Your wedding is only the first among many steps you will take in your new journey as a married couple. The ceremony may only last for a few hours, but your wedding day can create beautiful, lasting memories for you and your guests. But before you get to that point of saying “I do,” there are some important questions that you first need to answer. Think of this as dry run in making decisions and solving problems together as a couple.
How Much Do We Spend?
It’s not a particularly thrilling topic, but every aspect of your wedding planning is highly dependent on your budget. The subject will come up every now and then, even up to the day of your wedding, so it’s best to have every last detail of your finances ironed out as soon as possible.
Before making a list of your wedding essentials, you’ll first need to figure out how much you’re actually willing to spend. From there, itemize everything you need down to the smallest details, and tick off the things that you will prioritize. Food is definitely important—you don’t want to be that couple who will be remembered for their awful wedding menu. But what about the wedding rings? And what of the bride’s gown and groom’s suit, the venue, or the photographers and videographers?
Once you’ve figured out what you’re willing to spend money on (and cut back on, too), you can make quicker, more efficient decisions about the other aspects of your wedding. Keep in mind that there might be some people who may want to pitch in—an aunt who owns a flower shop, for example, or a friend who is also a professional events host. These contributions can save you a lot of money and might even free up some budget for other nice-to-haves.
DIY Everything or Get a Coordinator?
A do-it-yourself wedding can definitely save you a lot of money, not to mention give you a more customized, more “you” event, but did you know that getting a coordinator can also work for those who have limited resources? Wedding coordinators like Debuts & I Do’s know how to maximize every centavo and have experience working with all sorts of budgets. From venue and caterer partners to make up artists and couturiers, wedding coordinators or wedding planners make sure that you’ll get your dream wedding without going over-budget.
Often, they also offer excellent wedding packages that should free you even more from the burden of planning everything yourself. Debuts & I Do’s, for instance, provides Bohol and Cebu wedding packages that make for truly memorable and spectacular weddings in these beautiful locations in the Visayas.
If you want to DIY certain elements of your wedding, like invitations, place cards, and wedding favors, just let your coordinator know so they can allocate the budget meant for these items to other expenses.
Where Do We Get Married?
Catholic couples who are planning to get married in Cebu or Bohol will most probably need to book two venues—a church for the ceremony and a hotel or events hall for the reception. For other couples, the choice of venue for the ceremony may not be as challenging, but there is still the question of whether to hold the event in an indoor or outdoor venue. There is also the question of the actual location itself. For example, do you want to have it in the city, or do you want to go full-on destination wedding?
This question can be answered by considering other factors such as the capability of your friends, relatives, and other guests to go out of town, the number of guests you’ve invited, and the theme of your wedding. Another factor that can help you decide is the location’s significance to you as a couple. Of course, your budget also plays a big part in choosing the location of your dream wedding.
Whom Do We Invite?
In creating your wedding guest list, the question you’d really want to ask yourself is not whom you should invite but rather who are the people you want to share this special occasion with. Don’t think about the “tampo” of your second-degree relatives and erstwhile office colleagues; think about your loved ones—the special people in your life that you want to be there in one of the most important events in your life.
You and your spouse-to-be should also agree on how many guests each one will invite. Will it be a 50-50 split? Or does one of you only have a few close friends and family that you want to invite, and the rest is up to the partner? Once you take these matters into account, it will be easier to expand or trim the guest list accordingly.
The invitations should also clearly indicate if a guest may bring a companion (or companions), not only to manage expectations but also to make sure that it sits well with your budget.
Once you answer these four questions, most of your wedding planning will go more smoothly right until the big day itself. Good luck!