8 tips on how to have your dream wedding on a tight budget

So, what should be on your wedding list?

Clothes for the traditional, court and white wedding. Plus, shoes and bags and jewellery for the bride to be.
The cost of the wedding venue
Food and drinks for the guests (wedding cake inclusive)
Photographer and videographer
Bride price to be bought by the man
Makeup for the bride
DJ, live band or entertainment
Wedding decorations

The way things are right now with rising inflation and a harsh economy; you need to be shrewd with your budget;

1. Buy your wedding outfits first

You need to look your best on that day. You do not want to 'manage' your outfits.

Even if no one eats, you must look your best.

You do not have to spend so much to look good. Going to the market to buy a suit for the groom-to-be is no problem if it fits.

The issue is with the wedding gown, for this, I recommend custom made instead of renting, just because of fitting and style.

Always use a trusted vendor and let the process of getting a wedding gown be the first thing when planning a wedding, so you have months to do adjustments and fittings.

2. How much do you have? Be realistic with your budget

Forget your dream wedding or dream budget for a while. Yes, I know you wished you had five million naira, but how much do you really have?

How much have you set aside for the wedding? Remember, I said to set aside, what this means is you have savings for different things and one for your wedding. You do not want to use your life savings for a wedding.

Except you are the son of a wealthy person, you might have to save for a while. Are you getting any financial support? Then add it to the savings.

3. Now you know how much you have, what kind of wedding can your savings accomplish?

You know your spending financial limit now. Perhaps, it is N500,000. Then you have to start thinking of the kind of wedding N500,000 can do.

Allocate the amount you want to spend on different items on your list.

4. Reduce and control your guest list

Your guest list is the most important part of your wedding because it determines the size of your venue and the cost of catering.

List out the people that need to be at your wedding.

Let’s say you are printing hardcopy invites, know the exact number of people you are inviting and give them the wedding invite. Make it strictly by invitation.

Some couples get technological and use a barcode invite, just like concerts do.

5. Make your food and drinks budget to fit the number of people that will be in attendance

There are three ways to go about this.

You can ask your caterer to tell you how much a plate of food is and then multiply that against your budget.
Your caterer might have a price list already. So maybe 100 plates of rice and 50 plates of pounded yam and egusi soup are N150,000, and you then work with that.
You can boycott all these and do the cooking yourself.

The old wives in your family can come together and organise this, but this is usually a gamble, and that is how we hear of people hoarding meat to take home and the food not getting to everyone.

6. Get a venue that is in your budget and will take the number of people in guest list

This is self-explanatory, but try to get a venue that is in tandem with your budget and your guest list. Try school and church halls for a reduced amount. Event centres cost way more.

7. Get the best photographer you can find

One thing that is an underrated but costly is a photographer. They are important for documenting your day.

Your best bet is to get a photographer that gives you an entire package from pre-wedding to the white wedding.

Prices vary, and you have to stick to the one in your budget.

8. Makeup is important, do not compromise on makeup

Get the best makeup artist, because bad makeup can ruin everything. If you are not sure of the quality of her work, let the makeup artist do a test makeup for you. Perhaps for pre-wedding pictures.

As you can see, most of your budget will be spent on food and venue, and the only way not to come short is to trim your guest list.

Stay clear of very popular online vendors if your budget is strict.

Lastly, make a budget for everything else and find vendors that can work with it.