You’re
engaged, congratulations!
Now
sit down together and see how much you can realistically save/spend each month
to to make your wedding day come together. If you are taking out a loan or are
getting money as a gift in order to pay for your wedding, plan beforehand how
you will spend the money, as you can really get carried away in the excitement
of it all and buy 3 tiaras in order to choose just one! Have a budget and stick
to it!
Cheaper Wedding
Tips
You can cut
costs by keeping things simple. Decide what things aren’t important to you and
put money to other uses.
Wedding
Budget Guide and Checklist
| Is it really needed? |
For The Bride |
Low Cost |
Average Price |
High End to extreme Price |
| y |
Dress (Designed) |
R15,000 |
R20,000 |
R50,000 |
| y |
Dress (off the peg) |
R1500 |
R6000 |
R15,000 |
| y |
Dress (Hired) |
R3000 |
R4000 |
R7000 |
| y |
Shoes |
R200 |
R550 |
R1200 |
| n |
Veil |
R350 |
R500 |
R900 |
| y |
Earrings |
R100 |
R250 |
R1000 |
| y |
Necklace |
R200 |
R350 |
R1000 |
| y |
Bracelet |
R150 |
R250 |
R1000 |
| n |
Garter |
R99 |
R150 |
R250 |
| y |
Perfume |
R300 |
R595 |
R895 |
| n |
Tiara |
R199 |
R500 |
R1000 |
| n |
Nails/Manicure |
R150 |
R300 |
R750 |
| n |
Waxing |
R100 |
R250 |
R500 |
| n |
Make Up items |
R0 |
R400 |
R1000 |
| n |
Teeth Whitening |
R700 |
R1500 |
R3000 |
For The
Groom
|
| y |
Suit (tailored) |
R1500 |
R2500 |
R5000 |
| y |
Suit (Hire usually with tie and waistcoat) |
R700 |
R1200 |
R2500 |
| n |
Grooming Service |
R150 |
R250 |
R500 |
| y |
Shoes |
R500 |
R950 |
R1300 |
| n |
Cufflinks |
R200 |
R300 |
R600 |
| y |
Cologne |
R300 |
R695 |
R1200 |
| Extras |
| n |
Guest Book |
R150 |
R300 |
R400 |
| n |
Cake Stand |
R300 |
R500 |
R1000 |
| n |
Cake Knife |
R200 |
R400 |
R700 |
| n |
Champagne glass set |
R200 |
R350 |
R550 |
| n |
Ring Cushion |
R100 |
R200 |
R300 |
| n |
Unity Candles |
R100 |
R350 |
R600 |
| n |
Releasing doves |
|
|
|
| n |
Releasing butterflies |
|
|
|
| n |
Wedding planner/ co-odinator |
R0 (venue supplied) |
R3000 |
R10000 |
| n |
Bar tab |
R1500 |
R3000 |
R-unlimited |
| n |
Favours /Table Gifts |
R10 |
R35 |
R70 |
| n |
Fancy vintage/ sports Car/transport to ceremony or reception |
R2000 dep. On km |
R3000 dep. On km |
R5000 dep. On km |
| n |
Order of service booklets |
R15 |
R25 |
R35 |
| n |
Menus |
R15 |
R25 |
R40 |
| n |
Draping |
R5000 |
R10000 |
R25000 |
| Decor |
| y |
Flower/ table centre-piece |
R300 |
R650 |
R1000 |
| y |
Chapel Flowers |
R600 |
R1500 |
R3000 |
| y |
Bride's Bouquet |
R250 |
R650 |
R1000 |
| y |
Bridesmaid's Bouquet |
R100 |
R350 |
R700 |
| y |
Buttonholes |
R15 |
R40 |
R130 |
| y |
Rose petals/confetti |
R50 multicoloured |
R50 multicoloured |
R150 one colour bag |
| n |
Bubbles confetti |
R400 |
R600 |
R1000 |
| y |
Wedding Invitations |
R20 |
R40 |
R80 |
| y |
Guest Seating Plan |
R250 |
R450 |
R650 |
| y |
Name place cards |
R5 |
R10 |
R18 |
| n |
Cake |
R500 |
R2000 |
R13000 |
| n |
DJ |
R2000 |
R4000 |
R6000 |
| y |
Catering |
R160 |
R280 |
R390 |
| y |
Venue hire |
R3000 |
R5000 |
R12000 |
| y |
Photographer |
R3000 |
R9000 |
R30000 |
| n |
Videographer |
R2500 |
R7000 |
R18000 |
| y |
minister/ceremony official |
R500 |
R1500 |
R2500 |
| y |
Bridesmaid Dress |
R500 |
R1500 |
R3000 |
Pick
a Date
This is
important. You need to agree on a date to get married. Remember that if you both
work during the week, this only give you weekends to meet with people and visit
venues etc. If you are planning a wedding in 6 months, that is about 24
weekends (and 5 pay-days), which may sound a lot, but there is a lot to sort out
and pay for.
