Planning a wedding

Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life.  As such, most people want to make it as special as they can.  Regardless of what your budget is, you should find a way of making your wedding day a happy memory for yourself and your partner.  If your budget is limitless, by all means, hire a wedding planner, outsource as much as possible, and save yourself a lot of effort.  If on the other hand, you are faced with creating a wonderful experience on a seriously constrained budget, here are some tips to consider.

The Checklist

Creating a checklist is very important.  This helps you monitor your progress and ensure that everything gets done in good time.  Make your checklist one of the first things you do when planning your wedding.  For examples of checklists, see:

The Guest-list

Who do you invite, and how can you exclude everyone else?  These days, it is perfectly acceptable to invite only the people who are closest to you.  This will not only keep costs down, but will contribute to making your wedding more intimate and ultimately, more meaningful for you.

The Venue

As far as we can tell, there are few really affordable options here.  Most couples have their weddings at hotels, restaurants, or wine farms, but all of these are rather pricey.  If you are on a tight budget, consider hiring a community hall for the event.  You can hire someone to do the decorations, or maybe your family and friends will do it for you, and this would come at a fraction of the cost.

Alternatively, why not have an outdoor wedding?  If you are getting married in summer, you are almost guaranteed a fine day, and outdoor venues are usually less expensive too.

The Wedding Dress

Want a traditional white dress but cannot afford it?  No problem.  Try a store that hires them.  If you can't find what you want, draw it or find a picture you like, and get a seamstress to make it for you.  You can make a significant saving this way.

Follow these links to stores that hire wedding dresses and to seamstresses:

The Rings

Good jewellery is hideously expensive these days.  If you are on a limited budget, you will certainly have to make some compromises here.  Here are some ideas you could try to bring down the cost:

  1. Buy your jewellery from an online auction website.  Some of these have very affordable jewellery.  See:
  1. Do not necessarily set your heart on a diamond ring.  What about semi-precious stones e.g. garnets, topaz, aquamarines etc?
  2. Opt for gold-plated or silver rings instead of the real deal.
  3. If you are really strapped, go for a good fake.  Some cubic zirconias look so real; few people will know the difference.

Wedding Invitations

Most people still get their invitations custom-made.  If you are properly computer literate, or know someone else who is, get them to design an invitation for you, and get it professionally printed at any print-shop.  This will save quite a bit too.

Photographs and Videos

We don't think that this is where you should economise.  This is one of the most important events of your life, and you want it properly recorded.  When you are parents, you will want to show these to your children.  When you are in your dotage, you will still enjoy these.  They need to last you a lifetime and beyond, so make sure they are done right!  Unless you know someone reliable who is a talented amateur or professional in this field, with the correct equipment, just hire this job out.  You will not regret this decision.

Final Tip

Few people choose to get married in Cape Town in winter.  Therefore, if you are willing to sacrifice on good weather, you are likely to find more discounts at this time of year. 

For websites with good information on wedding planning, follow these links:

Page Updated: 11 November 2011