There is nothing like an Indian Wedding when it comes charm and opulence. When it’s about weddings planning in India there is nothing stopping back. Throwing a big fat Indian Wedding can cost you your years of savings and burn a hole in your pocket. With celebrations that last over a span of two to three days, it is imperative to plan it wisely and wallet-friendly. Having a well planned beautiful wedding doesn’t mean shelling out all your savings. We at Wish N Wed list down some smart ways to trim down your wedding expenses, without compromising on your dream wedding.
Off-Season Wedding
Wedding Date in India is decided not keeping in view the Holiday Season, but the mahurat, except in few cases. October to December is considered to be the official wedding season. Skip these busy months and opt for an off-season wedding. The prices will be high during these times and everything will cost you much higher and off-season wedding can grab you discounts on almost everything from the wedding venue, makeup artists to wedding photographers.
Venue Selection
Ditch an upscale hotel in the city and pick up some hidden gems in your area or on the outskirts of the city. The most popular Hotel venues charge higher the amount. Also, do not opt for in-house catering and decorations as they tend to be priced higher. You can also opt for a farmhouse wedding.
Hire A Wedding Planner
There is a general notion that wedding planners cost a bomb, but in reality, they can lower down your wedding costs. They are highly experienced and have collaboration with various vendors and can help you score great deals.
Get Your Wedding Dress Stitched or Rent
There are thousands of Ideas on Pinterest for wedding dresses. Save what you like and ask a local designer to get it designed for you. There are a number of small designer houses these days who can create the exact same designer outfit at half the price. Where an original Sabyasachi Lehenga will cost you over 1.5 lacs the replica will cost you around 50 K saving 50 to 60 %. Alternatively, you can also rent out the same outfit. A wedding lehenga on renting websites such as Fly Robe, Stage 3 can help you save 60 to 70 %.
Rent Your Wedding Jewellery
Renting wedding jewellery is the biggest trend. Not only you can colour-coordinate it with your wedding attire, but save lacs on buying the real jewellery. Imitation Jewellery can be found in all designs, colours and can also be customized. There are multiple stores online where you can have them at affordable prices.
Ditch traditional wedding invites
Traditional wedding invites are so yesterday. Create personalized e wedding invites, like wedding websites and a small video that can be sent over to guests on email and mobile phones. Most of the people do not even notice the detailing you put on traditional invites which cost you extra bucks. While traditional invites can cost you between 5000 k to 30,000/- depending on the design and guests. Add to it the cost of courier and postage it is an expensive deal.A wedding invitation website containing all the details including a photo gallery, maps, event details will cost you anywhere below 5k and there are no courier or postage charges involved.
Bring your own booze
Usually, the bill for drinks is way higher than expected, reason it will cost you more at a lavish hotel owing to the corkage. Look out for the venue which allow you to make your own catering and drink arrangements.
Wedding Favours
Wedding favours have revolutionized since the old times. Traditionally you see a box of mithai that is given to the guests that attend the wedding. Think out of the box and instead of mithai ka dabba go out and explore for other unique ideas such as a small potted plant as a green gifting favour. You can visit some local nursery and buy them in bulk. They will cost you way less . Alternatively you will also find many budding crafters who create out of the box gifting solutions and you can get a good deal as they will be selling in bulk and it will be a way to build a client for them.
Participate in Contests and Giveaways
There are a lot of makeup artists, makeup brands, photographers, wedding planners who run contests on their social media platforms. Be a sport and participate, you never know you may win a free pre-wedding shoot, makeup goodies for your vanity and discounts.
Photography Packages
Hiring a renowned professional photographer can be extremely expensive. Do some research on the photographers, look at their portfolios? Not just stick to one photographer but shortlist 3 to 5 based on their work. Try looking for a package for the wedding as many times pre-wedding shoot is complimentary with the packages. Also hiring the same photographer from groom and bride side will save you a lot of photography.
Makeup Costs
Makeup Artists too charge a hefty amount for wedding makeup. There are different kinds of makeup such as party makeup, HD makeup and Airbrush makeup. First of all search for the makeup artists in the vicinity of your wedding venue, because the travel expense of the makeup artist will add up your bill. See their reviews on social media pages and the work is done. Speak to them about the package pricing and the kind of makeup that will work best for you. If you know how to do your makeup, skip booking a makeup artist for your mehendi and sangeet functions.
Go local and minimal with Flowers
Instead of spending boatloads on exotic flowers such as lilies, go for minimum floral decor. Procure flowers that are locally available at reasonable prices rather than flowers that are procured from far off places. You can ask your decorator for artificial flowers instead because they are re-usable and decorators can use them again for another wedding. You can also go for decor with string lights and pastel colour fabrics as they look very elegant.
Plan and Book In Advance
It goes without saying, last minute bookings are always expensive. Plan well in advance for your wedding. Say your wedding is in October start planning in the month of January and book the venue and vendors by April, when it comes closer to wedding season, the prices are increased and you end up paying more due to high demand.
Shop at Sales
When it’s your wedding you end up shopping much more than required. Firstly make a list of the things that you actually need. Start shopping during sale season, there are off-season sale around two to three times a year so indulge in shopping during those times. Also when you go shopping for Indian wear skip mentioning wedding shopping to the vendors as they will only show you clothes that are expensive. Instead, go for party wear where you will end up getting more choices at better prices.
Use your plastic card
Okay, we make online payments most of the times. During wedding shopping, skip paying by cash and pay by card. Paying through credit cards and debit cards will let you earn reward points and cashback offers on online stores. These reward points can later be used for travel bookings, movie outings etc. So it’s rewarding to pay with a card and during weddings when it’s excessive shopping you accumulate a lot of reward points. So your wedding expenses can earn you some rewards to cover your some of your expenditure later.
These are 15 ways you can plan a frugal yet wedding of your dreams. Smart planning is all it takes for a wallet-friendly, stress-free wedding.
