might end up actually paying more than you would have if you’d used that expensive venue! If you’re using a public space, furthermore, be sure to get the right permission and authorization well before the time and keep in mind that privacy may be an issue ….
One couple tells about their highly affordable wedding –
“We got married at Die Strandlopertjie – a rustic seafood restaurant right on the public beach in Langebaan, the West Coast. They didn’t charge a venue fee, and we paid only for the food. We could even bring our own wine and liquor without paying any corkage… We eventually got away with about R160 per head for a 7 course sea-food feasts on the beach. Our guests still talk about the crayfish! Our wedding was exactly what we wanted – relaxed, fun and affordable.” – Shawn & Antoinette
6) The dress
A great way to save money on your dress, without compromising on fit, is to have a dress custom made for you – to rent. Many providers are happy to provide this service – click here for wedding dress makers in South Africa
7) Music
If you’re on a tight budget, you might have to settle for a wedding DJ during the reception, as a live band for the duration of the evening can be very expensive. You don’t have to lose out on the romance and elegance of live music entirely though… Booking live music during the ceremony and pre-dinner drinks is a great way to keep your wedding affordable.
According to Wim, from Resonance Music – “If you’re booking music during and after the ceremony, you can get away with a two hour booking. Time is not the only thing to consider, though. Keep in mind that live musicians usually charge per hour as well as per musician. Keeping your live musicians to a maximum of two will therefore save significantly. This may limit your music options somewhat but there are a number of duo options that work very well indeed – both during the ceremony and while your guests are having their welcome drinks. If you like strings, keep in mind that it is generally not advisable to book a string duo as this can sound harmonically empty…” Wim
Resonance Music suggests using one of the following alternatives (click on the link to listen to a sound clip for these affordable options):
Piano and sax duo | Piano and clarinet duo | Guitar and upright base duo | jazz vocalist with piano.
For other wedding music and entertainment options in South Africa – click here.
8) Food
If you’re using a traditional wedding venue, you might have to make use of their internal catering options. Keep in mind that a finger lunch for an afternoon wedding is usually much cheaper than a full seated dinner.
If you’ve chosen an alternative venue you can save significantly on catering costs. Be creative and true to your nature. One couple saved by having a “picnic wedding” in a public reserve:
“We booked a section of the reserve for the Sunday, to ensure privacy. We tied colourful helium balloons from trees and threw out bright picnic blankets but, really, the setting was our decor. Each four people received a picnic basket filled with delicious goodies which they could enjoy at leisure throughout the afternoon. We had a catering company prepare most of the food, but packed the baskets ourselves. We could provide our own wine without paying corkage fees. The final cost per guest worked out to about R75 and we could later resell the baskets to a wedding planner – who is now doing picnic weddings like ours. We were able to spend much more on the details that mattered to us – like having a string ensemble there the entire afternoon and renting a jumping castle for the kids.” – Ntombi.
Click here for wedding caterers in South Africa!
A few last thoughts on planning your affordable wedding: Relax! Contrary to popular opinion, your wedding day needn’t be magazine perfect and, believe us, life will somehow go on after “your special day” is over. And yes, it really is very important not to bankrupt yourselves and add a whole lot of unneccessary stress to your relationship!
Perdekoop.co.za wedding directory wishes all those couples on a tight budget the best of luck planning their affordable wedding!
