The Wedding Budget

Marrying age na kami, many of my friends and acquaintances ask about wedding details from me as I have already out - wed them . We got married last July 2014.  The big day was magical and very memorable, I hope not only for us but all those who were with us to celebrate our union.

That day took 6 months in the making. Yes 6 months mga ateng .I never really got serious with the wedding preps until the day when he asked permission from my mother if he could marry me na (kilig moments) . I never had that engagement ring , knelling down on one knee moment but never the less I knew his intentions was good and clear. For me it is important for a man to verbalize that he wants your hand for marriage first before setting anything . It was formalized when “namanhikan” na siya and his family.

Wedding preps are fun , specially for me cause I am an planner by heart talaga . Pero super kastress din siya .Hello it burns a whole in the pockets of people pa. Thankfully our families were generous enough and financially supported us in this life event.

During the pamanhikan it was agreed to have a budget of 100,000 for the wedding , mostly shouldered by the male side. Both are midclass families and this budget was already considered more than enough. It is important for both parties to come up with a budget to work with. Wedding expenses can get so high ,and without a cap placed on it expenses can get out of hand and might set you back financially.

So where did the 100K budget get us ? Here are the details on suppliers and how much each cost

Church

For catholic weddings, first and foremost couples should look into churches . Each church had their schedules , requirements and ruling for conducting the sacrament of Matrimony . We chose San Isidro Labrador Parish , known as eco church of Kauswagan, as suggested  by mudrakels. It had no walls you can see the lush greenery surrounding the place . On the Altar is a manmade waterfall which evoked a sense of calm. Most coordinators we spoke to were cautious of this church due to the “strict” parish priests. Indeed they were strict, but it made totally sense , after all matrimony is a holy ceremony not a show.

The church fee was P 4,000.00 pesos since both of us are non parishioners.  They do not collect fees for sponsor, which we included in the budget, as practiced in other churches. Instead they give out envelops for our ninongs’ and ninangs’ love offering on the day of the wedding .  We ended up with savings on sponsor's fee.

Reception Venue

Most couple opt for the regular venue + food package for their wedding reception. However most establishment offering this kind of service usually offer limited viands and add on cost for extra’s such us additional per head charging even if food served was as is, corkage for additional lechon / dessert buffets and cocktails , Electrical charges for devices.

Due to this we opt to rent a function area then have food catered to allow us to maximize our budget. We rented Rich Manor Pension House’s Biggest Function Room which could accommodate 80 to 120 pax. The rate was P 2,300.00 per hour which include use of the Led lights, sound system , tables ,chairs and basic decorations. We Opt to have book them for four hours , we paid a total of P 9,200.00 which I think is super sulit na considering may drappings na yung function room which gave extra elegant feels sa venue. We talked to the supervisor and requested the following glass goblets, a room for our honeymoon , a photowall and simple centerpieces for each table.  We were charge an additional of P 13,000.00  for all this (which I think was very reasonable) but we haggled our way through it. Sir Ralph of Rich Manor gave us a very big discount. I am very thankful to the Rich Manor team.


For details visit their website
http://www.richmanorpensionhouse.com/
Food

I am a foodie so on top our wedding essential is good food on our day. We chose Fablues Catering as our food provider, as recommended by my aunt who personally knew the owners. There buffet package was only P180.00 per head consisting of 7 viands + Rice + Dessert + Drinks .Since we booked for 120 head they gave away 2 additional Viands. Oh wee I love freebies. The guest gave good feedback on food as expected. Masarap at marami daw yung food.

Fablues is located in Nazareth 13th corner 15th st. Residencial yung area but they have an office inside.

Wedding Rings

We got our wedding ring from Treasures by Carla. The cash Price was around P15,000.00 for both Italian Gold White Gold Wedding Bands. But we got a huge discount due to their promo. I liked that they sell the ring by grams not by piece. They offered engraving for 200.00 each ring but I had it taken to gaisano for Engraving I think it only cost Eugene P50.00 .

Treasures has branches at 2nd floor Centrio Mall Fronting BPI ATM Lane) and at the Big R fronting Supermarket.

Photo and Video Coverage

One thing I have to say is that ang mahal naman ng wedding photo and video coverage in CDO. Once I was even quoted 70,000 for photo coverage lang. I know the value of wedding photo and videos ,after all these are the ones that will be left behind after the wedding naman. But then again being practical , I can't bring myself to give in to the high cost of photo and video. Thankfully thru my research I found Fotocrimelab of Ozamis City which offered Photo and Video Package Ranging from 8K to 20K . We took the 12K package which included  Prenup Photo Shoot , on the day wedding  Photo and Video ,50 prints and digital copies of photos in CD . Sulit na diba. We just needed to shell out extra for the our travel to ozamis (which is OK since we will be visiting my father in Oroquieta to formally invite him) for the prenup shoot and travel expenses of 2 photographers and one videographer from ozamis. Still very reasonable and I loved their output. My husband also likes the team of bungotons.

(L-R : Photographer Matt, Hubby , me , host Pluto , Photographer Nookie, yung videographer nagcapture nito)

Please visit their fb page https://www.facebook.com/fotocrimelab , madaling kausap tong mga poging to

Cake

The cake was sponsored by Adam , a good friend of mine. Thanks Damskie for sharing your blessing with us. I had our wedding cake made by Trana Marie Cakes . The first thing they asked me was the design and how much was my budget. I gave them a photo to work on and a budget of P4,000.00 . The cake was pretty and tasted good.  

Trana marie cake is located at the back of Landbank Capistrano. May maliit na corner na may cake display , yun yon.

Wedding Coordinator / Wedding Attire

Our wedding coordinator was a friend of my sister-in-law. I learned my lesson on this one . I already had this coordinator I really preferred but upon the recommendation of my then to be SIL , I jumped into making her friend our wedding coordinator. She also provided for our first user set of attire which included my wedding dress. Sadly she was not able to deliver 100% of our expected output both on service and the attire . It was quite frustrating but we have to go on. What’s important is that I marry the man of my life on that day.

Siguro mataas masyado nagging expectation ko for her, mudrakels and Hubby Eugene went to the length of renting their attire from others the day before the wedding. We agreed on having 3 to 4 people support during wedding preps but siya lang magisa on the day at late pa . Thankfully Dai2 our housemate was there to helpout . Sa church naman may inhouse coordinator kaming na hire as recommended by the parish. But anyway here is what the wedding attire looked . Thankfully decent enough parin sa photo’s so keribells lang. We paid her a total of P16,000.00 pesos for 1st user attire + coordination . tThought it was a steal but we got what we paid for.  May mga available for rent ranging from 3K to 25K sa Capistrano area .Go for what suits your style and budget.

Flowers

Lisa Flower shop was recommended by our wedding coordinator . We paid only P5,000.00  for the flower. This was not a priority anyways, so I was cool with the price and simple arrangement. What got me was that my bouquet was not fresh. Depressing pero I have to go on with it .

 

This are only the major spending for the wedding. Meron pa mga paunti2 like documentary requirements , seminar payments , Choir , Church Coordinator, Host etc. dami pa friendships. In the end, we spent around Php 140,000 for our wedding (including yung mga papuchopuchong gastos)  , 40K off the budget but relatively acceptable and still considered as a modest wedding in today’s standard. The reality is that no matter how big or how little you spend on your wedding day , what counts is the commitment you have for your wife/husband.

I hope this blog helps those in the wedding plans. Ganern talaga daw when it comes to wedding suppliers , meyroong "Yey" at "Ney", however don't stress to much on this , what is important is your union namn di'ba?

 

Sha sha , hangang dito nlang . Until Next time

-Lady V