Also bear in mind if family have to travel far to attend
your wedding, try to pick a season that either includes school holidays (if they
have kids) OR not in school holidays (so flights and accommodation will be
cheaper for them). If that is too much of a headache, then pick a date you
want and let the guests decide whether or not to attend.
Budget Wedding
Tips
In South Africa, venues cost more 1st September - 31st March and
the day before public holidays. Specials and discounts usually apply to winter
weddings, 1st April - 31st August, weekdays (Mon-Thurs) and morning weddings
(over by about 1pm. Not only are you saving money on the venue, you may also
save money on some other wedding services.
Make
a List
Discuss
as a couple who you would both like to be at your wedding. Weddings in Gauteng
usually have approx 80-100 guests.
When you look through your list, star
the definite guests (e.g. parents, bridal party etc) these people cannot be
erased no matter what! The other guests you choose will change over time
because, sadly, people come and go in your life.
Your parents may be
involved in paying for your wedding and therefore would like to have a few of
their friends there to share in the joy of your wedding day; this should also be
discussed and starred on your list of “definite guests”.
Budget Wedding
Tips
Don't feel obliged to invite work colleagues. This is
your day, and when you look back at photos, you would like to remember
who the guests were! By cutting down your list this way, you will save a lot of
money on your food bill as well.
Choose
Your Bridal Party
What is
the role of each member of your bridal party?
What are they each responsible
for?
Your bridal party traditionally consists of:
Best Man -
The guy that holds the rings and gives them to the groom during the ceremony
Groomsmen -
Other close friends or family of the Groom
Maid/Matron of
Honour - A maid (unmarried) /Matron (married) is the chief bridesmaid
Bridesmaids
- Close friends/family of the Bride that assist before and during the wedding
day
Flower girl
– A young girl that carries rose petals and hands out confetti to the guests
Ring
bearer – A small boy that carries the rings down the aisle
Budget Wedding
Tips
You can have as many people in your bridal party as you want. It
is not essential that you have any of them if you choose not to. To keep costs
down, you may ask each chosen member to buy their own dress/suit for your
wedding, as their gift to you. This is now a very common practice.
Book
a Venue and a Photographer FIRST
Why did
I put these two things together? Let me explain...
The venue and the
Photographer are possibly the two most important, and two most expensive parts
of your wedding day.
Your venue is going to determine the setting of
your wedding, the cost of the venue will affect the number of guests you can
invite and the photographer has to be able to capture all the beauty of your day
as lasting memories. Both the Photographer and Venue get booked up so far in
advance, because people want their first choices and not just have the option to
take whatever is left over.
Budget Wedding
Tips
As mentioned above, the cost of the venue will depend largely on
the season you get married etc.
The food charged at the venue will be
priced per person, so keeping the guest list shorter will also help keep costs
low. Some menus that the venue offers can be adapted to suit your budget. You
may decide to use your wedding cake as the desert instead of taking one from the
venue.
Choose
a Wedding Theme
If you
would love to have a themed wedding, you will now have something to base it on:
the venue.
The venue sets the tone. If you are not creative, consult a
professional or someone who is or you may end up this awful scene:
You
have Polka-dot invitations. The venue has chandeliers in the reception hall. You
choose tartan/Scottish table runners and African-inspired centerpieces. The
wedding is in a Tuscan venue and you want to dress your bridesmaids in
Chinese-style dresses. Can you see anything wrong with this combination? Each of
these things are beautiful on their own, but combined, it is awful! If you can't
picture the above, or think it would work well together - PLEASE hire a wedding
planning specialist.
