The Beginning: Wedding Budget and some thoughts

This will be a series of wedding supplier's review:

Like what Ivy Cervantes wrote before “there is a perfect wedding for every budget and every style”.

Our wedding, which I hash tag “Biye051813”, is like any other weddings that work around a budget. It can be a “big budget” or a “small budget” depends on the comparison but our budget works perfectly for us. I’m proud to say that “wedding wise” we didn’t cross the allotted budget, we even have some few savings.

This was our allotted budget in percentage but we even spend lower than what is stipulated, and I was able to bid for the dessert buffet bar simply because of those savings.

1. Ceremony  3.75%
2. Reception & caterer 31%
3. Photography 8%
4. Videography 4.50%
5. Gowns/ Attire 12%
6. HMUA 5%
7. Flowers 2%
8. Entertainment / Music 5%
9. Stationery / Invitation 2%
10. Jewelry 5%
11. Hotel Preps 3.50%
12. Transportation 3%
13. Gifts / tokens 3%
14. Honeymoon 1.80%
15. Coordinator 4%
16. Host 2%
17. Miscellaneous 4.45%

The wawies (members of the online community Weddings at Work or Waw), who knew me knows half or even my whole wedding preps story – from being an overseas bride to becoming a “stay-at-home-fiancée” – from expat to “PMA” (Pahinga muna anak), and from being an idealist to realist bride. With the sudden changes in my professional career, I have to be stringent and strict with the budget. I can’t overspend and I have to save. We need to be practical because the situation calls for it. I have to prioritize things and disregard the “wants”. God knows me so well, I now understand why He changed my career path, only He and I knew that if I have still a job, I will spend too much to unnecessary things, avail all the “wants” and forget the most important thing in the wedding preps – the life after all the celebrations – the marriage.

Every girl has a dream wedding. I started planning with my dream wedding in my mind. But half-way through the planning and preparations, I started placing my fiancé in the picture & on my shoes. The mission is changed – from my dream wedding to his “once-in-a lifetime wedding,” the wedding that he never dreamt off about. And I am 100% successful in this mission. Even with the changes, I still got my dream wedding after all – it is the perfect wedding with all the dearest people to me, my family, relatives and friends – and my in-laws and my dashing husband. My in-laws were so happy with the whole wedding celebration, from the hotel preps, church ceremony, and wedding reception, up to the time we went home or to the hotel for us. My family and friends enjoyed our not-so-intimate-100- guests only event. My sister enjoyed it so much that she told me it’s the best wedding she ever attended to.  And the cherry on top of the icing was when honey told me “I never thought my own wedding to be like this – awesome and amazing. Thank you so much honey!” and I think, that’s the best thing and compliment I received that day. It compensated the things and the wants that I didn’t book.

If you ask me how I was able to stick to our budget? Aside from my better-half who is more practical than I am, I always have this in my mind “The wedding is just one day. Marriage life is more important, invest on that.”  I don't sweat the small stuff - and this varies from every bride, like,  I'm not really into real flowers, additional Lights & Sounds, upgraded set-up or into vintage cars that you will use for a an hour or so. Being in a tight budget doesn’t mean you can’t book a good, reliable, dependable supplier. You still have to find someone with quality, because even if you were able to get it cheap but the output is bad, it’s still a lost on your part. High caliber supplier doesn’t mean great output all the time, the same way that neophytes or low profile supplier is not great. All suppliers started from first step, there’s no harm if you are their first or nth client as long as you have trust in them and you like their output. And so I quote, yes we will always need someone with great experience. But what counts is not the length of service but the quality of work, mind and spirit.

And let me share again a quote from another bride (sorry can’t remember who) “I will not remember what my wedding looked like. I will remember how it felt. Because at the end of the day, even really cool stuff is just that: stuff. It’s the love you share, the people who hold you up, and those precious moments of bliss and joy that you will remember for the rest of your life. And none of that is for sale.”

Here are the list of our suppliers, you can click it for the review:
Church: National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt Carmel Parish
Venue: Oasis Orchard
Caterer: RichGold
Cake: Hearts & Bells
Photobooth: Pose & Prints
Cake Topper: Kokeshi Dolls by Khristine Borbe
Wedding Rings: Aireen Mistica
Quartet: Manila String Machine
Videographer: Aisle 1401
Photographer: Bryan Yap 
HMUA: Irene Manigo
Couturier: Jef Albea
Flowers: Headbands & Headbands by Mikee Palmera
Wedding Host: Missy Ferrer Litao
Invitations: Wink
Bridal Car: G Luxury Cars
Groom's Transport: JohnLord Transport
Lunch CrewMeal: Amber
Hotel Preps: Discovery Suites
OTD: Events Malditas
On Line Forum: Weddings at Work