People want to keep their wedding costs in check for many reasons; one of those reasons has to do with the fact that most people don’t grow money on trees. Whether owing to limited income or simply not wanting to be profligate, it’s just smart to know some of the easy ways to bring the budget for the big occasion down some. Here are some of those ways:
Digital invite
Most people will ultimately end up printing invitation cards, even if they initially had planned to use digital media; because, you know, what will the uncles and aunties think? “That’s not how it should be done,” might get thrown around a lot. To appease the parents, other incumbent guardians and self-appointed well-wishers, it might be a necessity to print cards. The way around that might be short listing the ‘murubbi’ guests that must get physical cards and then sending digital cards to others. However, the bulk pricing for card printing might render this cunning plan inapplicable. It is still a good option, but there could be alternatives, such as the next option.
Child labor
Everyone knows that the best way of disarming critics is using cuteness. As it happens, children are generally susceptible to such exploitation and more than willing to invest their time to make cards without demanding fair wage or any monetary return in general. If you send handwritten cards to, say one hundred guests and go back to the digital option for the others, it’s could effectively save Tk15, 000 to Tk20, 000 to use a ballpark figure.
Wedding and reception on the same day
Nothing perhaps saves more money than bringing the number of programs from several to one; that’s just basic math. It makes even more sense from a ‘quality vs quantity’ perspective, in that you could make the one program especially beautiful, rather than burdening yourself with a series of different programs. It’s easier on your pocket and easy for your guests too.
Location hunting
Hunting for the venue can be a nightmare. Most people don’t book halls eons before their big day, and later on, must deal with not finding the right place. You settle for what is available, paying more than you would like to. Why not take the wedding to an open beautiful location, perhaps to your native village, and just bypass the whole community centre thing. It’s different and it could be so much more aesthetically pleasing. People, especially those living Dhaka (only second to war-torn Aleppo in ease of living ranking), end up wasting hours of valuable time sitting in traffic. Many might actually appreciate it and think that a tour outside the city is a refreshing and welcome break, while your family still gets to have a unique wedding program.
Crowd-funding
Speaking of the outdoors, here’s an idea that’s a bit out there. It’s not likely to receive popular support, but it is perfectly legitimate to ask for ‘only-money’ gifts and use that toward the wedding expenses. Again, it might be uncomfortable to do so, but it is still an option for people who like to break conventions.
Off season
Going back to less challenging options, it is a great idea to choose an off-season date for your program. It makes booking halls easier, shopping gets cheaper and the overall expenses come down quite a bit. And when other people will be busy organizing their events and pulling their hair during the pleasant and cool weather of the spring-winter season, you would be free to actually enjoy it.