The venue may inspire you, but if not, research
themes from other people's weddings.
You get Traditional/Classic,
Romantic, Butterflies, Hearts, Ethnic, Earthy, Fresh, Minimal, Simplistic,
Patterned, Scottish, Period set etc.
Tips for Choosing a
Wedding Theme
Find someone that has recently wed and ask them for all
their old wedding magazines. /
Look through the pages for styles that grab
you, and cut them out. /
Once you have formed a collage, you should see a
theme start to emerge. /
When you know what look you are going for, you can
start to get your bridesmaids involved in the planning!
Wedding
Invitations
These
can be important as they are the first impression of what your wedding day will
look like. It kind of sets a tone and brides usually style their invites
according to the theme of the day. You will send them out approx. 3 months in
advance. Most guests already know the date because you have been talking about
it for a long time. There are many ways to word your invitation, some formal
and others relaxed wording. Choose what fits your personality and theme.
Budget Wedding
Tips
Designing and printing your own invitations can require a lot of
time. If you have time, you can buy some beautiful paper and make them yourself.
You can use ribbons and stick on flowers/embellishments that are widely
available to scrap-bookers.
Get quotes from this website, as you may
find that it is less hassle and can even work out the same price to pay a
professional!
Wedding
Gown and Bridesmaid Dresses
Your
wedding gown should be as comfortable as possible (as far as wedding dresses
go).
Try sitting down in it, walking in it and general moving around.
Hold your best posture when trying on your dress, as if you were a queen,
because on the day you will have many photos taken of you and be the centre of
attention. By slouching in a dress, when you do correct your posture for
photos, you may find it feels different. Consult a stylist/image consultant
about your body shape and see what will flatter you the most.
Have final
fittings only a couple of weeks before the day as your weight may fluctuate with
nerves.
Budget Wedding
Tips
Hiring your wedding dress may just save you a few thousand rand.
There are also many sales at the end of each wedding season (as you come into
winter), sometimes as much as 50% discount! Do not be put off by a wedding
dress on sale that is too big for you, as many shops can tailor it to your
size. Having your dresses made by a dress maker can also surprisingly save a
lot of money, or, at the very least, be exactly what you are looking for.
Wedding
Accessories
Wedding
Accessories are best bought after your dress has been chosen. These include the
shoes, tiara or other hair accessory, jewelry, garter and lingerie. You may end
up buying a few of these as time goes on, and on the day you may just wear what
works for you once your hair and makeup are done.
Budget Wedding
Tips
If you are feeling creative, make your own items or borrow your
tiara from a friend who has recently gotten married. Then it can double as your
“something borrowed” item!
Bridal
Hair and Make-up
Have
trials with your hairstylist and your makeup artist well in advance.
Professional makeup artists will use the correct products to best enhance you
for your photographs, without making you look overdone. Take pictures of your
favourite hair styles along to your hairstylist and listen to their advice on
what best suits your face shape and hair type.
Budget Wedding
Tips
Have a friend do your makeup and hair, but remember to have
trials and that they use the correct products, eg light reflective foundation
gives you a matt look, but when the flash goes off on the camera, it will make
you look like a ghost.
Take a look at the prices on this website
to see what you can expect to pay for different aspects of your wedding day.
In Johannesburg, you get some cultural weddings where more money is spent in
the labola than on the food (where the whole community help out with the
catering). For Western weddings, there are many things to consider and a wedding
could set you back R40k-R200k.
How much your wedding costs largely
depends on the choices you make regarding quality and quantity, your taste and
the service providers you choose to use.
Advertise your wedding
services CLICK HERE
To view our
2012 Magazine rates CLICK HERE
If
you are looking for answers to questions such as:
“What is the average
cost of a wedding in South Africa?”
“Who pays for what at a wedding?, is it
still the responsibility of the Bride's Father to pay for everything?”
“Are
bridesmaids expected to pay for their own dresses?”
“What is a typical order
of events on a wedding day?”
We hope to answer these sorts of questions! -
in time, check back soon!
If you have any more questions, we would love to
hear from you.
Please email us on info@weddingquotes.co.za
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