There is a general notion that having a wedding in Singapore is quite costly. This situation is promoted by the Singaporean wedding culture, a mixture of western and traditional elements. Moreover, the high costs are brought about by hosting a hotel banquet and the need to invite friends from the business circles, rather than the usual paper signing process.
However, there are various ways of how you can avoid spending too much on your wedding. Although some sites, such as https://www.a1credit.sg, have written helpful articles that contain tips for planning a wedding, it can still be a challenge for some others.
If you intend to cut wedding costs, here are 5 essential wedding planning tips that we have for you to consider.
1. Go for Alternative Venues
In Singapore, a significant portion of your wedding cost could be taken up by the banquet. To reduce the amount of money to be spent at your wedding, consider shunning these wedding banquets. Rather, it might be worth hosting your wedding at alternative venues such as parks, restaurants, or event halls. Though it is not a guarantee that these places are cheaper, the prices quoted would provide you with options to make flexible adjustments. From the range of options, you can get a place that provides a suitable wedding reception with romantic themes and in the process, save the extra cash while receiving value-guaranteed services.
Believe it or not, we actually booked and secured our wedding banquet package 3 years before our actual wedding and we saved a lot. I know it sounds kiasu but back then, a table at One Degree 15 Marina Club costs us $888++. Today, I don’t think you can find such a price anymore.
2. Acquire A Bridal Package
This is the most cost-effective method of obtaining all the required wedding services such as photography, suit rentals, gowns, and make-ups. Hence, bridal packages are quite popular in Singapore as the wedding costs could be hiked if couples use separate vendors. There are certain tricks that you can use to benefit optimally from bridal packages. For instance, let your chosen bridal studio comprehensively list down all the items that are included in the bridal package. Then, decide on what is necessary and replace the unwanted items by checking them off the list.
Getting a wedding planner can also be another solution to cutting down extra costs. Though many people believed that hiring a wedding planner can be costly since they do charge additional fees to source the items required and to plan the actual event; wedding planners do have connections with vendors and they can often negotiate for discounts especially for the items that you want. Therefore, when planning to have a large wedding with specific requirements, consider getting a wedding planner to cut down the costs.
For us, we got our bridal package from Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
3. Do It Your Way
This is mostly applicable when you have some creative skills. It helps cut down extra expenses in acquiring some items. For instance, there is no need to splash out hundreds of dollars on things such as wedding favours, decorations, and invitation cards. In fact, you can have all these and other items printed from home.
We actually got our wedding invitation cards printed in China (yes thank God for Taobao) and we had them shipped all the way to Singapore.
When not sufficiently skilled in either of these areas, you can get help from friends who can take care of your actual day wedding photography. Even make-up and hairstyling can also be taken care of by your friends. However, we are not disqualifying the necessity to pay for services from professionals. In fact, for a once in a lifetime event, we recommend that you hire professionals to do the job but if the budget is really a constraint, then these alternatives would help reduce your wedding expenses and go a long way in cutting down unnecessary costs for your wedding. It might even be a creative way of getting your family members and close friends involved in your wedding preparation.
4. Be Selective
In Singapore, everything can really be expensive, especially for events such as weddings. When planning to hold your wedding at relatively lower costs, it is worth being selective with everything you buy as the small things can eventually add up to a huge sum. You can also be selective by screening the list of people whom you intend to invite for your actual wedding event. You do not want to spend a lot buying stuff, only to end with a long list of absentees.
Another vital area that you can be selective about is the wedding menus. Go for food and beverage selections that are wallet-friendly. For instance, instead of hard liquor, serve your guests with wines and beers as that can help you save a considerable amount of money.
5. Use Good Credit Cards
It is not uncommon for newly-weds-to-be to resort to using credit cards in the event their finances take a bitter turn before, during, or after their wedding. This is especially true when buying lavish items and it can sometimes be quite unavoidable in an expensive country like Singapore. To get the most out of your credit card, ensure that the credit card you are using offer discounts at the wedding venues of your choice. A reasonable discount is between 5 and 10% of the reception cost.
Furthermore, you can switch to using cashback cards which allow you to get cash rebates instead. This is quite helpful as you can split the installment payments to cater to the required rebate expenditures. For instance, you can use the UOB One Card which offers a 5% rebate when you spend $2000 monthly for 3 consecutive months. What you get back is a whopping $1,200 in a year. This option is suitable when you shop for wedding items and want to save some cash in return.
If you are planning to accumulate miles for your honeymoon, the American Express® Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card is a card to go for. In fact, we have managed to accumulate business class flights for our trip to New Zealand last year.
Closing Thoughts
The wedding culture in Singapore requires one to have proper planning and you can still have a magnificent wedding in a romantic venue while saving money by following the tips discussed in this article. If you are planning for an upcoming wedding, incorporate some money-saving tricks to avoid spending everything from your own savings.
