Here at SAWC we are all too aware of how easy it is to get caught up in the planning of a wedding. Whether it’s for our clients or our own imaginary weddings, the glitz and glamour of it all is mesmerizing. Especially now with the pressure to have a unique wedding experience and all these new trends, it’s getting harder to stick to your budget. Our very first meeting with our clients comprises of bugeting and inspirational Board.  Our unconventional dulhan has outlined all the details of our meeting which can be found http://theunconventionaldulhan.com/2014/12/21/inspirational-board-meeting/

The SAWC team has come up with a few tips to ensure your budget is in check.

1. Prepare your guest list– Let’s face it, being South Asian equates to having a big wedding but ensure you’re checking your list twice. Do you really need to invite that Aunty whom you met at your Chachi’s, nephew’s birthday party in 1999? The larger the head count, the larger the cost for the banquet hall, so you may want to cut the list if you can. Remember you can always have a small get-together at a later date. 
2. Research your venue- Once you have a general idea about your head count, now you can narrow in on your venue. It can get intimidating when visiting different venues for your ceremonies and reception, so make sure you take your wedding planner along to ensure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. If you are able to use one venue for all your ceremonies and reception, that would be most economical. Try getting at least three options of venues and compare what they are offering to you.
3. Less is more, even in the details- Trust us, we know how you feel, it’s all in the details. But make sure you’re not overdoing it! It’s easy to get carried away when you see all these cute little knick knacks, but think twice before you go on purchasing. Ask yourself, “Do I really need this?”. So that $200 that you would have spent on the confetti blaster, can now be put towards your wedding bands. 
4. Frugal Entertaining- We all want to have a unique ambiance for our guests when they enter the reception. A great way to do that is through the entertainment. An alternative to hiring an entertainment group, is to utilize the skills of your friends and family. Are you exploiting them a little, well yes, but they love you anyways! Look through your friend and family circle and figure out if there is a undercover Madonna or Michael Jackson hidden somewhere. This gets your friends and family involved as well as keeping the costs low.
5. Creative Stationary– An invitation is the first impression your guests get of your big day. But instead of splurging and paying the big bucks, look at alternatives. Think about sending e-invites to your guests that are further, rather than mailing a card out to them. Rather than using a third party vendor for your stationary, ask your wedding planner’s creative team to see what they can come up with and sometimes they may even mail them out for you. Which saves you time and money!
6.  Negotiate with vendors– Now some people aren’t comfortable negotiating, that’s where your wedding planner comes in. See where you can get add ons thrown in, most vendors will throw things in to secure the reservation, as long as you’re not asking for their first born that is. Ensure you do this before you sign on the dotted line and make sure it’s all in the contract. 
7. Tiers, on tiers, on tiers– You may want a seven tiered cake but you may not need it. Do your research when booking your wedding cake. Sometimes having fake layers would cost you the same as having real layers, so make sure you’re having your cake and eating it too.
8. Favouring the favourable– Favours tend to be a short-lived luxury, that you can skip on if you choose to. You can also opt to donate to a local charity and in turn they provide a small favour that you can place on every place setting or you can give one to each couple or family.
9. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle– Once the cousins have flown back to their homes and the last bit of ladoo’s have been eaten, you may be left with lots of decor and other miscellaneous wedding objects. With the bills piling in, this is the great time to resell some of the items that you have and put some cash back in your wallet!

It’s important to keep costs low but to also enjoy your day. Make savings in areas you can and splurge in the areas that are important to you. It happens once, having a wedding planner can make sure you are making memorable moments, perfectly planned!