Ways to Save on your Wedding

RupayHalwa · August 10, 2009, 6:27pm

In pakistan no one that I know has had a cake on their wedding, they give out mithai instead. But alot of my Pakistani friends and relatives have it here. I think its a nice touch, not absolutely important, but nice.

somegroovychick · August 10, 2009, 6:30pm

Re: Ways to Save on your Wedding

cakes are delicious! who wouldn't want one on their wedding day? :)
as for making your own- i say save yourself the stress!
you don't have to go to a cake designer to get one- most bakeries will offer wedding cakes for much less than specific wedding cake designers. but even if you want something from a designer, make sure you bargain, bargain, bargain. and look around! don't just go to the first vendor you find- do some comparison shopping.

midnighteyes · August 10, 2009, 7:33pm

Re: Ways to Save on your Wedding

Good tips fasaadi

Ms.Bholi_Bhali · August 10, 2009, 9:51pm

Re: Ways to Save on your Wedding

Couple avoid wedding debts by tying knot for just £1,000… and holding reception in a garage | Mail Online

Iksa · August 11, 2009, 8:07am

chanda_kh:

Awesome thread fasadi! I agree with bride2b and sgc...control your guest list! and number 3 is where most brides just lose it!..lol..they think getting married is the only time they will ever get new stuff... :) seriously...its not like you are getting married and moving to a gaoon or the north pole...no matter where you are..you will be surrounded by the same stuff you were the day before you got married...!!!

combining events is a great idea!! since dholki and mehndis are essentially the same...you can just have mehndi...i still dont understand what the difference is...

Jewelery! i am still buying...as i see new stuff...I got 2 new sets on my wedding..the rest are mom's ....and nothing beats heirloom pieces..

stage decor! if you are getting married in pak..you are in luck.....flowers are cheap!...and you can create a statement stage using the flowers...pick one thing (or two) then use it to play up your wedding/theme....the more things involved in your decor...the more confusing it will get :) lights and fabric make such a difference in the ambiance!!

if you are daring enough to do your own makeup... :) i did...and i am not sure how many more brides did or will do...but i think you are more in control..plus you dont end up washing thousands of rupees down the drain at the end of the night

WOW!! You did an awesome job!! You looked beautiful!! I think you are right...Some MUAs give a totally makeover...and I really don't like it...I said to my MUA that I wanted to look MYSELF...
But however I was looking better on my mehendi than baraat and walima...I could recognize myself!!
BTW I looked good on my wedding....Before you guys think that I was looking awful!!hahahaha

On my wedding I wanted to look different than I look in my normal life...But with clothes not my face....I wanted to stay myself....
I wish I did my own makeup....

system · August 11, 2009, 8:39am

Re: Ways to Save on your Wedding

aww,, im sure u still looked good. I really dunno, how to do Makeup otherwise i'd do mine..(Myself)

system · August 11, 2009, 8:40am

Re: Ways to Save on your Wedding

Chanda, MashAllah u were looking really beautiful....... good job!

tigerlily · August 11, 2009, 9:38am

Re: Ways to Save on your Wedding

I saved money by holding the mehndi and wedding in the same venue and negotiated a good price. I didn't pay for additional decoration for the mehndi as luckily a friend had a lot items she'd used to decorate her mehndi so I borrowed them.

I also managed to find a local florist to make beautiful centre pieces for the pedestals for the mehndi stage and the flower garlands for the wedding, so again got a good deal.

I booked the same MUA for the wedding and Valima and got her to reduce the price.

Moral of the story, book suppliers for multiple events and negotiate on price.

vanii · August 11, 2009, 9:39am

fasaadi:

chanda’s thread got me thinking, I’m sure lots of guppies saved some money on their weddings in very innovative ways. No matter how you feel about wedding spending, I’m sure everyone would agree that if you can get something nice at a cheaper price, then why not?

I think each bride has some areas where she doesn’t want to compromise… for me, those areas were the dress and the makeup, so here are some ways I saved money in other areas even though my in-laws and parents were planning on spending more:

stage decorations
-There are even high end stage decorators these days! After visiting two of the top decorators in khi (they started at 1 lakh for a simple stage! ), I found a stage decorator whose stages looked great if not better and managed to even bargain since i was doing two events. I was even able to add little things on the tables since it was so much cheaper, whereas I wouldn’t have been able to do that with the other decorators.

invitations
-even though everyone says its your first impression of the wedding, getting my invitations made simply and in Pakistan saved me hundreds of dollars. You can even spruce up a simple card by adding a simple touch like a peacock feather attached to a ribbon tied in the center. Buying ribbon and peacock feathers in bulk would be really cheap and would still make an invitation look expensive. :AID:

collecting

certain things I started buying a while ago so that I wouldn’t be a financial burden all at once. Every other month, I would buy a nice makeup brush in order to build my collection. especially if you’re going with something like MAC, those brushes are always like $40 and even buying a basic set of 5 would mean spending like 200 dollars. I guess technically it isnt ‘saving’, but a lot of what makes wedding shopping hard is the expenditure all at once. and i dont get the point of showing everyone that you have all new stuff. you need to know how to wear makeup beforehand!

jewelery
-less is more. I didn’t buy 20 sets, I just got a few (think less than five, not bhaari) sets that I reaaallly loved and would go with everything I also looked at what my mil was giving me and got things that were different than those. Also, when it comes to things like jhoomar, maata patti and teekas, you can get those made with sonay ki paani, which is way cheaper than gold, since we don’t wear those too often anyways.

combining events

for me, i didnt see the point of having two mehndis for example, or a separate nikkah plus shaadi plus valima. I combined events and made it simple.

GUPSHUP
-I looked at soooo many of your reviews and recommendations when it came to buying wedding clothes. That meant that going to markets you all recommended as opposed to designer boutiques got me the same quality of clothing at a cheaper price, just without the brand name! and no one will ever know :shoaby: so thank you

I know everyone else here is way more creative than me and also has more experience, so guppies please share!

hey gal… such a useful thread…
it will defi help us out.. m realy happy that gals take the things so positivly!!
congrats fa wonderful sharing..

chanda_kh · August 11, 2009, 4:22pm

thank you shona!

chanda_kh · August 11, 2009, 4:25pm

Thanks iksa! i am glad i did it....and it was after many many trials...

i am sure you looked beautiful!

xjatti2khanx · October 5, 2009, 2:55pm

Re: Ways to Save on your Wedding

fasadi, wikkd ideas! i love the invitation one, and also where u sed to start collecting things early for ur bari and etc, thankyou 4 sharing!!

fasaadi · October 6, 2009, 12:23am

Re: Ways to Save on your Wedding

^^aww thanks sweetie!! so glad you liked them! i'll add on to these soon... :)

punjabikudi · October 6, 2009, 12:37am

Blushing Rose made a GREAT point. If your wedding is after the holiday season, or if you know way ahead of time when your big day is, a fabulous way of saving is shopping after halloween and after christmas sales for your mehndi/mayoun/dholki decorations. My mom got wonderful garlands and fabrics for 80% - we got some beautiful red fabric for 50 cents a yard! Fake flowers can also be found at a cheaper rate. RAID these sales -- you can make your home functions look like they cost hundreds of dollars while only spending a few dollars.

We also raided after valentines sales to decorate my sister's room for her wedding night. We got a lot of cute valentines themed stuff and garlands of fake red roses. it looked like we hired someone to decorate it.

if you have the time and advantage of knowing your date way in advance -- USE IT!!