Finally a realistic wedding article for all our fellow Singapore grooms out there. Rather than viewing XX number of ideas for your wedding, how to be a suave groom, etc. Here is a post that is more practical and relevant for a groom.
How to Budget for my Wedding?
My first advise is to cross this thought off your mind. You are getting married to the girl of your dreams. Seriously, are you going to budget how much you are going to spend on the whole wedding?
Don't get me wrong. You will still want to budget but you will be budgeting base on the individual items rather than putting a figure, say $80,000 for the whole wedding.Your budget should be based on each items' value comparison to the rest of the same category.
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| Bye Piggy |
The Great Expectation - Going into Debt
Secondly, you must expect yourself to go into debt after your wedding. However, make sure that you have cleared your previous debts and installments before going into this new one. Singaporeans are pretty accustomed to going into debt. From our schools loans, car/bike loans to your credit card installments on your new gaming rig, I'm sure we are no strangers.
If possible, always go for a 0% two year installment which most credit cards offers.
With this expectation, your mind will be in a better state to handle all the stress and pressure going on from proposal till post wedding. Aim to give yourself two years to clear your wedding debts. Of course you should also work within your budget.
Remember the article that came out last year about a couple who spent so much on their wedding and got into so many problems.
A clever man learns from his own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.
Planning Timeline
As of our generation, wedding proposals are no longer a secret now. Once the BTO flat is booked, our GFs will know that from that day onwards to the TOP, we have to propose to her. You should at least give yourself 1 year from the proposal to hold your banquet. This will give you sufficient time to plan and save some money for the wedding banquet.
Most couples will hold their wedding banquet 2 years before their BTO flats are ready. It sounds about right as it gives them ample time to clear their wedding debts before going into a new one.
So depending on your financial scenario, plan ahead.
Your First Purchase - The proposal ring
SALES are always going on at those jewellery shops so make sure you buy them at the appropriate time. Check out around 3 stores and do your research intensively. Ask the staff about how diamonds are categorized, cut and most importantly, how well the ring can last for normal day usage. You would not want to buy a proposal ring only to be worn on occasions.
Since most people are likely to ask only the carat size, keep the carat size reasonable and also suitable for your wife's finger. Clarity and cutting may be upgraded in the "future".
Budget around $1500 - $2,000 onwards and pay by installment plan. Remember to base on the value rather than the price.
Wedding Bands
What?! I need to buy another ring for her? Yup, this will be the ring that will be exchanged during your ROM. No need for the fanciful diamonds on the rings this time.
Budget around less than $1,000 for both rings and go by installment plan too.
Bridal Packages:
The budget should be around $3,800 onwards but remember again that it is the value that counts. How many photos do I get? How many pages in the album will there be? How many gowns do I get? Does this include wedding car, MUA, photographer, etc.
Pre Wedding Shoots - Singapore/Malaysia/Overseas?
I attended a wedding last year and I overheard a guest asking the groom casually if the photo (of them on a beach) was taken at Sentosa. The groom said no, it was in Barcelona. Ouch!
Would you want to spend $6,000 more running around in Taiwan sweating and not enjoying the trip? Or should you use this money for your Europe honeymoon with your wife?
This big ticket item will use up most of your budget at this moment. But luckily most bridal shops offer installment plans as well. So go on and swipe your card.
Make Up Artist
This is a very important choice your wife has to make. Although the MUA normally comes with the bridal package, she must be comfortable with the MUA and during the pre-wedding shoot makeup is when she will know.
If she is not comfortable, look online for other freelance but professional MUAs.
No installment plans as freelancer only accept cash. However, the initial payment is just the confirmation deposit.
Photography and Video Package
Most bridal package includes only the pre-wedding shoot but not the AD shoot package. There are many companies offering their services. Do not bargain on the price. Trust me. Their work is tough. Negotiate on their package instead like the number of hard copies they will give, etc. You would not want a photographer or videographer asking you to smile when he himself looks so grumpy.
Most of the companies do not offer installment plans. But the payment is normally a deposit, 2nd payment on your actual day and final payment when you collect the photos. So you should have sufficient time to budget.
Wedding Cars and Car Deco
Finally an item where you can have it FOC!
Most couples will try to remove this item during their negotiations with the bridal shop and borrow a presentable car from their friends, relatives or even using their own car. The savings is not much though. Around $200 to $250.
Buffet
Another item which you can remove! The buffet normally caters to your relatives when they come over both houses for tea ceremony. To save on catering two buffets, hold your tea ceremony at the hotel before the banquet. Discuss with your banquet manager for the additional function room. They should be able to get it for your FOC but don't take my word for it.
This will also allow better space management especially if the house is too small to cater to your 5 uncles and 5 aunties. Not including their spouses and kids.
Another two more plus points are that the relatives will come earlier to your wedding banquet and they do not need to travel twice for your wedding.
However do hold the tea ceremony at both house for the parents and siblings whom are the most important people of your life.You will just need to cater light snacks especially for your band of brothers and sisters.
New Wedding Bed
Say goodbye to your single bed and your smelly pillows. In comes the Queen. Literally.
As there is a high chance that your BTO flat is not ready, just buy a simple queen size bed frame and an ok mattress for your current nest. This will help keep your budget low.
As the biggest item to transport to your new house will be the mattress, it is advisable to keep it at your parents' place and invest in a new one after you move into your new nest.
Honeymoon Package
Travel fairs are being held frequently throughout the year and good deals can easily come about. Budget around $2,000 to $5,000 for non-Europe trips and see where this amount can bring you.
Remember that you may be taking a huge hit after your wedding banquet so try to choose a location where you can keep your expenses low.
Hotel Banquet Package (Very Important)
Finally, the all-important budget that we have been waiting for. In my previous post about the Wedding Ang Baorates, I briefly talked about why wedding couples incur such a huge deficit.
To recap, if a wedding table rate is $1200++ and if during the ‘negotiations’ you offered 10 table to your in-laws, these 10 tables’ ang bao will not go into your pocket but into theirs. So which means you have effectively make a loss of $12,000 before anything happens.
In order to get back this amount, you will need your other guests to give you $120 + $60 ($12,000 / 200 guests) If this amount seems not hopeful, the percentage goes lower if you hold less than 30 tables. Meaning 30 – 10 tables you are only left with 20 tables to recoup your losses. And your parents may also ask to keep the 10 tables’ ang baos to recoup their ang bao money they paid out during other relatives wedding. (Remember the time where 6th uncle’s son got married at Hilton when you were 12?)
So you are only left with 10 tables. Seriously how do you expect wedding couples to recoup their losses by giving them a Wedding Ang Bao rate card and asking the guests to 'pay' for their wedding banquet.
Remember my second point ‘Going into Debt’? Here we go.
Budget your loss. Aim for a 2 year recovery and not longer than that. If you are going to expect a huge loss from your banquet, you should change your hotel venue and look for a more pocket friendly hotel or even a restaurant.
As this item is the most important part of your wedding budget, I will be dedicating another post to help wedding couples budget and break even for the wedding banquet. Sounds impossible? Wait for my next post!
As every wedding couple’s expectation on certain items is different, discuss everything with your spouse and communicate with an open mind.
So REALLY how much money does an average Singapore groom needs to get married?
It depends on how much you value your wife and your own wedding. No one will judge you on where you hold your wedding or what proposal ring you have bought.
As the saying goes, your wedding is only for the both of you. So be a Man and give your wife everything within your means and she will treasure every moment of the wedding for the rest of her life.
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| Have a Happy Wedding! |
