How To Wisely Allocate Your Wedding Spending Budget
Your wedding will most likely be the biggest and the priciest party you have ever hosted, and it’s always a breeze when you have spending power. Unfortunately, most of us don’t and to be honest, budgeting is never fun. However, having a wedding budget is a useful tool for sensible spending. Without a wedding budget, you might end up splurging on frivolous things that might burst your bank account.
According to Wedding Planner, Ms. Evan Chee from Precious Moments, an average wedding in Kuala Lumpur can range between RM50,000 and RM300,000. Here are some easy steps to get you started on your wedding budget with industry tips that will help you save a little more.
Show Me The Money
The famous movie scene from Jerry Maguire is the perfect catchphrase that translates the Asian saying – no money no talk – so before you start a list of wedding must-haves, decide on how much you both want to spend.
Money set aside for your wedding will depend on both your savings; current income that you can save from now until your wedding day and contributions from parents or loved ones. If you practice the culture of Ang Pow, this could be useful in forecasting a percentage to your wedding budget – you can estimate between 30% and 50% to cover your cost.
The ang pows received for our wedding was half of our total wedding cost and this helped a lot in covering most expenses.
Start Tracking Your Numbers
If one of you is better at bookkeeping, this task should be assigned accordingly. Do create a spreadsheet that tracks your spending as you move along the organizational process. We suggest a tracking structure as shown below:
The estimated cost helps list price comparisons after you have researched the average costs of local venues, caterers, etc. The amount under modified is used once you have confirmed a vendor and the final amount you pay goes to actual. Most vendors will require a down payment to confirm your wedding business and date.
Does Your Guest List Spark Joy?
The majority of your budget will go towards the number of guests you host on your wedding day. The guest count not only determines the venue but it will heavily depend on how much food you will need to provide, types of beverages, invitations and so forth. Perhaps it’s time to apply the Marie Kondo method and start asking who sparks joy from your guest list.
Choose Your Wedding Vendor
Envision your wedding day with a wishlist – and then short-list it accordingly so that your ideal wedding day and wedding budget come closer to reality.
The first vendor to research is the venue as this will be your biggest expenditure on the budget list. Some venues tend to charge higher for auspicious dates, so be prepared to allocate funds or have alternative dates.
The rule of thumb is to always get a minimum of three quotes when enquiring the same type of service to make comparisons that you’re not being overcharged or overpromised for services below market price.
Hidden Costs
Always ask if costs include all prevailing taxes as this can add up to your expense. Anticipate a 10-15% extra in your wedding budget to cushion incidental fees such as corkage (if you’re planning to bring your own wines and spirits to the venue) or room rentals (for smaller ceremonies).
To get you on the roll with your wedding budget, we have a list of the estimated cost of wedding services in Kuala Lumpur:
| Service Provider | Estimated Costs |
| Hotel | From RM60,000 (Min. 20 tables) |
| Restaurants | From RM40,000 |
| Florist | From RM10,000 |
| Video/Photographer | From RM10,000 (Full wedding) |
| Caterers | From RM3,000 |
| Invitations | From RM600 (Invitation cards to 100 pax) |
Tips To Save Money
Ever heard of the expression – An Old Horse Knows The Way? Well, we are that old horse. Having worked with countless couples over the years, we do know a few tips and tricks on how to save some money as you organize a wedding.
A Wedding Planner
Before you start having doubts about our tips section, hear us out on why a wedding planner could help you with your wedding budget.
With a direct link to the wedding industry, they can help you:
- Plan your budget
- Share with you vendors based on your theme and budget
- Share insiders tips and advise different creative approaches to save cost
- Negotiate with vendors to meet your specified budget
The Venue
Choose a venue that does not require a major fixer-upper, instead work with a venue that has existing props to minimize extra costs.
Floral Arrangement
If you have a preference to work with a specific florist, in addition to the venue’s standard floral arrangement, you can request the venue’s florist vendor to share the number of flowers designated for your wedding. You can then ask your own florist to work with these flowers (based on your floral vision) so you don’t have to worry about additional flower costs.
I booked a standard wedding package at a venue which includes minimal floral arrangements. Flowers can be very expensive so I arranged for my personal florist to use the flowers allocated from the venue’s wedding package to meet my ideal decoration set up. This helped a lot in bringing down my flower cost.
Plan In Advance
If you have the luxury of time then plan at least a year ahead. Negotiations and sourcing vendors take a longer time. It does not help if they know you’re on a crunch time with last-minute requests as it will costs you more than the average amount.
The Alternative Route
It can be overwhelming when there are endless options to choose from to celebrate your wedding day. But it’s important to stick to your budget. Alternative planning works – book a DJ instead of a live band or use the venue’s edible wedding favours instead of investing in merchandise with your initials on it because not all guests take it home.
Intimate Versus Extravagant
More couples are opting to have an intimate wedding reception with just family and friends in smaller venues, which significantly brings the cost lower.
Wedding planning can be a stressful task but ultimately when the big day arrives, it is more important to have fun with the long-term goal to stay stable and happy for a life-long marriage.
