Have you heard the wedding BILLS ringing? (How to save more in your wedding)

November 2018. Just a year after our wedding, I finally got time to post about it. Work and daughter/wife duties are currently consuming my time since these past months. It is indeed a new stage in my life - where I am no longer single and I'm deciding on my own only. 

Many of my friends are getting married almost every year. And based on my experience, the preparation stage is a looks-like-an-exciting experience at first but eventually, as your wedding date slowly comes, all problems sink in. And tenen! You now reached the level of being a certified BRIDEzilla! LOL Well, of course, cramming is normal. But, just make sure it doesn't lead to a disastrous wedding which is every couple's nightmare.

So what and how to plan, really?

1. Prepare six to twelve months prior to your chosen wedding date.

This is the most important part of the wedding preparation. For a conservative type of bride like me, 12 months of preparation is already good and feasible. You can already save enough time and money for that. Well, six months of prep is not bad unless you are willing to spend more.

2. Create a list of wedding dates.

Yes, you've read it right - list of wedding dates (as in date with an "s"). Why many dates? Lucky for you if your preferred date is available in the church, suppliers, and venue. Remember, you're not the only one special bride in your city or whatever location you chose. There will be tens or hundreds of couples inquiring the same date you wanted. There are also churches or parishes which might have other activities and could not accommodate your schedule. I don't want to let you getting broken-hearted, dear. Better make a list of dates so you still have other options.

3. Choose your preferred church/wedding venue.

Some couples have traveled so far away just to get married in an ancient church. Some have just chosen the simple ones, like us. Some wanted to walk on a longer aisle while others wanted an open field. Whatever your preferences are, research for your preferred church or wedding venue.

List down the pro's and con's then evaluate each after.

4. List down your suppliers and get quotations.

I can't specify all the suppliers that you'll be needing, but to the best of my small hypothalamus, here are the most important suppliers that you need to canvass. Try to contact different suppliers and ask them for quotations.

• Organizer
• Designer
• Florist
• Venue/caterer
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Make-up artist and hairstylist
• Gowns and suits
• Give-aways
• Program host, DJ, musicians
• Lights and sounds
• Cake baker
• Rings
• Invitations
• Photobooth

5. List down the possible expenses.

From the quotations you got, lists down the possible expenses you're going to spend. This is to give you a heads-up of how much is the possible total cost and how much money you need to save. This has been very helpful to me while we were still in the planning stage. We budgeted for Php200,000 but when we started layouting the quotations, it reached up to Php 300,000+ and so we started saving up again (Though the actual cost still exceeded. LOL).

6. Inform your principal sponsors ahead about your invitation.

This may be a part of the sending-of-the-invitation process but for me, it's very vital to inform ahead the list of principal sponsors that you're planning to have. Having unseated chairs in your presidential table during your wedding because your principal sponsors are busy can be saddening. This usually happens when you have ninongs and ninangs who are in very busy professions or who still need to travel going to your wedding venue.

So far, these are the important things that every couple needs to start doing prior to their wedding. Lucky for those who have money because they can just hire someone to plan for everything. But for me who always needs to be thrifty, I need to plan for my every move and spending.

Did I miss some things here? Please feel free to share it below so you can also help other bride and groom-to-be for their wedding preps. :)