Are you wondering about how to keep the costs low and save money on wedding events? You are not alone. Arranging a successful wedding event in India is a costly affair today. There are certain things which are related to your tradition and you can’t over look at it. But there are certain things that we do because of social pressure and obligation. Wedding not only have a traditional and religious sentiments related to it but also associated with a big budget in order to conduct it in a successful manner.
But if you believe that having a big budget is the only way to conduct a successful wedding party. Then after reading this post you will think otherwise. Remember, if there is a possibility then saving money is nothing to be ashamed of, keep away from those relatives who says “you are only spending 10 lakhs on your wedding, I have spent this much money only to pay the caterers”. If there are options that you can choose from that will significantly reduce your wedding budget then there is no harm in it.
Here’s how to save money on wedding events in India
Saving money on wedding does not mean you are not inviting guests and not booking a wedding hall. But all that you are doing to save money on wedding events is to think logically, that’s the best thing you can do. I will be listing a few amazing ways which may help you save money on wedding events, quite significantly. Few of the tips might seem a little over the top if you think from the “relative’s” point of view, but believe me it will definitely save you from digging a big hole on your pocket. There is no fun in spending money on social pressure.
Save on catering expenses
The best way is to cut your menu short, believe me it’s the best way to cut short your expenses and you can also avoid wasting food. Be frank with your caterer that you want to save money. Focus on the main course, I have seen in the recent past that people often prefer fancy menu, which consists of various starter and miscellaneous food items, but in order to focus on that, they forget to give importance to the main course. At most weddings, as guests concentrate on picking up pre-dinner snacks, the dinner is mostly wasted. So, don’t get stuck with a bigger food bill for uneaten food.
Try to go for buffet system as it is the most economical way of treating your guests, and instead of having five to six stations with different cuisines, you can stick to the kind of food that suits your guests the best.
Choosing a wedding season
Plan your wedding in atleast a year ahead, other wise you will have a tough time to find accommodations to conduct the wedding. Since most of the dates are in the same months, if you are not obsessed with the horoscopes and other relevant beliefs for picking up the date of wedding then you can choose any random date according to your convenience. I have seen many people making excuse that “I was not getting a relevant date for my marriage, either I am not getting the time off from my work or when I am getting time, then there is no suitable date for marriage” and they procrastinate their marriages and in the worst case scenarios they even get breakup ups before even tying up the knot. If you really love your fiancé just break these bondages and pick a date and get married (since taking break from work might not be that flexible).
Inviting guests for wedding
You know what elders say “shaadi (wedding) is a pure bondage of love and compassion between two people”. Well count those elders in, but try to avoid asking every other person you know to invite at your wedding. Just keep it short, people who loves you and people whom you love should be invited (you know what I mean). Now even you have filtered a lot of guest, still a problem that persists is how to invite them personally, otherwise they might feel bad. Believe me they don’t, today no one has the time to even feel bad, if they want to join your party they will come any way and if they don’t then even going to their door steps to invite them might not help. Personally call them over phone to invite, send them your marriage invitation through social networking websites or by emailing them, you can even make websites for your marriage (It will only cost you domain and hosting charges for a month, you can drop them both once your wedding is over). This is the modern way to invite people without any hassles you should follow them to avoid wasting money on wedding cards and going to their door steps to invite. Although you can print few wedding cards for inviting the “elders” I have mentioned earlier as they might not be very familiar with the current trends.
Accommodations for the guests
This is another major factor that invariably increases your wedding budget. So dealing with this the right way can save a lot of money for you. It is never easy to rent a house for wedding guests, especially the outstation ones. But instead of booking large hotels and personal rooms, you can try finding large farmhouses on the outskirts of the city where you can house all your guests. This way you can save on hotel bills and ensure that your guests are in one location. Food arrangement can also be easy at the farmhouse by hiring a local catering service and transport can be arranged in the form of buses. This way you will also save yourself from coming under excessive room service bills.
Renting wedding dress?
Yes you have heard it right; it will save around 50k to 1L Rs or even more, if you opt to rent your clothes rather than buying new ones. It might sound a little bizarre but if you think with a clear mind (setting your relatives view out of the equation), you will realize that your clothes are not going to be used even once after the wedding (If you are not planning to remarry any time soon). Hence there is no point of wasting this much amount of money on something which you are going to use only once. And obviously there is no way that your guests going to find that out unless they are also reading this post.
The bride and the groom both can use this trick by going for a rented designer wedding wears in accordance to the respective culture and religions they belong to. There are various vendors and websites from where you can get lavish bridal outfits and groom wears. You can also pick up your mother or sister’s wedding outfit and re-use it with a few alterations, if you are not okay with renting them. A few minor changes along with your creativity will obviously make these mint condition clothes look as good as brand new.
Over to you
Wedding in India is an auspicious moment which is cherished by families, friends and relatives of both the bride and groom. It’s a onetime affair hence every one want their wedding to be a memorable one. Sometime we tend to spend beyond our limits but if you do good planning for the wedding events and think logically, you can save lots of money. I have talked about some of the ways to save money on wedding events in India and I am sure you can add many more.
What else one can do save money in wedding events in India?
